Why we’re cutting trees to save a Scottish rainforest | VLOG
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- Опубліковано 6 лют 2025
- In this vlog, Isla gives an update on our project in partnership with Arkaig Community Forest, following the felling of non-native trees at Loch Arkaig earlier this year. She also addresses your questions with the help of Liam (Arkaig Community Forest chairman) and Simon (Blue Green Conservation.)
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ABOUT THIS PROJECT
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Scotland possesses some of the richest examples in Europe of a rare biome - temperate rainforest. Despite this, there are only thought to be around 30,000 hectares of woodland that have rainforest biodiversity left within the rainforest zone, an area that stretches along the west coast and is characterised by its wet climate. The zone currently holds approximately 93,000 hectares of semi-natural woodland that could potentially harbour this diversity. Ancient or old growth woodlands are the best places to start protecting, expanding and managing this declining habitat.
You can learn more about this project by visiting:www.mossy.eart...
I’m glad that I’m still in my early twenties, and so might have a chance to visit a well recovered Scots Pine forest in my lifetime!
Hello! They are having great success over in the Cairngorms in central/eastern Scotland if you get impatient and would like to see some nice examples soon. I'd recommend visiting Invereshie and Inshriach National Nature Reserve or Abernethy National Nature Reserve. Fingers crossed this will be one of a few examples of good Caledonian Pinewood regeneration in the west of Scotland in a few decades, it takes a wee bit longer to regenerate there! Cheers, Isla.
@@MossyEarth-FieldNoteswhy is there that difference between East and West?
@@RP-ws8fl the west just has a different climate... A lot of weather comes in from the atlantic, hits the mountain ranges in the west and is less severe by the times it moves east. So mainly less windy. I bet it even translates to the tree line which is also nowhere near the tree line someplace mountainous more inland e.g. in the alps...
@@AZ-gl7dk thank you 🙏
Ooh early twenties look at you! Haha.
This is a really inspiring comment. Very full of hope.
Love how diverse Mossy Earth's project collaborations are !!
I am excited to see the updates of the drone mapping ^^ I'm very interested in how GIS interacts with different projects
Hello! I'm really excited to see it too, and I hope the mother nature of Scotland's west coast gives us an opportunity to get the drone in the air next time. 😆 Cheers, Isla.
@MossyEarth-FieldNotes omg i didnt think about it! Maybe put up a sign so the wind knows when u plan on filming 😆😆
The best natural restoration channel on UA-cam!
What I appreciate the most is your holistic approach. The way you guys think of every minute details that will be affected by your actions. I would love to experience your thought process. All the meetings, discussions. How you conduct the group so all the details are discussed.
Thank you for the kind words! I am glad you feel this way about our team! We hope to make things more transparent and clearer in the future but it is good to know you think we are communicating well already. In the future we could reserve some of these interesting discussions for some podcast episodes perhaps. Cheers, Duarte
@@MossyEarth-FieldNotes Educating those that have only known a wet barren desert or monoblock alien tree plantations is important for understand.
Basically Scotland's entire ecosystem with native biodiversity has been destroyed and the last of our old native Scots pine are dying out.
Hopefully they will still produce seed and regenerate and it's not too late.
It's great to finally see the Alien fast growing monoculture trees being separated from our fragmented native trees and hopefully we will see the ecosystems recovering and native woodlands flourishing once more in our beautiful lands.
The situation is not ideal but the trend is positive! 🙂 Better days are here!
Thank you for bringing good energy! Cheers, Isla. ☺
@@MossyEarth-FieldNotes Thanks for the good work you are doing. There seems to be more and more of this sort of thing being done and we will all benefit. Thanks 🙂
I'm so glad to see this issue of non native pine being tackled with such balance and intricate knowledge. Keep fighting for a wilder world, because that's where magic survives.
Thank you so much for your support! It helps keep us all going. 😄Cheers, Isla.
Its simply amazing the delicate balance of nature.... Although this project is focusing on the recovery of ancient forests, this video highlighted the knockdown affects of missing predatory mammals, resulting in the deer slowing tree recovery, and also missing larger grazers, which would of helped scarify the land! Looking forward to having that balance return one day 😊
It is, isn't it? I feel far more optimistic about balance being restored to Scotland's ecosystems than I did 10 years ago! Progress is being made in a number of ways. Cheers, Isla. 😄
"The right tree in the right place." Hear, hear Isla. Very well put.
