Trail of the Lonesome Pine 🌲
The Scots pine is a hugely important tree and widely regarded as a keystone species in the ecosystem as it forms the ‘backbone’ on which many other species depend.
Scots pine is the most widely distributed conifer in the world, with a natural range that stretches from beyond the Arctic Circle in Scandinavia to southern Spain and from western Scotland to the Okhotsk Sea in eastern Siberia. Within this range it grows at elevations from sea level to 2,400 metres (8,000 feet), with the elevation generally increasing from north to south. Despite this wide distribution, the Scots pine forests in Scotland are unique and distinct from those elsewhere because of the absence of any other native conifers.
In good situations on mainland Europe, Scots pine can grow to 36 metres (120 feet) in height, but in most of the pinewood remnants in Scotland today the largest trees are about 20 metres (65 feet) tall, with exceptional trees recorded up to 27 metres (90 feet). Maximum girth at breast height is usually up to 2.4 metres (8 feet), although some trees up to 3.6 metres (12 feet) have been recorded. Scots pine usually lives up to an age of 250-300 years in Scotland, although a tree in one of the western pinewood remnants was recently discovered to be over 520 years old!
Trail of the Lonesome Pine 🌲
The Scots pine is a hugely important tree and widely regarded as a keystone species in the ecosystem as it forms the ‘backbone’ on which many other species depend.
Scots pine is the most widely distributed conifer in the world, with a natural range that stretches from beyond the Arctic Circle in Scandinavia to southern Spain and from western Scotland to the Okhotsk Sea in eastern Siberia. Within this range it grows at elevations from sea level to 2,400 metres (8,000 feet), with the elevation generally increasing from north to south. Despite this wide distribution, the Scots pine forests in Scotland are unique and distinct from those elsewhere because of the absence of any other native conifers.
In good situations on mainland Europe, Scots pine can grow to 36 metres (120 feet) in height, but in most of the pinewood remnants in Scotland today the largest trees are about 20 metres (65 feet) tall, with exceptional trees recorded up to 27 metres (90 feet). Maximum girth at breast height is usually up to 2.4 metres (8 feet), although some trees up to 3.6 metres (12 feet) have been recorded. Scots pine usually lives up to an age of 250-300 years in Scotland, although a tree in one of the western pinewood remnants was recently discovered to be over 520 years old!