NATIVE PINE WOODLANDS (UK BAP PRIORITY
HABITAT)
Summary
This is woodland with a canopy dominated by native Scots pine Pinus sylvestris. Other trees
and shrubs can occur, especially silver birch Betula pendula, downy birch Betula pubescens,
rowan Sorbus aucuparia, aspen Populus tremula, grey willow Salix cinerea, eared willow
Salix aurita and juniper Juniperus communis, and these tend to be more frequent in western
pine woods. The ground vegetation is typically heathy, although some examples have a
grassy or moss-dominated field layer. Bryophytes are generally abundant, but some
examples around the Moray Firth are less mossy and have a ground layer made up of a
carpet of Cladonia lichens.
This priority habitat occupies well-drained to quite wet acid soils and occurs in association
with other habitats including birch woodland, wet woodland, heaths both wet and dry, bogs,
bracken, grasslands, cliffs and screes. It is restricted to that part of the Scottish Highlands in
which Pinus sylvestris occurs as a native species.
Good management for conservation in this habitat generally aims towards maintaining a
good diversity of species, sizes and age classes of trees and shrubs, encouraging diversity
in the structure and species composition of the ground vegetation, maintaining rich
bryophyte and lichen assemblages on rocks and trees especially in the west, maintaining
good quantities of standing and fallen dead wood, and controlling the extent and spread of
non-native trees and shrubs, especially Rhododendron ponticum.
What is it?
This woodland has a canopy dominated by native Scots pine Pinus sylvestris, with other tree
and shrub species often occurring.
The ground vegetation reflects the acidic nature of the soils, and typically contains an
abundance of ling Calluna vulgaris and/or bilberry Vaccinium myrtillus. Other dwarf shrubs
can occur: bell heather Erica cinerea on drier ground, cross-leaved heath E. tetralix on
damper ground, and cowberry V. vitis-idaea. Some examples have a more grassy field layer
including much common bent Agrostis capillaris, sweet vernal grass Anthoxanthum
odoratum and, where wetter, purple moor-grass Molinia caerulea. Bryophytes are generally
abundant, forming extensive deep carpets and hummocks. The commonest species are
typically the mosses Hylocomium splendens, Pleurozium schreberi, Rhytidiadelphus loreus,
R. triquetrus, Pseudoscleropodium purum, Hypnum jutlandicum, Plagiothecium undulatum
and Ptilium cristacastrensis. The damper examples, whether heathy or with abundant
Molinia, can have much Sphagnum capillifolium, S. quinquefarium, S. fallax and Polytrichum
commune among these moss carpets.
Some Native pine woodlands in the east, around the Moray Firth, have a ground layer which
is not mossy but is made up of carpets of lichens of the genus Cladonia. These woods do
not fit into the W18 community and are not described in the NVC.
Pine bark flakes off readily, and although this limits the longevity of epiphytes pines can have
interesting epiphytic bryophyte and lichen floras. Associated tree and shrub species can
also be rich in epiphytes, both in terms of their abundance and diversity.
How do I recognise it?
Differentiation from other Priority Habitats
This priority habitat is distinguished from all others by the abundance of native Scots pine
Pinus sylvestris. The ground vegetation of this priority habitat can resemble that found also
in the Upland oakwood and Upland birchwoods priority habitats and some examples of the
Wet woodland priority habitat, but none of these three priority habitats has a canopy of
native pine.
Definition in relation to other habitat classifications
Classification
Habitat types belonging to this UK BAP priority habitat
W18 (all examples)
NVC
(This NVC community is included in the Scottish Biodiversity
List.)
A1: examples of W18 and Pinus-Cladonia woodland with >30%
canopy cover
Phase 1
A2: scrub forms of W18 and Pinus-Cladonia woodland
A3: examples of W18 and Pinus-Cladonia woodland with <30%
canopy cover
UK BAP broad
habitat
A4: recently felled W18 and Pinus-Cladonia woodland
All examples of this priority habitat belong to the broad habitat Coniferous woodland
Definition in relation to legislative classifications
Classification
Habitat types belonging to this UK BAP priority habitat
Habitats
Directive Annex I
H91C0 (all occurrences).