Thank you! The GoPro and I have many philosophical chats (other small cameras are available). Cheers, Isla. 😆
The wide-spread fern coverage is good news. It can drastically lower temperatures during high summer and protect new seedlings.
Great organization! Great work.
Thank you! It's great to be a part of this collaborative effort with all our fantastic partners on this project!
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It's so great to meet all of these amazing people that are a part of these projects!
It is a pleasure to introduce the team on the ground to you all. Cheers, Isla. 😊
What a great job, everyone! Especially the pup-pup, obviously in charge as overseer. ❤
A great overseer indeed 😂
It may not be ideal, but in many ways this is the essence of rewilding as distinct from restoration/conservation. 😊
I love seeing horses and other low-impact methods coming back to logging, especially in vulnerable areas.
Absolutely, we do too. It was lovely to chat to Simon and the others and I can't wait to meet Tarzan next time we visit. 🐴Cheers, Isla. 😄
Shows the illiterate and ignorance this UK has disconnected from nature and only now getting it right.
25 yrs ago, they realised how important the largest southern ancient Scots pine would was ( Blackwood's of Rannoch ) but was infested with fast growing Alien trees.
The forestry commission didn't know how to retract them without destroying the precious most rare understory so decided to inject the Alien pines with bio poison to kill them. How has that affected the ecosystem I ponder 🤔.
Instead they could of hired horses and tree fellers like this old forest.
Really interesting to see & follow along, great vlog
Glad you enjoyed it Paul! cheers Tim
Same ^^
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Marvelous work Isla and Liam🌲🙌🏻🌲 Can't wait to see the progression of the natural regeneration over time.
Thanks for the update
Thanks for following! It's going to be interesting to see how this site develops!
Hello Isla, great work on restoring Scotland's rainforest. A quick question - At mossy Earth, you currently have 18 projects in the UK, and only 2 in Ireland. Currently, Ireland is pretty much an ecological desert, with the native tree cover being only 2%, the other being mostly invasive, non-native pine and spruce plantations. Can you please tell , if Mossy Earth plans to do any new biodiversity projects in Ireland?
It's not going to happen without massive support from the Irish citizens. Your government isn't going to help.
better to go to the mossy earth webpages and ask there I imagine.
I bet you are planting some native trees.
This is probably the best/ most positive thing to happen to this forest since soon after people first moved into the area.
Really excited to see the outcome! Cheers, Isla. ☺
Man, that curled-stemmed tree is UNBELIEVABLE. Please make some high-quality pictures of it, this needs to be preserved!!! It's "MacCurley"
It grew around another tree, and killed it. The dead tree then rotted away
Blew my mind! 🤯 I'll try remember to get some good pictures next time. Cheers, Isla. 😄
@@MossyEarth-FieldNotes much appreciated. :)
@MossyEarth-FieldNotes Put it on a t-shirt please 🙏
Would love to see more fencing operations to create zones for trees to have a better chance of growing to maturity so they can resist the deer.
How beautiful to see! Im so happy you're putting my monthly payments to such good use. Keep it up, and i love this project! ❤
Thank you for supporting us and enabling positive change! Cheers, Isla. 🥰
Great collabs and great work being done for this and next and every generation afterwards.
Really good video, really interesting and informative. I'd have thought that nature would have recovered far more readily than you've indicated, but having been up there recently and seen how bleak and/or industrialised (Forested areas) are, I get where you're coming from. A massive task, but good to see a start made.
Keep up the good work, Isla!
Cheers Matt! ☺
I would love to see a mobile saw mill, log splitter, and wood chipper used to speed up the decomposition of the felled trees.
The process is the important part, that's where all the bugs and birds and fungi get their turn at it
@hairyneil True, but I would still like to see ⅓ of the wood chipped and spread. The faster the nutrients are returned to the soil, the faster new trees will grow. Wood chip mats are great for growing fungi.
Typical! Destroy some lovely, native forest to grow almost-worthless trees!
@anniehill9909 They are removing non native trees to save native trees. Did you even pay attention?
Great work
Cheers Philip! 😄Isla.
Very interesting update. I’ll have to go back and watch the original video as that was one from prior to me becoming a follower / member
We really appreciate the support and love that this update is resonating with folk! Cheers, Isla. 😄
Commenting for the algorithm :)
same
Likewise
What a good idea
U guys should definitely use the Miyawki meathod to restore the Scots Pine Forest , by densely planting the native tree species in the area and etc ... and u should expect the forest to grow pretty tall in just about 3-4 years as micro habitat... and a good way to restore it quickly u could say
I may have missed it, but does the plan call for slower natural regeneration, or once the herbivore pressure is lowered do you plan to use native species seedlings and saplings to jumpstart the regeneration?
