Native woodlands of the Inner Hebrides

Abstract

SynopsisWoodland is native throughout the Inner Hebrides at low elevations wherever exposure and soil conditions permit. Although mostly destroyed in the distant past, sufficient remnants remain to characterise Hebridean woods and provide a basis for their study and conservation. Surveys have revealed that the types represented are those dominated by wych-elm, ash, oak, birch, hazel, alder and sallows. All but the smallest and most exposed islands have remnant woodlands but the widest variety of types and the most demanding species occur on the larger islands of Mull and Skye. The woodland flora is rich in oceanic species and poor in continental, boreal plants characteristic of the mainland pine–birch woodlands, although Scots pine probably once occurred sparsely in the primaeval woodland.The most powerful factor influencing between-site variation in the woodland flora is geology, with wychelm, ash and hazel associated with soils on Durness limestone, Mezozoic rocks and basalts, and oak and birch characteristic of the Torridonian sandstones, acid Moine rocks, Lewisian gneiss and granites. There is little active conservation; the most pressing need is protection from grazing and fire to ensure long-term survival.