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August 22, 2004
From Ben Ledi to carbon sequestration
Last weekend we climbed Ben Ledi, a hill with great views, in the Trossachs. The slopes belong to the Forestry Commission Scotland's Queen Elizabeth Park and are forested to a height of about 300 to 400 metres (above sea level) largely with conifers, presumably Sitka Spruce. They are apparently still planting blocks of single species and 'clear cutting' large swathes across the hillsides when the trees mature.
According to Reforesting Scotland reforestingscotland.gn.apc.org/ 98 percent of Scotland's native woodland has been lost. Plans to restore it seem to be limited, the largest project that I know of is the Woodland Trust's Glen Finglas www.glen-finglas.info/ involving about 4,000 hectares.
Emphasis elsewhere seems to be on protecting the native species forests that still exist, including remnants of the ancient Caledonian forest in places like Glen Affric and Rothiemurchus www.rothiemurchus.net/ . These areas are extraordinary - the most beautiful woodlands I have seen outside the tropics - but they are limited in extent. In May we were in Glen Affric and adjacent Glen Cannich, and found the latter almost entirely bare of trees.
Curiously, the pro-native woodland groups like Reforesting Scotland and the Woodland Trust, while stressing ecology, bio-diversity and (quite properly) tourism, do not mention carbon sequestration.
Climate change is probably our greatest (political and any other) challenge. We may still have an imperfect knowledge of the processes involved, but global warming is accelerating alarmingly and we have to act. Reducing emissions is important, but so is removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, either by sinking it in the oceans, or by pumping it underground, or by absorbing it into the terrestrial biosphere, the land.
The denuded hills (not to mention the disused coal mines and emptying oil fields) of Scotland are of international significance. Are there any other places in Europe with such large areas of non-urban, non-agricultural, reforestable land?
Does the SNP have a policy on reforestation? I searched the SNP website and could not find one mention of carbon sequestration.
Disclaimer: All this is well outside my areas of expertise and I welcome corrections and comments!
Posted by Simon Holledge at August 22, 2004 10:00 AM