Hello! No you didn't miss anything, I don't think I explicitly addressed that point in this video. There is a good seed source on site for most native species usually found in this area of Scotland nearby, and the community might undertake some small scale planting of less well represented species like juniper. Cheers, Isla. 😄
nice project
Thank you for the support! Cheers, Isla. 😄
Ship out as much lumber as you can. There's too much deadfall (of acidic pine, no less). Fund deer fences. Arborists here in Michigan know keeping deer away from trees & especially saplings is an important task. Consider renting or buying a "landscape mulcher" attachment to speed up decomp of some of the dead wood and provide shredded mulch to put around the base of the saplings. Which I presume you're waiting on until the land is cleared and deer fences are up. A beautiful site that simply needs care.
Hello! The majority of the timber is being removed from the site with a portion left behind. Unfortunately because of the location of the site the money made from the timber is only just covering the cost of barging and hauling it to the processing site. The site is also already surrounded by a deer fence and recently some much needed repairs were undertaken. Fences are a sub optimal solution, but unfortunately one of the only options in Scotland at the moment at sites where landscape-scale deer culling is not possible and the reintroduction of large carnivores isn't progressing politically (yet). Now that the non-native conifers are away it should make the process of deer culling within the fenced area easier as there are fewer places for them to take refuge. I'll mention the idea of a mulcher to the team at Arkaig Community Forest in case they haven't considered that, thank you for the suggestion! Cheers, Isla. 😄
@@MossyEarth-FieldNotes Thank you so much for responding! I wondered about the accessibility of the site. If the grounds crew has a tractor, the mulcher can likely attach to that.
I hope the culture around wolves can evolve. In America, when snipers are called in for a deer cull, the meat is donated to local food banks. I'm not a hunter myself, and I always thought American hunting culture was excessive, but I was wrong. It turns out removing excess deer in places where predators are lacking is an important task.
I guess Minnesota has a lot of wolves. Apparently, farmers & campers & hikers in MN do not have much trouble with wolves. I wish more US states had a good attitude like MN. Wolf haters irk me. Cheers!
Hopefully there will not be a storm to fell the trees you saved as you seem to have taken away their wind protection
Always tricky to get everything balanced between keeping some and removing it all. Especially as it was on a remote access site.
We will find out if the gamble was correct
Clear felling was a very poor decision, as woodland regeneration needs standing trees to protect the young growth. This action has done massive damage and should not be repeated elsewhere.
Q1: After the clear cut, do you think something like a Miyawaki method using as many local ecotype trees as possible would be in the budget? Normally not feasible in a more remote location, but with temperate rainforest expected precipitation *and* the fact that you could do one edge along or quite near the loch indicates perhaps enough less direct maintenance in this case to be an exception to that feasibility
Q2: Is there any soil sampling to see the change over time of the mycorrhizae and bacterial inhabitants? Or is that outside of budget right now (also remembering HUMAN TIME is a budgeted resource, not just cash)
It's a really, really sparse when it's cleared to leave the natives, leaving them very exposed, especially as they are so drawn and spindly. One big storm and what's left doesn't look like it can stand up to too much.
I removed my 2 Larch trees on the advice of my neighbour, because he said there was some sort of disease affecting them, which can spread to affect my other trees. I turned them into firewood, clearing away everything.
I used to plant trees to the standard distance recommendation, but deer were impacting them too much and destroying way too many (they love Scot's Pine. Grrr). Quite by accident, without knowing of its existence, I decided to employ what is now called the Miyawake method, shoving tree seedlings in close together, and let species fight it out. This seems to prevent them from getting attacked by deer anywhere near so much.
I do still plant non natives, but mix them in with natives, planning carefully with a view to removal without causing other trees too much damage.
