Native Central
The Trossachs
Size: 195ha, of 376ha total area in project
Conservation ranking: SAC, 2 SSSIs: Ben A’an and Brenachoille Woods and Cuilvona and Craigmore Woods, within the Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park
Core profile
Along the eastern slopes of Strath Gartney, overlooking Loch Katrine and a popular ferry route in the heart of the Trossachs, are some exceptional oakwoods. Largely ancient, this woodland is dominated by sessile oak and downy birch trees, with pockets of ash on richer soil and some alder and hazel.
The lake itself was made famous nearly two centuries ago by Sir Walter Scott in his poem ‘The Lady of the Lake’. Now its ungrazed islands have interest because of their good growth of juniper and other native trees and shrubs.
What’s special about them?
The native woods here are among the largest and most varied in Central Region. Part of the variety comes from the mix of many kinds of situations for growth of plants here. Breeding birds include old UK oakwood classics, such as pied flycatcher (rare in Scotland), tree pipit and redstart.
Conditions for tree growth vary from place to place, in some areas suiting oak and birch, in others ash and hazel. Associated with the woodland are different kinds of grasslands, wet and dry heathland, wet patches with water-borne food for plants and ungrazed cliff ledges. One of the liverworts here, the deliciously named Bazzania trilobata, is unusual away from more oceanic oakwoods along the west coast.
What was up?
- Lack of management planning and background
- Rhododendron well-established and shading out natives
- Overgrazing by red and roe deer
- Invasion of site by exotic conifers from neighbouring plantations
- Spread of Japanese knotweed at Ben A’an
- Bracken restricting potential for natural regeneration other grand flora and trees
- Limited variety of tree ages due to overgrazing, lack of management and rhododendron invasion at Brenachoille
- Lack of public awareness of conservation value of the oakwoods and of the restoration works needed
What’s been done?
- Management plans produced and survey work carried out
- Removal of 55ha of Rhododendron
- 800m of deer fence erected
- Cull to reduce deer to less than six per 100ha
- Removal of exotic conifers from 5ha
- Removal of Japanese knotweed from 1ha
- Bracken control to prepare 30ha of ground for regeneration
- Thinning and other work to improve structural diversity in 35ha
- Work to improve public access along 300m of path
- Two interpretation panels erected to explain significance of the woods within the SAC
- Local website linked to main Core Forest website and other partner sites
What’s next?
Core connections
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