First snow in Perthshire, November 2011

The importance of leaf litter

At this time of year the principle source of energy in many upland burns comes from leaves washed into the burn.

These aspen leaves will be processed in stages by a series of micro-organisms such as fungi & bacteria, followed by invertebrates such as the larvae of stoneflies & caddisflies which in turn
are preyed upon by larger animals including fish.

The rate of breakdown varies with different tree species with the leaves of some tree species such as bird cherry broken down within a few weeks whereas the leaves of other species such as oak may take several months to decay.

Most semi-natural woodlands produce a diverse leaf-litter and will therefore provide a continuous food supply throughout the autumn and winter to sustain a rich and productive aquatic ecosystem.

Tree planting at Star of Markinch Resevoir in Fife

Scottish Native Woods donated some aspen trees to this local community effort in Fife. Photos courtesy of Sue Band. Very well done Sue.

Deer protection

The resevoir at Star of Markinch

Glen Quoich at Mar Lodge

The winter sun.....

Big pines

Above the pinewoods

Four trees

Glen Quoich

Community Woodlands Conference

CWA organised another very successful conference at Boat of Garten last weekend. One of the site visits was to RSPB Abernethy, where delegates caught up with plans to naturalise areas of Scots pine plantation. The discussion was good, provoking some serious reflection among participants.


One of the themes we looked at was the creation of deadwood. The vast majority of the species which live in the Abernethy pinewoods depend on deadwood at some stage in their life. However Scottish pinewoods are short of deadwood. This picture includes one of the numerous wee patches of deadwood that are being created in this plantation.

An autumn path

Autumn light in the beeches

Beech is not a native toScotland and grows on and out-competes many native trees, as here on the ancient woodland and SSSI site.

Mist through the birches

Ash leaves hanging down

Planning for Winter

Before the leaves are fully off the trees it is important to check your new trees planted last winter to assess the numbers which have not survived and require replanting this coming winter. The ideal is to undertaken this assessment after the first season or summer in growth although it can be completed up to 3 summers following planting. However the longer you leave this assessment the more difficult it is to replant due to the coarse ground vegetation which can develop.

Any dead trees must be marked with a dot of spray paint and the total numbers counted. Make sure you place your order with the tree nursery early in the season to ensure you get the pick of the planting stock for this season.

Boat house in the wood

An unusual feature of this wood is a boathouse. Admittedly it's actually on the woodland edge, but it shows what can turn up when you're looking at woodland management. There's a proposal to turn this structure into a wee base and bird hide for the local Primary School to use.