Hey! I understand your concern and you raise a good point. When the team were assessing the best course of action at this site the decision was made to remove all of the lodgepole pine and Sitka spruce at once because of logistical challenges (the site is only accessible by boat or a very long walk!) and other risks presented by leaving them there. If they were to leave live specimens the problem would persist because of how quickly these species regenerate. As ever it is a case of weighing up the risks of various courses of action, and for this site removal was identified as the best option for the native trees on site. Good luck with your project! It sounds like you've got all bases covered. Cheers, Isla. 😄
I agree that clearfelling was a very poor decision, as woodland regeneration needs standing trees to protect the young growth. This action has done massive damage and should not be repeated elsewhere. 😢
I wish that these videos had subtitles (I’m not referring to the auto-generated ones because those could easy say one thing and the actual audio, is saying something completely different) due to that it’s hard to understand some accents. It could also help with terms that people pronounce differently.
Is there some kinda assessment about turning some of the trees into standing deadwood by debarking, rather than felling all of them?
Hi there! Good question. It is my understanding that Simon and his team make this assessment as they go, and if they see a particular tree that is suitable for leaving as standing deadwood then they do so. So not a formal assessment as such. Cheers, Isla. ☺
Clear felling was a very poor decision, as woodland regeneration needs standing trees to protect the young growth. This action has done massive damage and should not be repeated elsewhere.
I've actually walked through that exact forest.
It's a pretty magical place! Isla. ☺
both the Scots pine and birch are notoriously intolerant of shade since they are fast growing short lived pioneer species
Whilst I find tree cutting a little uncomfortable, I understand this project, and I hope a review in 5 years shows lots of Scott's Pine growth and a cause of optimism. Thanks for the update.
Thank you for your support 🙌 Cheers, Isla.
Hi Isla, if the lodge pole pines are able spread blight to the Scot’s pine, does leaving the brash create an opportunity for the blight to be spread?
I was wondering about it too!
Hello! Good question, I posed it to Liam this evening. See his answer below:
"The needles will fall off the brash within a year and decompose so it's not really a significant risk to merit the cost, time and risk of taking it off site. In addition the lodge pole pine has been growing there for 50 odd years so leaving the brash one more year is not going to make a substantial difference."
Cheers, Isla. 😄
@ Thanks Isla / Liam
Clear felling was a very poor decision, as woodland regeneration needs standing trees to protect the young growth. This action has done massive damage and should not be repeated elsewhere.
Good work ^^ I do wonder how long it will do to really start visibly regrowing
Thank you for the support! We expect to find natural regeneration within the first two years of the project if low browsing pressure can be achieved and maintained through management, but some species such as Scots pine can take a long time to regenerate in this area of Scotland. This might be because of the waterlogged conditions in the west coast, meaning that Scots pine trees can take around 30 years to grow to a height at which they are less vulnerable to browsing by herbivores. Cheers, Isla.
@@MossyEarth-FieldNotes Will you try and protect the young trees with wooden fencing? In most german forests i know of areas fenced off to allow the young trees to grow free of deer. Of course that requires maintenance but it seems to work.
Are going to replant Scot’s pine seedlings to replace what has been taken out? Or are the seeds of the existing pines sufficient to replenish the seed’s coverage of new trees?
Hello! There is a good seed source on site for most native species usually found in this area of Scotland nearby (including Scot's pine), and the community might undertake some small scale planting of less well represented species like juniper. Cheers, Isla. 😄
Yeah™ 👍
Would ringbarking the invasives work for preventing their regeneration but keeping them as windbreaks?
i really like your accent! Other than that i really also liked the rest of the video :)
Thanks for the support! 😄Cheers, Isla.
I am wondering if the halfmoons they put in the ground in Nigeria to stop the desert could also help here to restore the water tables and put a stop to barren lands! Great restoration plans! Proud to be a part of!
I think they did it in Niger, not Nigeria
@@nuvi5480 Its "Federal Republic of Nigeria" and Niger only if you are french or german speaking. Is it local? i dont know this is english
Tanzania too. @@nuvi5480
I would love to see a dozen or so bunds, or halfmoons put in this location. They could boost the biodiversity by creating little microbiomes.
Generally, water retention is very much not an issue on the west coast of Scotland. You'd most likely end up with a muddy hole.
🤘🤘
🤟
Will you plant more Scots Pine?
I find the explanation that so much of the timber is removed because it would take too long to decay not very plausible. What would be the issue with that?
Hello! Fair question. This mustn't have been communicated in the vlog but there is more to that particular point. The amount of timber that was on the site could have drastically altered the habitat structure and slowed habitat recovery (like the regeneration of trees and other vegetation). With Scots pine taking longer to regenerate on the west coast of Scotland (amongst other factors) this is a risk the team didn't want to take, so taking a balanced approach and leaving only a portion behind was identified as the best way forward. Cheers, Isla.
