Managing the Pinewoods of Scotland

Handbook

Our native pinewoods have long been treasured for their landscape and cultural values, as well as their contribution to the economy through timber production and recreational activities. Following decades of exploitation and degradation, recent management has concentrated primarily on the conservation of what remained of these ancient semi-natural woodlands.

The aims of this handbook are to promote the maintenance and expansion of our existing native pinewoods, encourage the integration with plantations within the pinewood zone, and support the creation of new native pinewoods.

The authors, drawn from the Native Pinewoods Managers’ Group and others knowledgeable about Scottish pinewoods, conclude that these aims are best achieved by focusing attention on the management of the pinewood ecosystem as a whole, rather than on individual species, since the future of the latter can be most readily assured if the ecosystem is in good health.

The Native Pinewood Managers’ Group

This was formed in 1991 to review the range of management objectives for the Scottish pinewoods, discuss management and monitoring techniques, and act as a source of advice and knowledge for new managers. The Group holds an annual field excursion, the reports of which are published in Scottish Forestry and the Native Woodland Discussion Group’s newsletter.