H91D0
SNH SSSI
habitat features
All examples of the Native pine woodlands priority habitat belong
within the Native pinewood SSSI feature type.
Where is it?
Most of this priority habitat is on level to steeply sloping ground with dry to damp acidic soils.
Many examples are patches of pinewood among open heath of the Upland heathland priority
habitat and bog of the Blanket bog priority habitat. However the woodland can also occur
among areas of cliff or scree of the Inland rock outcrop and scree priority habitat, bracken
and acid grassland, or with other woodland types in the Upland oakwood, Upland
birchwoods and Wet woodland priority habitats. It may also be found as patches amongst
non-native conifer plantations. The altitudinal range is from sea level to over 600 m.
This priority habitat is restricted to that part of the Scottish Highlands in which Pinus
sylvestris occurs as a native species. It is most extensive in Speyside, Deeside, Glen Affric
and Glen Strathfarrar but also occurs north to Wester Ross and eastern Sutherland, and
south to Argyll and Perthshire. It is estimated that about 4000 years ago this habitat covered
about 1.5 million ha, but its total extent now is about 16000 ha (UK BAP 2008).
What is special about it?
Some species of special conservation status recorded in this priority habitat are listed below.
Com mon
nam e
Latin nam e
ruby-tailed
w asp
Chrysura hirsuta
narrow headed ant
Formica exsecta
shining guest
ant
Formicoxenus
nitidulus
Osmia uncinata
Anthus trivialis
Caprimulgus
europaeus
Cuculus canorus
Jynx torquilla
birds
a mason bee
tree pipit
European
nightjar
cuckoo
w ryneck
Scottish
crossbill
spotted
flycatcher
birds
birds
birds
black grouse
capercaillie
song thrush
Group
bees,
w asps and
ants
bees,
w asps and
ants
bees,
w asps and
ants
bees,
w asps and
ants
birds
birds
birds
birds
birds
Loxia scotica
Muscicapa striata
Tetrao tetrix subsp.
britannicus
Tetrao urogallus
Turdus philomelos
UK BAP
priority
list
EC
Habitats
Directive
Annex II
Scottish
Biodiversity
List
Red
Data
List
y
y
y
y
y
y
y
y
y
y
y
y
y
y
y
y
y
y
y
y
y
y
y
y
y
y
y
y
y
y
y
y
y
y
Wildlife
and
Countryside Act
(1981)
y
Group
Com mon
nam e
crested tit
pine hoverfly
Strathspey
clusiid fly
Latin nam e
Lophophanes
cristatus
Blera fallax
Clusiodes
geomyzinus
juniper
Juniperus communis
Linnaea borealis
fungi
tw inflower
one-flowered
w intergreen
yellow bird`snest
a tooth fungus
black
falsebolete
lilac domecap
purple
spindles
fungi
fungi
a tooth fungus
a tooth fungus
birds
flies
flies
flow ering
plants
flow ering
plants
flow ering
plants
flow ering
plants
fungi
fungi
fungi
fungi
a tooth fungus
fungi
fungi
a tooth fungus
a tooth fungus
fungi
fungi
fungi
fungi
fungi
fungi
fungi
fungi
fungi
fungi
fungi
fungi
lichens
lichens
lichens
lichens
lichens
lichens
mammals
mammals
mammals
mammals
mammals
mosses
mosses
mosses
moths
reptiles
reptiles
a tooth fungus
a tooth fungus
black tooth
a tooth fungus
conifer
scalycap
medusa
brittlestem
a tooth fungus
a tooth fungus
scaly tooth
conifer
roundhead
giant knight
robust knight
a lichen
forked hairlichen
a lichen
stump lichen
matt felt lichen
a lichen
w ildcat
pine marten
soprano
pipistrelle
brow n longeared bat
red squirrel
green shieldmoss
rusty forkmoss
aspen bristlemoss
cousin
german
slow -worm
adder
Moneses uniflora
Monotropa hypopitys
Bankera fuligineoalba
