A leading wildlife charity is calling for more protection for the unique community of plants found on the Scottish mountains. Plantlife Scotland says that many of these rare species are in decline due to factors including climate change and unsuitable land management, and is asking walkers to contribute to their survival by taking part in annual plant surveys.
Plantlife says that from the upland mires and springs where plants like starry saxifrage grow to the alpine plateaux of the Cairngorms where mosses and liverworts carpet the ground, these arctic-alpine communities have adapted to survive the harshest of living conditions. These plant communities have existed here for thousands of years, and owe their existence to the combined natural effects of climate, aspect and soil chemistry rather than to any land management.
Many of the species that live here, such as Sibbaldia, moss campion, mountain azalea are rare, fragile and slow-growing. They are robust enough to survive the harsh conditions, which at the same time, keeps down competition from quicker growing plants that thrive at lower altitudes. The main risk factors that Plantlife has identified are:
– Muirburn, where heather is burnt to promote new growth. Plantlife says that this should never be done at high altitudes.
– Grazing – although the plants are adapted for grazing, heavy grazing creates too much bare ground, which these slow growing species cannot fill. This leads to erosion, which at high altitudes can be severe and exacerbated by low temperatures and high rainfall.
– Climate change – as the weather becomes less predictable, with drier spells and warmer winters, these plants have no where left to grow. They are already at the tops of our mountains.
– Atmospheric pollution – surprisingly, pollution can still reach our mountain tops. Nitrogen from car fumes drifts high above the glens and is a particular problem in Spring, when the snow melts with an influx of nitrogen into mountain soils and water systems.
Deborah Long, Head of Plantlife Scotland, says “These high-altitude Scottish specialist plants are part of our mountain heritage. With climate change, they need, more than ever, the sort of land management that creates and maintains a habitat where they can survive and thrive – What they actually need most is a kind of benign neglect, where there is no burning and a bit of grazing.”
Hillwalkers can also help by taking part in the National Plant Monitoring Survey next year and by visiting a mountain area every year to keep track of how mountain species like blaeberry, ling cowberry and mossy saxifrage are doing. Further information can be found at Plantlife’s website.