RSPB launches bid to save Scotland's rainforest

Wood warblers can be found in the Glencripesdale nature reserve

RSPB Scotland has taken control of a Highland nature reserve in a plan to protect and restore Scotland's rainforests.

Glencripesdale sits at the tip of the Morvern Peninsula on the south shore of Loch Sunart.

The former National Nature Reserve was sold to the wildlife conservation group by NatureScot.

The charity said it was looking forward to working with the local community and landowners to restore the woodland.

Scotland's rainforests are far less well known than their tropical counterparts but they are just as important in terms of biodiversity.

• Beinn Eighe: Regenerating rainforests on UK oldest reserve

• Bid to save Scotland's ancient rainforest

In good condition, one hectare of temperate rainforest can contain as many as 200 species of lichen and 200 species of mosses and liverworts.

They also support a wide variety of insects and birds, such as wood warblers.

The Glencripesdale nature reserve is a remote place with no public road to the reserve and a four-mile walk or cycle to the nearest car park.

Dave Beaumont, RSPB Scotland's operations director for South Scotland, said the charity would now need to remove invasive non-native species, such as rhododendron, and attempt to reduce the impact of deer - which eat young seedlings - on tree regeneration.

A view of the forest from the shore of the loch

It will also plant or encourage the regeneration of trees and shrubs, such as aspen and holly, to restore the natural diversity.

Mr Beaumont added: "We do not underestimate the challenge that this will be in such a remote area.

"We are grateful for the support of local people and the Sunart and Morvern Community Councils and are looking forward to working with them and local contractors to manage this important woodland and help to restore its former extent and value for wildlife.

"We hope this will kick-start a much bigger restoration project across the whole of Morvern helping to restore Scotland's rainforest on a landscape scale."

NatureScot described the western oak woodland as "internationally important"

Through the Alliance for Scotland's Rainforest, RSPB Scotland and other organisations have shared aims to promote, restore, and connect Scotland's rainforests.

RSPB Scotland said the Glencripesdale nature reserve was a significant piece of the jigsaw and would play an important role in its ambitions to work at a landscape scale to address common challenges facing the woodlands.

In addition to the natural challenges, the reserve was historically a commercial woodland meaning that many non-commercial species are now missing or much reduced.

Chris Donald, NatureScot's head of operations for Central Highland, said "Scotland's ancient woodlands are small, fragmented and failing to thrive.

"Selling our land at Glencripesdale to RSPB Scotland is an exceptional opportunity for NatureScot to support a major landscape-scale restoration project, as we work ambitiously with partners across all sectors to reverse the biodiversity crisis and protect 30% of Scotland's nature by 2030."