Boletopsis perplexa
Calocybe onychina
Clavaria purpurea
Hydnellum
aurantiacum
Hydnellum caeruleum
Hydnellum
concrescens
Hydnellum
ferrugineum
Hydnellum peckii
Hydnellum
scrobiculatum
Phellodon melaleucus
Phellodon niger
Phellodon tomentosus
Pholiota astragalina
Psathyrella caputmedusae
Sarcodon glaucopus
Sarcodon scabrosus
Sarcodon squamosus
Stropharia
hornemannii
Tricholoma colossus
Tricholoma robustum
Arthothelium
dictyosporum
Bryoria furcellata
Buellia violaceofusca
Cladonia botrytes
Peltigera malacea
Vulpicida pinastri
Felis silvestris
Martes martes
Pipistrellus pygmaeus
Plecotus auritus
Sciurus vulgaris
Buxbaumia viridis
Dicranum spurium
Orthotrichum
gymnostomum
Protolampra sobrina
Anguis fragilis
Vipera berus
UK BAP
priority
list
EC
Habitats
Directive
Annex II
Scottish
Biodiversity
List
Red
Data
List
Wildlife
and
Countryside Act
(1981)
y
y
y
y
y
y
y
y
y
y
y
y
y
y
y
y
y
y
y
y
y
y
y
y
y
y
y
y
y
y
y
y
y
y
y
y
y
y
y
y
y
y
y
y
y
y
y
y
y
y
y
y
y
y
y
y
y
y
y
y
y
y
y
y
y
y
y
y
y
y
y
y
y
y
y
y
y
y
y
y
y
y
y
y
y
y
y
y
y
y
y
y
y
y
y
y
y
y
y
y
y
y
y
y
y
y
y
y
y
y
y
Group
reptiles
spiders
spiders
spiders
Com mon
nam e
common lizard
a moneyspider
a crab spider
a moneyspider
Latin nam e
Zootoca vivipara
Monocephalus
castaneipes
Philodromus
margaritatus
Saaristoa firma
UK BAP
priority
list
y
EC
Habitats
Directive
Annex II
Scottish
Biodiversity
List
y
y
y
y
y
y
y
Red
Data
List
Wildlife
and
Countryside Act
(1981)
y
How do we manage it?
Good management for conservation should aim towards the following:

Encourage regeneration to ensure a continued canopy and diversity of size classes,
age classes and (where other tree and shrub species occur with pine) species of
trees and shrubs
If felling or thinning takes place this should ideally not reduce the variation in species,
sizes and age classes of trees and shrubs. In many woods natural regeneration can
be encouraged, generally by at least a temporary reduction or removal of grazing, as
a means of increasing the numbers of young trees, thereby helping to maintain the
woodland in the long term. It should be noted that sometimes commercially managed
native pinewoods can be in better condition than those not seen to have commercial
value, and indeed there are several SSSI/SAC examples of this. Rowan, and birch
regeneration often develops quickly and abundantly. Oak and hazel can occur in
western pinewoods but they are not common. The benefits of management for
natural regeneration should of course be balanced against any possible detrimental
effects. An increased height and density of ground vegetation can lead to reductions
in populations of insects and small plants. A very dense tree/shrub canopy can
outshade light-demanding species such as many lichens. It can be good to keep
some glades open, to provide general habitat diversity and because glades can be
important for groups such as insects, birds and, on trees at edges of glades, lichens.
Enclosing woodlands to encourage regeneration can lead to dense thicket
regeneration. However it may be the only option available to allow regeneration to
take place effectively and retain woodland at a site. In this habitat it would be
preferable to keep herbivore populations low enough to allow tree regeneration, but
still have some browsing. However this solution may not often be possible.

