Conservationists have praised the launch of a new government strategy to revive the remaining fragments of the vast temperate rainforests that once formed the “jewels of Britain’s nature crown”.
Temperate rainforest, also known as Atlantic woodland or Celtic rainforest, once covered most of western Britain and Ireland. The archipelago’s wet, mild conditions are ideal for lichens, mosses and liverworts. But centuries of destruction have meant that only small, isolated pockets remain.
In England, just 189 sq km (46,624 acres) survive from the ecosystem that once stretched from Cornwall to the west of Scotland, and these remain threatened by overgrazing from sheep, invasive species and nitrogen pollution.
After three years of campaigning, the government published a strategy at the end of November to protect and recover England’s temperate rainforests, and committed £750,000 for research and development.
Anyone know where the remaining enclave is?
Here is a map of the remaining fragments. You need to choose the ‘rainforest fragments’ layer.
There’s no one remaining patch of it, there’s just little scraps all over the place that add up to the amount quoted.
Nottingham forrest I guess, there are some old old oaks there. Probably a few fragments left like this. Any forrest that is older than the industrial revolution is good bet. If it’s older than the Roman’s invasion, then it must be accident forrest.
Nottingham is nowhere near the Atlantic coast. That is not at all what they are talking about.
Yer, you’re probably right. It’s certainly not west coast. But any remaining bits of Britain’s original rain forest cover can provide seeds and transplants.