Atlantic hazelwood is

hazel Hazels are plants of the genus ''Corylus'' of deciduous trees and large shrubs native to the temperate Northern Hemisphere. The genus is usually placed in the birch family, Betulaceae,Germplasmgobills Information Network''Corylus''Rushforth, K ...

(''Corylus avellana'') dominated

temperate rainforest Temperate rainforests are rainforests with coniferous or Broad-leaved tree, broadleaf forests that occur in the temperate zone and receive heavy rain. Temperate rainforests occur in oceanic moist regions around the world: the Pacific temperate ...

that occurs on the hyperoceanic western fringe of

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

, in particular on the west coasts of

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

and

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

. It is considered to be a type of

climax Climax may refer to: Language arts * Climax (narrative), the point of highest tension in a narrative work * Climax (rhetoric), a figure of speech that lists items in order of importance Biology * Climax community, a biological community th ...

scrub. It occurs in exposed, coastal situations where thin soils and strong winds prevent the establishment of trees.

Historical management

Although the Atlantic hazelwoods would historically have been exploited by people, it is thought that the exploitation was limited to seasonal sheltered grazing of livestock and the selective cutting of hazel poles, with

clearcut Clearcutting, clearfelling or clearcut logging is a forestry/logging practice in which most or all trees in an area are uniformly cut down. Along with shelterwood and seed tree harvests, it is used by foresters to create certain types of fore ...

coppicing Coppicing is the traditional method in woodland management of cutting down a tree to a tree stump, stump, which in many species encourages new Shoot (botany), shoots to grow from the stump or roots, thus ultimately regrowing the tree. A forest ...

believed to be a very marginal activity.

Epiphyte communities

The long ecological continuity of the Atlantic hazelwoods due to their lack of clearcut coppicing, together with the hyperoceanic climate under which they occur and low levels of

atmospheric pollution Air pollution is the presence of substances in the air that are harmful to humans, other living beings or the environment. Pollutants can be gases like ozone or nitrogen oxides or small particles like soot and dust. It affects both outdoor air ...

, results in luxuriant growth of

epiphytic An epiphyte is a plant or plant-like organism that grows on the surface of another plant and derives its moisture and nutrients from the air, rain, water (in marine environments) or from debris accumulating around it. The plants on which epiphyt ...

lichens A lichen ( , ) is a hybrid colony (biology), colony of algae or cyanobacteria living symbiotically among hypha, filaments of multiple fungus species, along with yeasts and bacteria embedded in the cortex or "skin", in a mutualism (biology), m ...

and

bryophytes Bryophytes () are a group of land plants ( embryophytes), sometimes treated as a taxonomic division referred to as Bryophyta '' sensu lato'', that contains three groups of non-vascular land plants: the liverworts, hornworts, and mosses. In t ...

. Two discrete communities of lichens grow on Atlantic hazel. Young, smooth-barked hazel stems are colonised by crustose lichens of the Graphidion, including the very rare '' Graphis alboscripta''. '' Pyrenula hibernica'' is strongly associated with Atlantic hazel. Old, rough-barked stems are colonised by leafy lichens of the Lobarion; a community that is very rare and declining in Europe. Atlantic hazelwood is also the habitat of the rare fungus hazel gloves (''Hypocreopsis rhododendri'').

Distrubution

It is found exclusively along the west coasts of Scotland, Ireland, and some other western coastal areas of the rest of Europe. The most notable location is Ballachuan Hazelwood, a

Scottish Wildlife Trust The Scottish Wildlife Trust () is a registered charity dedicated to conserving the wildlife and natural environment of Scotland. Description The Scottish Wildlife Trust has well over 46,000 members. The Scottish Wildlife Trust acquired its fi ...

reserve and one of the best examples of this habitat.

References

External links

{{Portal, Trees
Scottish Natural Heritage: Atlantic Hazel.

Atlantic Hazel Action Group
Trees