Thank you for the detailed explanation. I am sure you thought this through.
Is this a new project?
I don't remember this
I love Caledonian rain forests, so that would be embarrassing
So I apparently missed it :(
Hey! We have had the project for a while but only posted one video on the main channel about it. So you have not missed much! Cheers, Duarte
Is bracken a concern or not?
Would this site be suitable for the reintroduction of predators such as the Eurasian Lynx or Wolf?
Both would help tackle the deer, with the Lynx also taking on more of the smaller herbivores vs the wolves going after boar.
Hello! The deer fences complicate matters, but the site falls close to an area identified as suitable in this paper: "A potential habitat network for the Eurasian lynx Lynx lynx in Scotland", David A. Hetherington, David R. Miller, Colin D. MacLeod and Martyn L. Gorman. I have worked in similar habitats in other countries with all native large carnivores present though land management practices there differed to Scotland. With regards to large predator reintroduction to Scotland the blockers are less surrounding habitat suitability and more around political and social issues, so even if a certain site is suitable ecologically you aren't yet able to reintroduce these species. In the interim our options are deer fencing and culling. It is a less-than-ideal situation, but alas it is the one we are in until things move. First on the agenda will be lynx due to their reduced controversiality. Cheers, Isla. ☺
Mmmmm nyeah
what sort of role does fire have in Scottish forests?
Hi Isla is anyone also raising young local tree seed to help with regeneration and planting or just leaving it to nature?
Hey! Arkaig Community Forest have their own tree nursery that they use to supply a variety of sites. However, there is a good seed source at this site for most native species usually found in this area of Scotland nearby, though the community might undertake some small scale planting of less well represented species like juniper. Cheers, Isla. 😄
💚🧡🩶
With Scottish landownership what it is, and the degradation of the Caledonian Scots Pine forest over the decades and centuries it's probably nothing but a pipe dream. However it would be great if there was a concerted effort to map the area that would have been Caledonian forest land, and some sort of effort to regenerate the areas between the existing fragments together within that map. That though would probably take some sort of partnership between various land owners which for the most part seem to be highly sceptical of anything that may change their income stream.
Hello! I've had issues pasting links in YT comments before, but if you search the 'Caledonian Pinewood Recovery Project' by Trees for Life you will be pleased to know that work on this is already underway. Because of the land issues you touched on this can be slow going but certain passionate individuals/orgs are pushing this and things are gaining momentum. Just last month there was a gathering of minds at the Pinewood Conference in Fort William to refocus efforts on this particular issue and I understand that it went very well! The Caledonian Pinewood Partnership was announced at the event. So you're right on the money. Cheers, Isla. ☺
Are boar native to Scotland?
Hi Annie. Yes indeed they are! Though I should mention that there are some boar x pig hybrids around too. Cheers, Isla.
I think fencing things off will never work, a lobby group must be set up to introduce the Canis lupus back to Scotland. Take down more fencing and introduce a scheme that compensates farmers for reforesting their land from animal agriculture to native woodland or habitat. In the hand over compensenate for loss of animals till its done with. let the land restore with the aid of moss earth & others backed by goverment
Why not release some wolfs?
There's no legal pathway for large carnivore reintroduction to Scotland, but a potential lynx reintroduction is something that might help the conversation here move forward. I haven't heard any updates on this in the past wee while and suspect that this is due to the current political climate. Cheers, Isla. 😊
what's wrong with being against commercial forestry? i am openly against it!
Hello! The following is own view on the matter. Personally I support sustainable forestry at some locations in Scotland so that we aren't completely reliant on importing it, so long as these sites are well managed (e.g., Sitka spruce regeneration control). I admit that in Scotland often these sites aren't well managed, but there are ways and means of encouraging change there without being against the entire industry. My view changes were a site is not suitable ecologically or otherwise. Everything in balance. Cheers, Isla.
People need houses to live in, what’s the alternative bringing it from across the globe?
so many of the problems is Scotland seam to go back to the deer. the solution is obvious.
that land needs wolves
Every tree removed from the site is lost biomass. Let them standing as deadwood or as food for new trees. Sorry for bad English.
Some are left there but for this particular project we would leave too much of it and it could affect the soil and the regeneration speed. So this is attemting to strike a balance. Cheers, Duarte
Clear felling was a very poor decision, as woodland regeneration needs standing trees to protect the young growth. This action has done massive damage and should not be repeated elsewhere.