The Last Ent of Affric | |
---|---|
Species | Wych elm ( Ulmus glabra ) |
Coordinates | 57°13′17″N5°06′23″W / 57.22147°N 5.10648°W |
Girth | 3.8m |
Website | Woodland Trust - Ancient Tree Inventory |
The Last Ent of Affric is an ancient elm in the Scottish Highlands, [1] designated a Tree of National Special Interest (TNSI) [2] by the Woodland Trust and named Scotland's Tree of the Year in 2019. [3] [4] It is probably the last surviving tree of an ancient forest, and by virtue of its isolation has remained safe from Dutch elm disease. [2]
The 'Last Ent of Affric' is a centuries-old [3] Wych elm (Ulmus glabra), [2] named in reference to the tree-creatures of J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings. [3] Giles Brockman of Forestry and Land Scotland (FLS), who nominated the tree for the Tree of the Year Award 2019, said:
Given its location, its isolation - and its peculiar 'face' - it's very easy to imagine it as one of Tolkien's Ents standing sentinel over the rebirth of a new native woodland in Affric. [1]
It has a girth of 3.80m at a height of 1.50m. [2] It is located in Glean nan Ciche, a side spur off Glen Affric in the Highlands of Scotland. [3] The Last Ent's exact age is uncertain, but its diameter suggests it is many centuries old. [3] Given its unusual location, and isolation, it is supposed to be the single surviving tree of ancient forest. [3] Brockman said:
The Last Ent is growing on the rocky outflow of a mountain stream, not a place where you would choose to plant a tree, there being little soil under the moss that covers the rocks. So this must be a survivor of a forest long departed, a sentinel watching over the new native woodland growing on the slopes below. [3]
Discovery of owl pellets among the roots of the tree suggests that it is home to a roost of owls. [3]
In 2019, The Last Ent of Affric was named as Scotland's Tree of the Year, following nomination by Giles Brockman of Forestry and Land Scotland (FLS). [3] Brockman had launched a campaign to recognise the elm, which he described as "a hidden mystery of Glen Affric." [3] It was one of six finalists, [5] selected from public nominations, and subsequently won an online public vote. [1]
Following its becoming Tree of the Year, the Last Ent of Affric was adopted as a figurehead of efforts to fight Dutch elm disease. [4] Dr. Euan Bowditch, from the Wooded Landscapes Research Group at Inverness College UHI, noted the significance of educating the public on the ongoing presence of healthy elms - and the need to protect them - in the face of the Dutch elm disease threat. [4] He noted:
The public perception of elm is probably quite defeatist. Many people might not realise that healthy elms exist, grow and regenerate. I think it is important to emphasise that elms are not lost to our landscape. [4]
Dutch elm disease is spread by beetles, aided by the movement of infected wood. [4] As such, the campaign to halt its spread in Scotland and the Highlands focuses on limiting the movement of this wood, to protect remaining elms. [4]
The Forestry Commission is a non-ministerial government department responsible for the management of publicly owned forests and the regulation of both public and private forestry in England.
Dutch elm disease (DED) is caused by a member of the sac fungi (Ascomycota) affecting elm trees, and is spread by elm bark beetles. Believed to be originally native to Asia, the disease was accidentally introduced into America, Europe, and New Zealand. In these regions it has devastated native populations of elms that did not have resistance to the disease. The name "Dutch elm disease" refers to its identification in 1921 and later in the Netherlands by Dutch phytopathologists Bea Schwarz and Christine Buisman, who both worked with professor Johanna Westerdijk. The disease affects species in the genera Ulmus and Zelkova, therefore it is not specific to the Dutch elm hybrid.
