Montane Scrub

Natural Heritage Management

• Foreword
• Introduction
• What is montane scrub
• The loss of the ‘wee trees’
• Plants of the scrub
• Wildlife in the scrub
• Restoring the landscape
• The woods and the trees
• Shelter on the hill
• Game benefits
• Enjoying the hills
• Ecological values
• Action for scrub
• Bringing back the ‘wee trees’
• Further reading

Enjoying the hills

Most hillwalkers will welcome the more natural appearance of hillsides with limited areas of montane scrub cover. There is unlikely to be any management conflict between their needs and the requirements for scrub restoration because walkers tend to follow ridges where scrub development will be limited by exposure.

Care will need to be taken to site scrub areas and temporary fences so that they are not visually intrusive and do not obstruct passage, although this can be overcome by providing stiles and gates (which may be funded within the Woodland Grant Scheme). In the longer term, montane scrub could channel visitors unobtrusively, helping to reduce erosion beside paths. It could also provide some shelter from the elements, which is likely to be appreciated by all but the most 'Spartan' of tastes.

Even skiing will not be seriously impeded by montane scrub, because very little of it is likely to become established in popular skiing areas. Even if it does, scattered scrub will not present a serious obstacle, and may improve the snow-holding characteristics of slopes.