SCANNET

Contact details

Centre for Ecology and Hydrology (CEH)
Bush Estate
Penicuik, Edinburgh, Midlothian
EH26 0QB
Scotland
Phone +44 131 4458578
Fax +44 131 445 3943
E-mail

Location

The site is a west facing granite catchment in the Cairngorms Mountains (57º 07' N, 3º 49' W), rising from about 350 m through the tree line at 700 m to the highest summit at 1100 m. The catchment area is 10 km2. The site has virtually no natural tree line due to past overgrazing but is now being extensively colonized by Pinus sylvestris.

Climate

Mean temperature in January: 1º C
Mean temperature in July: 12º C
Mean annual precipitation: 1100 mm
Mean windspeed: 5 m/sec

Biodiversity

Wide range of ecosystems from pine forest at low altitude, through bog communities on ground with impeded drainage to moss heaths and fellfield on the highest ground.

Human Dimensions

Site is a National Nature reserve used also by small numbers of walkers and for research projects. Previously used as a hunting estate for red deer and red grouse.

Species Performance

Records and models of tree colonisation. Ongoing monitoring of various invertebrate vertebrate and plant indicators of environmental change (1997- present)

General Research

Includes both terrestrial and freshwater environmental monitoring as part of the UK Environmental Change Network (ECN) and also as part of the GLORIA programme examining temperature effects on vegetation across alpine Europe. The Cairngorms is at the interface between increasing winter precipitation from the west and decreasing summer rainfall from the east. The Site has been the subject of intensive hydrological and snow related research for about twenty years. The Cairngorms area has been used for many land use change and tourism impact studies over thirty years.

Existing Data Bases

Data are held on climate, hydrology, soils, vegetation, recreation impacts, tree colonisation, land use change and remote sensing.

History and Facilities

From the middle of the nineteenth century the site was mainly used as deer forest, as part of a large sporting estate in private ownership (Invereshie Estate). It became part of the Cairngorms National Nature Reserve in 1954 and a section was ring fenced against deer in 1972. Since 1976 there has been a policy of reducing deer numbers to a level that permits tree regeneration. This change of land use is important in that it is representative of increasingly large tracts of land in Scotland where grazing levels are being reduced to permit natural regeneration of woodland. There is no plantation forest within the catchment but much of the adjacent ground has been planted in the last few decades. Within the catchment, the forest remnants appear to be native stands, and large gaps in the cover of mature trees correspond to areas that were clear felled earlier this century. The pines are mainly between 160-200 years old and might have colonized the area after a previous clearance of timber. There was extensive tree clearance in the Spey Valley between 1780-1820, although it is not known for certain that this site was affected.

The CEH Banchory Research Station is situated about 2 hours drive from the site. It has been undertaking ecological research in the area since the early 1960s. Accomodation for a small number of visitors is available at the station and there are local hotels and guest houses.

Transportation

The research site is close to Aviemore, which has good rail and bus services to Edinburgh and Inverness. CEH Banchory is half an hour by road from Aberdeen airport and railway station and is two miles from the village of Banchory.