The Scottish Native Woodland Survey
Why is the survey being done?Protecting and expanding native woodlands is important for Scotland - for nature conservation and heritage, and for sound economic reasons as well. To improve our understanding of this valuable resource, Forestry Commission Scotland is leading a field-based survey of all of Scotland’s native woodlands to identify their location, type and condition, and to assess the opportunities that exist for making the most of these woodlands. Scotland’s biodiversity is special in hosting a high proportion of the habitats and species that require the most protection. Fragmentation of native woodlands poses a serious threat to biological richness and the species that depend on them. Intense deer browsing, and invasive species such as rhododendron ponticum, have a very negative impact on native woodlands. An integrated approach to supporting land management, such as through rural development contracts, can help create appropriate landscape-scale habitat mosaics and networks. In addition, our forests and woods are becoming increasingly significant factors in key industries such as green tourism and recreation provision. There is great potential to utilise the native woodland resource to enjoy these activities, and there is widespread public support for more native woodland in the landscape. Doesn’t the Forestry Commission already have this information?No. This will be the most complete survey of its kind, identifying the location and types of all native woodlands in Scotland. Previous surveys have focussed on regions of Scotland, specific types of woodland, or woodlands at a larger scale, thus excluding some small but important native woodland habitats. Differences in the way that information was collected make it very difficult to compare the results. Who is doing the survey?Forestry Commission Scotland is undertaking the survey and will be using surveyors employed by Forest Research and consultancy firm RPS to do this. What impact will this have on my land?None. The surveyors will collect this information simply by walking around and through the woodlands. They will not disturb the ground and they will leave no signs of their presence in the woodlands. How will the information be used?The Forestry Commission and other public bodies will use the information gained from this exercise to inform the development of policies and incentives for owners to help manage these woodlands in the future. The information will be added to previous data and used to make a map-based record that can be easily updated and will be accessible to organisations and the public through our website. Can I get a report of the information?We plan to produce summary reports of the information collected but will not produce separate reports for every woodland. The data will be held in a geospatial data set based on electronic maps. Eventually, landowners will be able to access their data, or get an overview of all the data, on a website. When will the information be available?Although the data is currently being collected it will take some time before it can be presented or reported on. Regional reports will be produced once data is collected for the whole region. Since the data is being collected over five years from 2007 to 2012, the reports will not be available until towards the end of that period. In the interim some summary data will be made available from 2009 onwards, geospatially on a web browser. Where can I find out more about the survey?If you have any queries about the project, please contact the project manager, Dr Zoe Laird. Email: zoe.laird@forestry.gsi.gov.uk
Tel: 0131 314 6567
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