Title
Scottish dwarf shrub-rich pine forests (Pinus sylvestris), partly alternating with birch forests (Betula pendula, Betula pubescens), with Vaccinium vitis-idaea, Goodyera repens, Linnaea borealis
Geographical distribution
Country/territory
Great Britain: Scottish Highlands
area frequency
5 polygons.
Scientific names of main plant communities and their most common synonyms (with author citation)
W18 Pinus sylvestris- Hylocomium splendens woodland (Rodwell 1991).
Structural feature of the main community(ies) (layers, life-forms, etc.)
Indigenous Pinus sylvestris forests with a more or less closed canopy, up to 18 m high. In the understorey there are Betula spp. in places, and occasionally Sorbus aucuparia or Juniperus communis. Below this the low shrub layer (25-100 cm) consists of Ericaceae and the herb layer is constructed from grasses, herbs and moss carpets.
Dominant and most frequent species in different layers
Tree layer
Pinus sylvestris
Shrub layer
Betula pendula, Betula pubescens, Sorbus aucuparia, Juniperus communis
Herb layer
Calluna vulgaris, Vaccinium myrtillus, Vaccinium vitis-idaea, Empetrum nigrum, Deschampsia flexuosa
Moss layer (incl. lichens)
Hylocomium splendens, Pleurozium schreberi, Dicranum scoparium, Plagiothecium undulatum, Rhytidiadelphus loreus, Ptilium crista-castrensis
Diagnostically important species
Pinus sylvestris; Vaccinium vitis-idaea, Listera cordata, Goodyera repens, Pyrola minor, Pyrola media, Pyrola rotundifolia, Moneses uniflora, Orthilia secunda, Linnaea borealis
Ecological variants
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Geographical variants (geogr. differential species)
in the western formation type with Sphagnum capillifolium, Sphagnum quinquefarium, Scapania gracilis and Diplophyllum albicans; in the east a boreal formation type with Trientalis europaea and Rhytidiadelphus triquetrus.
Natural accompanying vegetation (most important units in complex with the name giving mapping unit, scientific names)
characteristic mosaic-like interdigitation with dry Vaccinium myrtillus or wet Ericion tetralicis heaths, locally with Betulion pubescentis, Salicion cinereae or, at lower altitudes, Alno-Ulmion forests.
Adjoining climax and permanent vegetation (with numbers of mapping units)
montane heaths (E4, E5), acidic-soil oak forests (F1, F2), dune vegetation (P5), salt vegetation (P18), blanket bogs (S6), raised bogs (S8).
Land use, substitute communities
forestry (substitute communities, plantations of economic tree-species, scrub)
often birch dominated secondary forests as well as oak and coniferous plantations.
grassland (meadows, pastures, herb-rich communities)
Vaccinium and Calluna dominated heaths after forest clearing and fire, especially where the soil quality has been decreased by severe podzolisation.
arable land (characteristic weed communities)
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settlements (typical ruderal vegetation)
No details
Site conditions of the mapping unit
Landscape type, geomorphology
specific "Caledonian pine forest" landscape: hilly terraces at the edges of river valleys in the Grampian mountains
Altitudinal belt and/or altitudinal range
colline to submontane; to 600 m
Geology (bedrock)
granites (Palaeozoic, Precambrian)
soil type, also the depth of fine textured earth (soil), stone content; (international nomenclature)
podzole and peat-podzole; (orthic and placic podzols)
soil texture
sandy, gravely with raw humus layer
soil moisture, water balance
well drained, but especially moist in the west, due to high precipitation
soil reaction
strongly acidic (pH 3,5-4,5)
soil fertility
oligotrophic, locally oligo-mesotrophic
Climate incl. local climate
climate type (following Walter & Lieth)
VI(VIII), VI5(VIII), X
average annual temperature
5-8 °C
average annual precipitation
1600-3000 mm (180-220 days of rain)
average temperature of the warmest month
13-15 °C
average temperature of the coldest month
-1 to 4 °C
local climate or other climatic peculiarities
Raw boreal climate in the east; stronger oceanically characterized in the west.
Importance for nature protection
Present state and development trend of natural vegetation (degree of endangerment)
Only fragments are preserved and regeneration occurs in certain locations.
endangered communities, species worthy of protection in natural vegetation
High significance for nature conservation due to the occurrence of rare species: Arctostaphylos uva-ursi, Goodyera repens, Linnaea borealis, Moneses uniflora, Orthilia secunda, Pyrola media, Pyrola rotundifolia, Mastigophora woodsii.
causes of endangerment
lacking regeneration, in part due to the absence of sporadic fires as a natural element of the ecological system and due to grazing by red deer.
required measures for protection and restitution
The Scottish pine forests were probably more diverse regarding the species assemblage of their tree layer in the past, i.e. a mixture of pine, birch and junipers.
Localities of representative stands (loci typici) with state of protection
of the natural vegetation
Great Britain: Abernethy, Glen Tanar, Rothiemurchus, Rannoch, Glen Affric.
of characteristic substitute communities worthy of protection
see under the heading 'Natural vegetation': juniper heaths and species-rich Vaccinium-heaths.
Most important references (author, year)
Birse 1980; Bunce 1977; McVean 1964; McVean & Ratcliffe 1962; Peterken 1981; Steven & Carlisle 1959; Tansley (Ed.) 1911
Compiled by
J.S. Rodwell
