5000 native trees planted above Loch Ness ‘to drive natural regeneration’ of former conifer plantation sites on slopes near A82 trunk road, says Forest and Land Scotland
Thousands of native trees have been planted on the steep slopes above Loch Ness in the wake of recent felling work.
Forestry and Land Scotland (FLS) hopes the 5000 trees already planted in phase one of its work - which include blackthorn, hawthorn, hazel, birch, cherry and oak - will act as seed sources for “ongoing natural regeneration of the hills near Drumnadrochit.
The planting of these trees “in high density pockets” followed recent ongoing work to fell 100-year-old conifers above the busy A82 trunk road because they had “become susceptible to windblow and erosion” and posed a risk to the traffic below.
FLS North Region assistant operations manager, Luke Wilson, said: “This initial restocking is a key part of the long-term programme to replace the felled and extracted over-mature conifers in a planned manner and see them replaced by native woodlands that will, over time, increase the stability of the hillside and reduce the risk of landslides.
“There is already some natural regeneration happening on the slopes and this work will supplement this with additional species. Planting the entire site would have posed a significant challenge with considerable safety risks due to the steep terrain so the method used is the best solution.
“It will make the landscape – including the A82 and the infrastructure that runs alongside it – more resilient to extreme weather events that we may be seeing more of in the years to come.
“The broadleaved species chosen to replace the mature conifers have been selected because they are a combination of slow and low growing and can better stabilise the slope and increase resilience by holding the soil on the slope together and wind firmness. They will also create a well-connected broadleaf woodland corridor to provide significant biodiversity benefits.”
The restocking project is restoring Plantation on Ancient Woodland Sites (PAWS), with the type of trees being planted returning the woodlands and their associated flora back to native species. This includes using oak seeds collected from the Great Glen.
FLS says this new forest, once established, will have less need for extensive management interventions in future and be left largely alone to develop and expand through natural regeneration and provide the environmental benefits associated with constant tree cover.
The A82 project, which started in 2012, will take up to 25 years to complete. This is due to the size but also the complexity of the landscape and technical aspects of the project.
From conventional harvesting to Skylining and safety fencing, the techniques for this project will change depending on the site requirements.
Luke added: “The large scale, large tree size, steep slopes, difficult terrain and proximity to the road make forestry and engineering operations complex and expensive but necessary, to mitigate the potential risk to public safety, the costs and risks of emergency repairs and the significant disruption to the community and economy.
“The careful and detailed management of replacing the conifers is a critical and significant part of the A82 project. We want and need the new species to be resilient to changes in the climate decades from now so future hill slips and windblow are mitigated against and this iconic road and the people who use it are protected.”
