Celtic Rainforest

Celtic rainforest is a colloquial term which refers to the temperate rainforest of Great Britain and Ireland. These woodlands are also variously referred to as Atlantic rainforest, Upland Oakwoods, Atlantic Oakwoods or Western Oakwoods. Today, the Celtic rainforests exist as small fragments of the temperate rainforest that once covered much of Ireland and the west coast of Great Britain. The majority of these fragments occur on steep-sided slopes above rivers and lakes which have avoided clearance and intensive grazing pressure. There are notable examples in Ireland especially along its western coast, including the Beara Rainforest in West Cork, the Great Forest of Aughty in Clare and Galway, Oldhead Wood in Mayo and Ardnamona Wood and Glenveagh in Donegal. In Scotland, rainforest exists on the islands and shores of Loch Maree, Loch Sunart, Loch Lomond, and one of the best preserved sites on the remote Taynish Peninsula in Argyll. In Wales, they occur on steep-sided riverine gorges in Snowdonia and Mid Wales. In England, there are examples in the Lake District (Borrowdale Woods), and steep-sided riverine and estuarine valleys in South West England, including the Fowey valley in Cornwall, and the valley of the river Dart which flows off Dartmoor, and has rainfall in excess of 2 metres per year.UK Government Met Office
''South-west England Rainfall''. Retrieved 9 September 2008.

Physical conditions

Small annual temperature variation, high humidity, and high levels of annual precipitation makes Celtic Rainforest an important habitat for numerous common and rare species of mosses, liverworts, and lichens.Important habitats for lichens, The Celtic rain forest, Scottish Natural Heritage online

Atlantic Hazelwoods: the case for conservation of a newly-recognised woodland type, Scottish Natural heritage Scientific Advisory Committee, 3-20-2014

Atlantic hazel: Scotland’s special woodlands, A. M. Coppins, B. J. Coppins, Atlantic Hazel Action Group: Kilmartin, UK, 2012 The Scottish Natural History Scientific Advisory Committee writes, "the whole area is a lichenologists’ Mecca". There is an exceptional number of epiphytic plants (plants growing on or hanging from trees without being parasitic). The ground is covered with a deep blanketing of mosses and liverworts, which rise up the trunks of the trees onto the horizontal branches and up into the canopy.

Evolutionary history

Ecology

Biodiversity and taxa

Flora

Trees

The Celtic Rainforest is dominated by sessile oak (''Quercus petraea''), downy birch (''Betula pubescens'') and European ash (''Fraxinus excelsior''). Other trees include pedunculate oaks, hazel, elm, cherry, and various willows.

Understory flora

Liverworts and mosses

Lichens

Rare lichen communities are found using the mosses as a substrate, and add a wealth of colour to the understory. Lichens of genera ''Pannaria'', ''Parmeliella'', and ''Degelia'' add a lead-grey color; lichens of the genus ''Sticta'' are very dark; the fruit of jelly lichens (''Biatora sphaeroides'') are pink; those of ''Dimerella lutea'' are bright yellow; and those of dog lichen in the genus ''Peltigera'' make chestnut coloured fruits in the shape of shields. The weight of the lichens using mosses as a substrate gradually causes the moss carpeting to peel off the trees, where heaps of rare lichens can be found on the ground. Lungworts are lichens in the genus ''Lobaria'', four species of which can grow up to 30 centimetres or more across.

The more alkaline bark of ash and hazel favour the growth of specklebelly lichens (''Pseudocyphellaria spp.''). In the grazed birch woodland on higher ground, the bark has a high acidity due to leaching by the high rainfall. This area is dominated by silvery-grey leafy species of lichens that grow directly on the tree bark, not on mosses.

'' Pyrenula hibernica'' is restricted to temperate rainforest environments such as the Celtic rainforests and often grows on hazel trees.

Fauna

Historic human use, conservation, and preservation

Historically, these woodlands were coppiced, with the wood being used for charcoal, tanning, and bobbin-making; these practices ended in the mid-1800s. Today, the remaining fragments of Celtic rainforest are protected for conservation and research.
Since the 20th century, conservation efforts have resulted in the protection and management of many of these woodlands, to address problems such as invasive ''Rhododendron'', excessive grazing from sheep and deer, and non-native plantation trees.Bain C. (2015). ''The Rainforests of Britain and Ireland - A Traveller's Guide''. Sandstone Press, Dingwall

See also

*List of ecoregions in Europe
* Celtic rainforests in Wales

References

{{reflist
*Coppins & Coppins, 2012

Temperate broadleaf and mixed forests
Ecoregions of the United Kingdom
Forests and woodlands of Scotland
Biota of Scotland
Biota of Ireland
Biota of Wales
Forests and woodlands of Ireland
Forests and woodlands of Wales