International Day of Forests

Call for renaissance of Scotland’s forests

 

Conservation charity Trees for Life has welcomed the first United Nations International Day of Forests today (21 March), with a call for more people to get involved in helping to create a renaissance for Scotland’s beleaguered forests.

 

The UN General Assembly has proclaimed 21 March to be the International Day of Forests – a day to celebrate and raise awareness of the

Scientists crack genetic code of dwarf birch from Highlands forest restoration site

Richard Buggs & Dwarf Birch
(Betula nana) inside exclosure

Scientists today announced the sequencing of the entire genetic code – the genome – of a dwarf birch from Trees for Life’s Dundreggan Estate near Loch Ness in Glen Moriston, where the conservation charity is working to conserve a natural population of the species.

Dwarf birch (Betula nana) is a nationally scarce species in Britain, occurring mainly in small populations on Scottish mountains. The genome’s sequencing – a laboratory process that identifies the complete DNA sequence of an organism – lays the foundations for genetic research into the birch genus, which includes up to 60 tree species. This will benefit studies on the conservation of dwarf birch.

“Increasing our understanding of tree genomes is essential for our long-term ability to conserve and grow tree species in the UK,” said Richard Buggs, lead scientist of the project, who is based at Queen Mary University of London.

Alan Watson Featherstone, executive director of Trees for Life, said: “This is a tremendous breakthrough. Together with our woodland

CHARITY LAUNCHES PROJECT FOR A MILLION MORE TREES IN NEXT FIVE YEARS

A remnant of Scotland's old Caledonian Forest
Scots Pine forest in the Glen Affric
National Nature Reserve

Reforestation could benefit Scotland’s economy by boosting wildlife tourism.

Conservation charity Trees for Life has announced an ambitious new goal to double its current rate of restoration work in Scotland’s Caledonian Forest, with the establishment of one million more trees by planting and natural regeneration within five years.

The charity’s new Million More Trees campaign is a response to environmental problems including deforestation, climate change and biodiversity loss, but could also bring significant benefits to