About Scotland’s Rainforest

Where is Scotland’s rainforest?

Temperate rainforest can only be found where there is a high level of rainfall, year-round mild temperatures and clean air. This is a rare habitat as these climates cover less than 1% of the planet.

In Europe, you can find temperate rainforest on the Atlantic coastlines of Britain, Ireland and Norway, France and Spain - but the best rainforest habitat in all of Europe is found right here in Scotland.

Scotland’s rainforest occurs along its west coast, and in the rest of the UK you’ll also find this habitat in the Lake District, north Wales and south-west England.

How much rainforest exists in Scotland?

Only around 30,000 hectares are left - an area slightly bigger than Edinburgh.

Whilst there is approximately 93,000 hectares of semi-natural woodland in Scotland’s rainforest zone, less than one third contains rainforest biodiversity. Ancient or old growth woodlands are the best sites and should be the priority for protection, expansion and management.

What threatens Scotland’s rainforest?

Scotland’s rainforest suffers from two significant threats - overgrazing and invasive non native species, particularly Rhododendron ponticum.

• More than 40% of rainforest sites have levels of grazing that are so high, it is limiting their long-term survival. Around 80% of the impact is from deer.

• 40% of Scotland’s rainforest is being choked by Rhododendron ponticum. The shrub colonises woodland fast, out-competes native trees and shades out rare flora, resulting in significant biodiversity loss.

But it doesn’t stop there.

• One fifth (21%) of Scotland’s rainforests are ancient woodland sites that have been planted with exotic conifers, known as plantations on ancient woodland sites (PAWS).

• Pests and diseases are a risk to all woodland but ash dieback in particular threatens our northern and western-most ash woods - an important habitat for rainforest epiphytes called cyanolichens.

• Climate change is predicted to shrink the climatic zone that rainforest requires along its eastern edge

• Air pollution (nitrogen deposition) could decimate the rare lichens and bryophytes that are highly sensitive to environmental conditions.

The remnant oak, birch, ash, native pine and hazel woodlands that cling on in Scotland are small, fragmented and isolated from each other. They offer smaller reservoirs for wildlife and are less resilient to change.

Why save Scotland’s rainforest?

Scotland’s rainforest isn’t just important for biodiversity.

It’s an important place for the people that live and work on the west coast of Scotland. Its management provides jobs; its canopy provides cover for livestock. Communities use it for exercise, health and well-being. It’s a natural classroom for school children; a meeting place for groups and volunteers; a destination for tourists. Scotland’s rainforest can contribute to the green recovery.

It can also help us combat the climate emergency and biodiversity crisis. Its rare and fragile ecosystem is a so-called “nature-based solution” as it locks up carbon permanently and prevents flooding and soil erosion, while providing a vital home for a globally significant assemblage of species, some of which occur nowhere else.

Scotland owes it to the world and its people to look after our rainforest. Restoring and expanding this unique habitat will provide jobs, protect the environment and allow people to enjoy the magic of the rainforest for generations to come.