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4 articles
Trees can be felled and replanted within a generation, but the ground flora of a Scottish wood holds a longer memory. Here is a field guide to six plants that hint at continuity — and a careful account of what their presence, and their absence, can and cannot prove.
Lichens are quiet recorders of the air around them, turning bark into a visible register of pollution and woodland condition. This beginner’s guide explains how to read the common growth forms, recognise the species that favour clean air, and contribute useful records from a Scottish wood.
Counting trees is a start, but it is a poor measure of a woodland's health. These seven field clues help walkers and volunteers read a Scottish wood more like an ecologist, while recognising the limits of what any single sign can tell us.
Winter strips back the canopy and reveals the structure of Scotland's native woodlands. This practical guide profiles Scots pine, rowan, birch, hazel and aspen, with identification tips for bark, buds and silhouette.