A COALITION has been launched to save the remnants of Scotland’s native Caledonian pinewoods which form the “backbone” to many forests, but experts say are close to being “lost forever”.

Scotland’s Pinewood Conference 2024, held in Fort William last month, was the first of its kind in 30 years, with 160 experts from across the country attending.

At the summit landowners and woodland experts agreed to form a partnership to boost restoration efforts with the aim of bringing surviving pinewoods into good condition and doubling forests footprints by 2055.

Delegates signed a resolution which highlighted the global importance of the Caledonian pinewoods, calling for concerted cross-sector action to save them, and agreeing Scotland's first set of pinewood management principles.

The Caledonian forests, which once covered much of the Highland, now cover less than 2% of the area and survive only in small, isolated fragments, and in overall poor conditions.

Experts from the coalition said the forests are “culturally and historically” important woodlands which are a refuge for rare wildlife, from capercaillie and red squirrels to microscopic lichens and twinflowers.

Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs, Land Reform and Islands Mairi Gougeon (below), said the work to restore native pinewood will need to be a collaborative effort across multiple organisations.

She said, “The Scottish Government is committed to restoring and expanding Scotland’s precious pinewoods – they are a treasured and iconic natural asset.

“To date we have supported over 4000 hectares of Caledonian pinewood regeneration and over 8000 hectares of newly planted pinewood through the Forestry Grant Scheme. But of course more needs to be done.

“The work to expand and restore our native pinewoods is only possible through a vast collaborative effort by many organisations and individuals. I very much welcome the new Caledonian Pinewood Partnership and look forward to working with them to boost our native pinewoods.”

Charities including Trees for Life and Woodland Trust Scotland, and public agencies including Forestry and Land Scotland and NatureScot, have agreed to form the Caledonian Pinewood Partnership.

In the first major study into the health of Scottish pinewoods for 60 years, Trees for Life’s Caledonian Pinewood Recovery Project report warned that a quarter of the trees are critically threatened.

Some of the key threats highlighted in the report include high deer numbers, non-native conifers, lack of long-term management, and climate change.

There are only 84 native pinewood sites covering around 42,000 acres which are officially recognised on the Caledonian Pinewood Inventory.

Alastair Seaman, conference chair and Woodland Trust Scotland director said: “The message from the conference was clear – decisive, bold and landscape-scale action by charities, landowners and government working together is needed to save and restore Scotland’s Caledonian pinewoods, and there is no time to lose.”

Experts said the pinewoods are a diverse and rich natural habitat with a genetic lineage stretching back to the last ice age.

They added that native Scots pines form the “backbone” of these forest ecosystems on which many species depend.

This story originally appeared in our sister title, the National.