Encouraging diversity in the structure and species composition of the ground
vegetation
If grazing is only light to moderate this can allow some tree and shrub regeneration to
take place and also allow the heathy ground vegetation to be maintained as such
instead of becoming more grassy as a result of overgrazing.

Maintaining rich assemblages of bryophytes and lichens, especially in the west
To a large extent this means maintaining shaded conditions so that shade- and
humidity-demanding bryophytes and lichens, including many uncommon species, do
not suffer from too much exposure to sunlight and wind. However, this also means
guarding against overshading because many of these species are intolerant of heavy
shade. Where felling or thinning is planned in western woods it is best to assess the
richness of the trees and shrubs concerned, and that of nearby rocks, heather stems
and ground, and to carry out the planned management only where these bryophyte
and lichen floras are not especially rich or do not include species of special interest.

Maintaining good quantities of standing and fallen dead wood
Dead wood is best left in the woodland because it is an important habitat for birds,
insects and, on fallen rotting logs and stumps, bryophytes and lichens, including
rarities from all of these groups. Fallen dead wood also helps to provide variety in
habitat structure on the ground, and the additional shade and shelter close to fallen
timber helps to maintain the humid conditions needed by some woodland species.

Controlling the extent and spread of non-native trees and shrubs
Non-native tree and shrub species, especially conifers and rhododendron, can occur
in this habitat as a result of deliberate under- or inter-planting, or by seeding in from
nearby sources. They have the potential to cause unnaturally heavy shade and
thereby impoverish the native pinewood ecosystem, so control of these species is
desirable in order to prevent ecological losses. Rhododendron ponticum can be a
particularly serious threat to internationally important bryophyte, lichen and fern
floras, especially in the west, though it is less common in native pinewoods than in
western oak and birch woodland. However, it can invade native pinewoods, and
where it does it should be removed from such places.
References, links and further reading
Averis, A., Averis, B., Birks, J., Horsfield, D., Thompson, D., & Yeo, M. 2004. An Illustrated
Guide to British Upland Vegetation. Peterborough, JNCC http://jncc.defra.gov.uk/page-2463
Ellis, N.E. and Munro, K. 2004. A preliminary review of the distribution and extent of
BAP priority habitats across Scotland. Scottish Natural Heritage Commissioned Report
No.044 (ROAME No. F00NA02).
http://www.snh.org.uk/pdfs/publications/commissioned_reports/F00NA02.pdf
Forestry Commission. 2003. The management of semi-natural woodlands. Practice Guide
series of seven booklets (one for each woodland UK BAP priority habitat). Edinburgh,
Forestry Commission.
Mason, W.L. 2004. Managing the pinewoods of Scotland. Forestry Commission
management handbook. http://www.forestry.gov.uk/fr/INFD-659CE9
Rodwell, J.S., ed. 1991a British plant communities Volume 1: Woodlands and scrub.
Cambridge, Cambridge University Press
Rodwell, J.S., Dring, J.C., Averis, A.B.G., Proctor, M.C.F., Malloch, A.J.C., Schaminee,
J.H.J. & Dargie, T.C.D. 1998. Review of coverage of the National Vegetation Classification.
Joint Nature Conservation Committee contract report F76-01-170. Coordinated by the Unit of
Vegetation Science, Lancaster University.
UK BAP 2008. http://jncc.defra.gov.uk/pdf/UKBAP_BAPHabitats-38NativePineWoodlands.pdf
Usher, M.B., Bain, C. and Kerr, A. eds. 2000. Action for Scotland's Biodiversity. Scottish
Biodiversity Group. Edinburgh, The Scottish Executive and The Stationery Office.
Common Standards Monitoring guidance http://www.jncc.gov.uk/page-2199
National Biodiversity Network (NBN) Gateway https://data.nbn.org.uk/
Scottish Natural Heritage website: http://www.snh.gov.uk/
UKBAP information on JNCC website: http://jncc.defra.gov.uk/default.aspx?page=5155