Forest Management and Biodiversity

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C26 Cairngorms Forests hero — Wooded landscape, showing both commercial and remnant native woodland (Photo: Damian Shields, VisitScotland/CNPA).

Forest Management and Biodiversity Practice examplesC26 Cairngorms Forests

C26 Cairngorms Forests

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A rich heritage of native timber production

Statement spider C26 CairngormsNP

C26 Cairngorms Forests — Cairngorms National Park (sources: Esri, Airbus DS, USGS, NGA, NASA, CGIAR, N Robinson, NCEAS, NLS, OS, NMA, Geodatastyrelsen, Rijkswaterstaat, GSA, Geoland, FEMA, Intermap and the GIS user community; Sources: Esri, HERE, Garmin, FAO, NOAA, USGS, © OpenStreetMap contributors, and the GIS User Community)

General information on the Cairngorms National Park.

Total forest area	62 300 ha based on 2015 survey, but currently expanding by approximately 1000 ha annually
Main management types	Clear felling/restocking, Low Impact Silvicultural Systems, Continuous Cover Forestry, nature reserve
Total volume	12 126 000 m³ in 2015
Annual growth	No data
Annual cutting rate	No data
Deadwood	Unknown, but some woodlands are being managed to produce more for biodiversity objectives
Ownership	A complex mix of mainly private land, with some owned by the state and conservation NGOs
Climate	Varies with altitude and distance from the Atlantic, but average 6.5 °C mean annual temperature, 900 mm mean annual precipitation at lower altitudes.
Geology	Mainly Dalradian sedimentary rock and post-tectonic granitoid intrusions.
Soils	Podzols are the most representative soil group in the national park (around 50 %), and consist of iron and humus-iron podzols at lower elevations. Peaty podzols and peaty gleyed podzols occur further upslope (and typically have an iron pan). Other groups include montane soils, peats, rankers and gleys. Brown earth soils cover only 4 % of the park.
Protected area	National Park (IUCN category V). Includes 54,399 ha of National Nature Reserve, covering significant areas of Scots pine and birch forest, as well as mountain willow scrub.
Natura2000 area	In the national park there is a total of 106 300 ha of SAC. Designated woodland habitat types include: Caledonian Forest; Bog Woodland; Western Acidic Oak Woodland; Alder Woodland on Floodplains; Mountain Willow Scrub; and Juniper scrub; There is also 201 300 ha of SPA, with woodland-related qualifying species of capercaillie, Scottish crossbill, osprey and golden eagle.