Surging numbers of deers in Scotland are one of the biggest threats to the survival of vital temperate rainforests, a new report has found.
The study by Scottish Environment LINK said while deer are a natural part of the woodland ecosystem, if not managed properly they could be a “significant barrier” to its restoration.
Scotland’s globally important temperate rainforests are found on the west coast but have been in decline for centuries.
Deer numbers are at historic highs in Scotland.
And ScotLINK - a coalition of nature charities - said while the Scottish Government has boosted funding for deer management, much of this has been spent on deer fencing.
The group’s report warned this approach was “both expensive and often ultimately ineffective in the current way that fencing is implemented on the ground”.
The study, commissioned by Woodland Trust Scotland, said more needed to be done to reduce deer’s negative impact on the rainforest, including developing a “community approach” to deer stalking and supporting new technologies like thermal and drone surveying.
Duncan Orr-Ewing, Chair of Scottish Environment LINK’s Deer Group said: “Scotland’s rainforest has been rightly identified by the Scottish Government as one of the priority geographical areas of Scotland where deer numbers need to be reduced to sustainable population levels.
“In the coming years we need to see clear evidence of rainforest regeneration and expansion, thereby also helping to tackle the nature and climate emergency.”
Deborah Long, ScotLINK’s Chief Officer, said: “This report on the management of deer in Scotland’s rainforest shows the way forward in effective deer management and, if the proposed recommendations are heeded, has the potential to make a very positive impact on the restoration and survival of one of Scotland’s most important ecosystems.”
Woodland once covered large areas of the Scottish west coast, but much of this has been lost over the last two millennia - with now just 4.8 per cent of the land covered.
Factors contributing to the decline include mismanagement, overgrazing by deer and sheep and invasion by non-native species such as rhododendron ponticum.
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