Wildlife in Scotland's Rainforest

Scotland’s rainforest is made up of the native woodlands found on our west coast in the ‘hyper-oceanic’ zone. Here, high levels of rainfall and relatively mild, year-round temperatures provide just the right conditions for some of the world’s rarest bryophytes and lichens. But Scotland’s rainforest is in trouble. As little as 30,000 hectares remain – a mere 2% of Scotland’s woodland cover and only a fraction of the area that has climatic conditions suitable for rainforest.

RSPB took over ownership and management of one of the best remaining areas of this habitat, Glencripesdale, in 2022. This new reserve is a very remote and special place – there is no road access and reaching it requires a 4-mile walk from the closest public car park. With minimal existing data on the site’s wildlife, it is crucial to establish a robust baseline from which to measure change over time as management and restoration progresses. To this end, RSPB and researchers from SRUC are carrying out a range of monitoring including through camera trapping, acoustic monitoring, eDNA analysis and a range of other approaches.

This project forms a case study in generating decision-grade data on biodiversity at Glencripesdale. It is a partnership between the reserve’s owners, RSPB, and researchers from SRUC which aims to enable a mechanism for private and philanthropic finance to assist with habitat restoration.

Want to know more? Then watch this video for scenes from Glencripesdale and discussion with the reserve staff and researchers involved.