East Highland
News
Launch of "The Nature of the Cairngorms: Diversity in a Changing Environment 12/6/06
This is a book about a unique part of the world, which is arguably the most
important in Britain for nature conservation. Here, there are magnificent
native forests, rich expanses of moorland and hill country dissected by glens,
and some of Britain’s highest mountains, with great corries, plateaux, rivers,
Arctic-alpine heaths and fell-fields. The diversity of wildlife and habitats
is exceptional, and many people visiting the Cairngorms see for their first
time special birds, plants, habitats and landforms. Ask visitors where they
saw their first Osprey, Crested Tit, Capercaillie, Reindeer Moss (or indeed
Reindeer), Creeping Lady’s-tresses or Trailing Azalea, and many will reply
“in the Cairngorms”. But being in the Cairngorms is about much more than ticking
off. birds or plants; it is about experiencing a remarkable ecosystem as rich
in sights, sounds and scents as in the diversity of its species and features.
It is a special area, which acts as a magnet for thousands of skiers and walkers
each year. Yet still you can spend a day in the area wandering through a relatively
natural, boreal landscape, seeing hardly a soul.
This book draws together the results of more than 20 years of field research
and survey in the Cairngorms, much of it by people working for or with Scottish
Natural Heritage and its predecessors, the Nature Conservancy Council and
the Countryside Commission for Scotland. It builds on a rich legacy of research.
Desmond Nethersole-Thompson and Adam Watson (1981) provided the defnitive
work on the natural history and nature conservation importance of the Cairngorms;
their book is a wonderfully readable and comprehensive exposition on the research
of naturalists in the area, with especially detailed accounts of the vegetation
and bird interests. More recently, Charles Gimingham (2002) edited an important
overview of the ecology, land-use and conservation of the area, which highlighted
the need for integrated management of the many land-use infuences. Several
other publications have described the nature conservation importance of the
area (e.g. Ratcliffe, 1977; Curry-Lindahl et al., 1982; Conroy et al., 1990;
Scottish Natural Heritage, 2002), its recreational opportunities (e.g. Watson,
1992) and the nature of change (Cairngorms Working Party, 1992; Watson, 1992;
McConnell & Conroy, 1995; Scottish Natural Heritage, 2002).
In writing this book we have not wished to repeat assessments of the international
importance of the Cairngorms (e.g. Ratcliffe, 1977, 1981; Ratcliffe & Thompson,
1988; Thompson et al., 1994) or background geographical and ecological accounts
of the area (e.g. Nethersole-Thompson & Watson, 1981; Watson, 1992; Brown
& Clapperton, 2002; Davidson et al., 2002; Scottish Natural Heritage, 2002).
Instead, our team of writers has sought to describe the nature and recreation
opportunities for which the Cairngorms area is so important, and the complex
range of factors influencing these. The table overleaf highlights some of
the key publications and events concerned with its conservation and management,
and advances in our knowledge of the area.
The
Nature of the Cairngorms Diversity in a changing environment pdf
The book, edited by Phillip Shaw and Des Thompson, will be published in early
June. The main launch of the book is being held in Battleby on 12 June, with
a local event in Muir of Dinnet NNR, to present copies of the books to local
schools and libraries.
If you have not received an invitation to this event but would be interested
in attending, please email kirsten.thompson@snh.gov.uk
