New network launched in Cairngorms to restore one of Scotland’s rarest native trees - Trees for Life

An initiative has been launched in the Cairngorms National Park to save and restore one of Scotland’s most important yet endangered native tree species.

The new partnership between Trees for Life and the Cairngorms National Park Authority, working with Cairngorms Aspen Group, aims to map, expand and connect aspen – an essential but now rare feature of the Caledonian forest.

Aspen provides a habitat for a wide range of rare fungi, lichens, mosses, moths – but although once common, it has now largely disappeared from Scotland’s landscapes. Experts believe aspen has suffered more from deforestation than any other native tree in Scotland.

The new Cairngorms Aspen Network is bringing together experts, enthusiasts, and land managers to take action to identify and then restore aspen-rich habitats, and so boost wildlife and threatened species. It will also raise awareness about the importance of aspen.

A healthy, functional aspen network will help build resilience against climate change and biodiversity loss, says the Network.

“The new aspen network will offer much-needed hope for tackling the nature and climate emergencies by developing a restored, better-connected and healthier aspen network. By working together, we can improve the future of our aspen woodlands and the life they bring with them,” said Niamh Byrne, Aspen Project Officer at rewilding charity Trees for Life.

Aspen has been hit especially hard by deforestation and overgrazing, largely because it rarely flowers or sets seeds in Scotland, for reasons that remain unclear. This means once it is lost from an area, aspen is unlikely to return on its own.

The tree’s survival is threatened in the Highlands, where it now often only regenerates on rocky slopes or cliffs, out of the reach of grazing animals. Such small fragmented stands – sometimes a handful of old trees growing off the same root system – are geographically isolated and cannot provide a proper habitat for the many species that depend on them.