Ulmus glabraHudson, the wych elm or Scots elm, has the widest range of the European elm species, from Ireland eastwards to the Ural Mountains, and from the Arctic Circle south to the mountains of the Peloponnese and Sicily, where the species reaches its southern limit in Europe; it is also found in Iran. A large deciduous tree, it is essentially a montane species, growing at elevations up to 1,500 m (4,900 ft), preferring sites with moist soils and high humidity. The tree can form pure forests in Scandinavia and occurs as far north as latitude 67°N at Beiarn in Norway. It has been successfully introduced as far north as Tromsø and Alta in northern Norway (70°N). It has also been successfully introduced to Narsarsuaq, near the southern tip of Greenland (61°N).
Ulmus minor subsp. minor, the narrow-leaved elm, was the name used by R. H. Richens (1983) for English field elms that were not English elm, Cornish elm, Lock elm or Guernsey elm. Many publications, however, continue to use plain Ulmus minor for Richens's subspecies, a name Richens reserved for the undifferentiated continental field elms. Dr Max Coleman of Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh argued in his 2002 paper 'British Elms' that there was no clear distinction between species and subspecies.
Drumnadrochit is a village in the Highland local government council area of Scotland, lying near the west shore of Loch Ness at the foot of Glen Urquhart. The village is close to several neighbouring settlements: the villages of Milton to the west, Kilmore to the east and Lewiston to the south. The villages act as a centre for regional tourism beside Loch Ness, as well as being a local economic hub for the nearby communities.
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Trees for Life is a registered charity working to rewild the Scottish Highlands.
Dudley Coutts Marjoribanks, 1st Baron Tweedmouth, also known as the Laird of Guisachan and Glenaffric, was a Scottish businessman and a Liberal politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1853 until 1880, when he was elevated to the peerage as Baron Tweedmouth. He was the breeder of the first golden retriever.
Glen Affric is a glen south-west of the village of Cannich in the Highland region of Scotland, some 15 miles west of Loch Ness. The River Affric runs along its length, passing through Loch Affric and Loch Beinn a' Mheadhoin. A minor public road reaches as far as the end of Loch Beinn a' Mheadhoin, but beyond that point only rough tracks and footpaths continue along the glen.
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The United Kingdom, being in the British Isles, is ideal for tree growth, thanks to its mild winters, plentiful rainfall, fertile soil and hill-sheltered topography. In the absence of people, much of Great Britain would be covered with mature oaks as well as savannah-type of plains, except for Scotland. Although conditions for forestry are good, trees face threats from fungi, parasites and pests. Nowadays, about 13% of Britain's land surface is wooded. European countries average 39%, but this varies widely from 1% (Malta) to 66% (Finland). As of 2021, government plans call for 30,000 hectares to be reforested each year. Efforts to reach these targets have attracted criticism for planting non-native trees, or trees that are out of place for their surroundings, leading to ecological changes.
Scotland is ideal for tree growth, thanks to its mild winters, plentiful rainfall, fertile soil and hill-sheltered topography. As of 2019 about 18.5% of the country was wooded. Although this figure is well below the European Union (EU) average of 43%, it represents a significant increase compared to the figure of 100 years previously: in 1919 it was estimated that only 5% of the country's total land area was covered in forest. The Scottish Government's Draft Climate Change Plan has set an aim of increasing coverage to 21% of Scotland by 2032, with the rate of afforestation rising to 15,000 hectares per year by 2024.
British wildwood, or simply the wildwood, is the natural forested landscape that developed across much of Prehistoric Britain after the last ice age. It existed for several millennia as the main climax vegetation in Britain given the relatively warm and moist post-glacial climate and had not yet been destroyed or modified by human intervention. From the start of the Neolithic period, the wildwood gradually gave way to open plains and fields as human populations grew and people began to significantly shape and exploit the land to their advantage. The wildwood concept has been popularised in particular by ecologist and countryside historian Oliver Rackham in his various works
Mullach Fraoch-choire is a 1,102-metre (3,615 ft) mountain – a Munro – in the Northwest Highlands of Scotland on a ridge extending north for 8 kilometres (5.0 mi) between Loch Cluanie in Glenmoriston and upper Glen Affric. It is within the Glen Affric National Scenic Area and Glen Affric National Nature Reserve.
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