Forests and Woodlands

Within Loch Lomond & The Trossachs National Park there is a wealth of woodland and forest types that, in addition to timber value, represents a major scenic, recreational and habitat resource. On first impressions many of the woodlands within the National Park look like they have existed for many hundreds of years, however, very few are natural in origin, and all bear the effects of land management dating back many centuries.

Perhaps the most natural of the Park’s woodland landscapes are important remnants of ancient Caledonian pinewoods at Glen Falloch and Tyndrum. These remnants of native pinewoods are the most southerly examples in Scotland.

The National Park also holds quite large areas of surviving native oakwoods such as those around Loch Lomond. Other native woodland types are ash woodlands that grow in more fertile areas and the wet woodlands of alder and willow that grow along many stream sides. There are also large areas of planted conifer forest that contain many introduced species such as larch, spruce and fir as well as Scots pine.

Extent and Composition of the Park’s Forests and Woodlands

Two thirds of the Park’s current woodland is coniferous. Conifers are cone-bearing seed plants with needles or scales instead of proper leaves. The great majority of conifers are trees with a few shrubs such as juniper.

Most coniferous forest in the National Park lies within the two forest parks - Queen Elizabeth and Argyll. These are owned by Forestry Commission Scotland and provide opportunities for public recreation and access alongside timber production. The wood of a conifer is known as ‘softwood’ and the quality of wood grown here is often ideal for making paper. The timber from the National Park is used for a variety of purposes and the end destination is mainly sawmills, pulp or paper mills and chipboard mills in the Central Belt.

Around 15% of the Park’s woodland is broadleaved. Downy birch and silver birch are the most common broadleaf species, probably reflecting both their dominance in the original wildwood as well as their ability as a pioneering species. Oak is the second most common type of broadleaf as a result of management to favour oaks for industrial purposes such as charcoal production and harvesting oak bark for tanning leather, and the manufacture of dyes during the 17th to 19th centuries. This included the planting of large numbers of English oaks along with the native sessile oaks that grew here naturally.

The Park contains an exceptionally diverse and extensive area of Atlantic oakwoods which are rich in mosses and lichens due to the heavy rainfall in the west of Scotland. This is sometimes referred to as ‘temperate rainforest’. The oakwoods of the Park make up a significant proportion of the Scottish total and many are under conservation management because they form a rare habitat that supports many unusual, rare or endangered animal and plant species.

Natural Heritage Value

Ancient woodland sites, which have had woodland cover for at least 250 years, have the richest woodland habitats. These form only 8.5% of the woodland cover of the National Park and less than 2.5% of the total Park area.

The Loch Lomond oakwoods form one of the largest areas of semi-natural woodlands in Britain and are a Special Area for Conservation (SAC) for their old sessile oakwoods, as well as their otter populations. They are also home to summer visiting birds such as redstarts, pied flycatchers and wood warblers.

The woodland habitats of the National Park provide a home for an amazing array of animals and plants. Native red and roe deer, along with the introduced fallow deer, share their home with red squirrel, bats, wood ants, badgers, pine marten, capercaillie and song thrush.

Management of Native Woodland

Traditionally, most semi-natural woodland in the area would have been actively managed resulting in a fairly diverse woodland structure. However, in the last century the active management of much of the native woodland for wood products stopped. Heavy grazing by sheep and deer continued, often preventing natural regeneration of young trees. This resulted in the development of an even-aged, over-mature woodland structure in much of the Park area.

In more recent years, major programmes of woodland expansion and management have been implemented and the area of native woodland has expanded significantly, though it will take many decades to form new areas of mature native woodland.

These programmes will greatly improve the wildlife value to the many native species of bird, mammals and insects that live in these woodlands. However, initiatives like fencing out deer and sheep has allowed young trees to grow successfully, but it has often allowed the vegetation to become very dense and overgrown, which can have serious side effects on other woodland species such as those that require glades and open spaces in woodlands.

A Local Woodland and Forestry Framework has been prepared by the National Park Authority, Forestry Commission Scotland and Scottish Natural Heritage to guide the management of woodland and forestry work in the National Park. This aims to maximise the benefits from woodland and forestry for local communities, recreation, the economy and the area’s outstanding ecological and scenic qualities.