Celtic Rainforest is a colloquial term which refers to the

temperate rainforest Temperate rainforests are coniferous or broadleaf forests that occur in the temperate zone and receive heavy rain. Temperate rain forests occur in oceanic moist regions around the world: the Pacific temperate rain forests of North American ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

and

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It i ...

. These woodlands are also variously referred to as Atlantic rainforest, Upland Oakwoods, Atlantic Oakwoods or Western Oakwoods. Today, the Celtic Rainforest exists as small fragments of the temperate rainforest that once covered much of Ireland and the west coast of

. The majority of these fragments occur on steep-sided slopes above rivers and lakes which have avoided clearance and intensive grazing pressure. There are notable examples in

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

on the islands and shores of

Loch Maree Loch Maree ( gd, Loch Ma-ruibhe) is a loch in Wester Ross in the Northwest Highlands of Scotland. At long and with a maximum width of , it is the fourth-largest freshwater loch in Scotland; it is the largest north of Loch Ness. Its surface a ...

Loch Sunart Loch Sunart (Scottish Gaelic ) is a sea loch on the west coast of Scotland. Loch Sunart is bounded to the north by the Sunart district of Ardnamurchan and to the south by the Morvern district. At long, it is the longest sea loch in the Highlan ...

Loch Lomond Loch Lomond (; gd, Loch Laomainn - 'Lake of the Elms'Richens, R. J. (1984) ''Elm'', Cambridge University Press.) is a freshwater Scottish loch which crosses the Highland Boundary Fault, often considered the boundary between the lowlands of C ...

, and one of the best preserved sites on the remote Taynish Peninsula in

Argyll Argyll (; archaically Argyle, in modern Gaelic, ), sometimes called Argyllshire, is a historic county and registration county of western Scotland. Argyll is of ancient origin, and corresponds to most of the part of the ancient kingdom of ...

. In

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

, they occur on steep-sided riverine gorges in

Snowdonia Snowdonia or Eryri (), is a mountainous region in northwestern Wales and a national park of in area. It was the first to be designated of the three national parks in Wales, in 1951. Name and extent It was a commonly held belief that the na ...

and Mid Wales. In England, there are examples in the Lake District (

Borrowdale Borrowdale is a valley and civil parish in the English Lake District in the Borough of Allerdale in Cumbria, England. It lies within the historic county boundaries of Cumberland. It is sometimes referred to as ''Cumberland Borrowdale'' ...

Woods), and steep-sided riverine and estuarine valleys in

South West England South West England, or the South West of England, is one of nine official regions of England. It consists of the counties of Bristol, Cornwall (including the Isles of Scilly), Dorset, Devon, Gloucestershire, Somerset and Wiltshire. Cities ...

, including the Fowey valley in Cornwall, and the valley of the

river Dart The River Dart is a river in Devon, England, that rises high on Dartmoor and flows for to the sea at Dartmouth. Name Most hydronyms in England derive from the Brythonic language (from which the river's subsequent names ultimately derive fr ...

which flows off

Dartmoor Dartmoor is an upland area in southern Devon, England. The moorland and surrounding land has been protected by National Park status since 1951. Dartmoor National Park covers . The granite which forms the uplands dates from the Carboniferous P ...

, and has rainfall in excess of 2 metres per year.UK Government Met Office
''South-west England Rainfall''. Retrieved 9 September 2008.

Physical conditions

Small annual temperature variation, high humidity, and high levels of annual precipitation makes Celtic Rainforest an important habitat for numerous common and rare species of mosses, liverworts, and

lichens A lichen ( , ) is a composite organism that arises from algae or cyanobacteria living among filaments of multiple fungi species in a mutualistic relationship.
Atlantic Hazelwoods: the case for conservation of a newly-recognised woodland type, Scottish Natural heritage Scientific Advisory Committee, 3-20-2014

Atlantic hazel: Scotland’s special woodlands, A. M. Coppins, B. J. Coppins, Atlantic Hazel Action Group: Kilmartin, UK, 2012 The Scottish Natural History Scientific Advisory Committee writes, ''"the whole area is a lichenologists’ Mecca"''. There is an exceptional number of

epiphytic An epiphyte is an organism that grows on the surface of a plant and derives its moisture and nutrients from the air, rain, water (in marine environments) or from debris accumulating around it. The plants on which epiphytes grow are called phoroph ...

plants (plants growing on or hanging from trees without being

parasitic Parasitism is a close relationship between species, where one organism, the parasite, lives on or inside another organism, the host, causing it some harm, and is adapted structurally to this way of life. The entomologist E. O. Wilson ha ...

). The ground is covered with a deep blanketing of mosses and liverworts, which rise up the trunks of the trees onto the horizontal branches and up into the

canopy Canopy may refer to: Plants * Canopy (biology), aboveground portion of plant community or crop (including forests) * Canopy (grape), aboveground portion of grapes Religion and ceremonies * Baldachin or canopy of state, typically placed over an ...

Evolutionary history

Ecology

Biodiversity and taxa

Flora

Trees

The Celtic Rainforest is dominated by

sessile oak ''Quercus petraea'', commonly known as the sessile oak, Cornish oak, Irish Oak or durmast oak, is a species of oak tree native to most of Europe and into Anatolia and Iran. The sessile oak is the national tree of Ireland, and an unofficial embl ...

(''Quercus petraea''),

downy birch ''Betula pubescens'' (syn. ''Betula alba''), commonly known as downy birch and also as moor birch, white birch, European white birch or hairy birch, is a species of deciduous tree, native and abundant throughout northern Europe and northern Asia ...

(''Betula pubescens'') and

European ash ''Fraxinus excelsior'', known as the ash, or European ash or common ash to distinguish it from other types of ash, is a flowering plant species in the olive family Oleaceae. It is native throughout mainland Europe east to the Caucasus and Albo ...

("Fraxinus excelsior"). Other trees include pedunculate oaks, hazel,

elm Elms are deciduous and semi-deciduous trees comprising the flowering plant genus ''Ulmus'' in the plant family Ulmaceae. They are distributed over most of the Northern Hemisphere, inhabiting the temperate and tropical-montane regions of North ...

, cherry, and various

willows Willows, also called sallows and osiers, from the genus ''Salix'', comprise around 400 speciesMabberley, D.J. 1997. The Plant Book, Cambridge University Press #2: Cambridge. of typically deciduous trees and shrubs, found primarily on moist s ...

Understory flora

Liverworts and mosses

Lichens

Rare lichen communities are found using the mosses as a substrate, and add a wealth of colour to the understory. Lichens of genera ''

Pannaria ''Pannaria'' is a genus of lichen-forming fungi in the family Pannariaceae. The widespread genus contains an estimated 51 species, found primarily in tropical regions. Species *'' Pannaria aenea'' *'' Pannaria andina'' *'' Pannaria aotearoana ...

'', ''

Parmeliella ''Parmeliella'' is a genus of lichenized fungi in the family Pannariaceae The Pannariaceae are a family of lichens in the order Peltigerales (suborder Collematineae). Species from this family have a widespread distribution, but are especia ...

'', and '' Degelia'' add a lead-grey color; lichens of the genus ''

Sticta ''Sticta'' is a genus of lichens in the family Peltigeraceae. The genus has a widespread distribution, especially in tropical areas, and includes about 114 species. These lichens have a leafy appearance, and are colored brown or black. ''Sticta'' ...

'' are very dark; the fruit of jelly lichens (''Biatora sphaeroides'') are pink; those of ''Dimerella lutea'' are bright yellow; and those of dog lichen in the genus ''

Peltigera ''Peltigera'' is a genus of approximately 100 species of foliose lichens in the family Peltigeraceae. Commonly known as the dog or pelt lichens, species of ''Peltigera'' are often terricolous (growing on soil), but can also occur on moss, trees, ...

'' make chestnut coloured fruits in the shape of shields. The weight of the lichens using mosses as a substrate gradually causes the moss carpeting to peel off the trees, where heaps of rare lichens can be found on the ground. Lungworts are lichens in the genus ''

Lobaria ''Lobaria'' is a genus of foliose lichens, formerly classified in the family (biology), family Lobariaceae, but now placed in the Peltigeraceae. They are commonly known as "lung wort" or "lungmoss" as their physical shape somewhat resembles a lu ...

'', four species of which can grow up to 30 centimetres or more across. The more alkaline bark of ash and hazel favour the growth of specklebelly lichens (''

Pseudocyphellaria ''Pseudocyphellaria'' is a genus of large, leafy lichens that are sometimes referred to as "specklebelly" lichens.Brodo, I. M., S. D. Sharnoff, and S. Sharnoff. 2001. ''Lichens of North America''. Yale University Press: New Haven. The genus has ...

spp.''). In the grazed birch woodland on higher ground, the bark has a high acidity due to leaching by the high rainfall. This area is dominated by silvery-grey leafy species of lichens that grow directly on the tree bark, not on mosses.

Fauna

Historic human use, conservation, and preservation

Historically, these woodlands were

coppiced Coppicing is a traditional method of woodland management which exploits the capacity of many species of trees to put out new shoots from their stump or roots if cut down. In a coppiced wood, which is called a copse, young tree stems are repeate ...

. The wood was used for charcoal, tanning, and bobbin-making. These practices ended in the mid-1800s. Today, the remaining fragments of Celtic rainforest are protected for conservation and research. Since the 20th century, conservation efforts have resulted in the protection and management of many of these woodlands, in order to address problems such as invasive Rhododendron, excessive grazing from sheep and deer, and non-native plantation trees.Bain C (2015)The Rainforests of Britain and Ireland - A Traveller's Guide. Sandstone Press, Dingwall

References

{{reflist *Coppins & Coppins, 2012 Temperate broadleaf and mixed forests Ecoregions of the United Kingdom Forests and woodlands of Scotland Biota of Scotland Biota of Ireland Biota of Wales Forests and woodlands of Ireland Forests and woodlands of Wales