Glasdrum Wood National Nature Reserve Draft Management Plan 2024 – 2034

Foreword

Glasdrum Wood National Nature Reserve (NNR) (169ha) is an internationally important NNR located in Argyll on the West Coast of Scotland. The high levels of rainfall and relatively mild temperatures year-round at Glasdrum Wood have resulted in what is a superb example of one of Scotland’s rarest and most important habitats. Scotland’s rainforest is as important as tropical rainforest, but even rarer. It’s a kind of coastal temperate rainforest, which itself is incredibly rare on a global level. Situated on the shores of Loch Creran, Glasdrum is the jewel of the more extensive crown of Atlantic oak woodland which forms the wider Glen Creran Special Area of Conservation (SAC). Also noted as one of the best sites in Scotland for butterflies, the native temperate rainforest of sessile oak and upland ash at Glasdrum is also exceptionally rich in oceanic lichens and bryophytes.

Glasdrum Wood NNR is one of a suite of NNRs in Scotland. NNRs are special places where some of the best examples of Scotland’s wildlife are cared for. Nature comes first on NNRs, and people are welcome to discover the rich natural heritage of these places and to contribute to our knowledge and enjoyment of these areas.

Our Vision for Glasdrum Wood NNR

Glasdrum National Nature Reserve is a special place; the aim is to keep it that way.  The Reserve Plan 2024 - 2034 sets out our vision for the reserve describing how we would like the reserve to be in 50 years’ time.  The management we carry out over the next 10 years has been framed with this vision in mind.

Protected Areas and Features

The reserve has numerous designations which reflect its national and international importance, although the boundaries of the designations differ. 

These are:

• Special Area of Conservation (SAC), a European habitat and species designation which covers Glasdrum Wood as part of the wider woodland feature, it also covers Otter as a species.  
• Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), part of the UK network of protected areas; the national SSSI designation underpins the international designations.

The features of the protected areas are listed below. A number of these overlap but with some, the designation areas are different. They are linked to Sitelink, where full information on these designations can be found. 

Whilst managing Glasdrum Wood NNR we have to take account of our legal obligations and Government policy to manage the features that are listed as important in a European or international context.  This management plan has been appraised accordingly, and where a project listed in the plan is likely to have a significant effect on one or more of the qualifying features of the SACs and/or SPA, we will carry out an ‘appropriate assessment’.  This includes all projects, whether they are direct habitat management or providing a new visitor facility on the Reserve.  We will only proceed if they do not adversely affect the integrity of the SAC and/or SPA.  Likewise, we will also take account of obligations to manage features that are valued as important in a UK context, as well as features that are locally important. 

Glen Creran Woods SAC

• Mixed woodland on base-rich soils associated with rocky slopes
• Western acidic oak woodland
• Otter (Lutra lutra) 

Glen Creran Woods SSSI

• Bryophyte assemblage
• Chequered skipper butterfly (Carterocephalus palaemon)
• Lichen assemblage
• Pearl-bordered fritillary butterfly (Boloria euphrosyne)
• Upland oak woodland

Management for Natural Heritage

The Management Plan for Glasdrum Wood seeks to find a balance in the habitat management for three main natural heritage interests, namely woodland habitat, butterflies and lichens. All these interests have a high level of statutory protection on the NNR and throughout Glen Creran. 

Objective description

Glasdrum is a remnant of ancient Western Atlantic Oakwoods of which the Scottish west coast holds some of the best examples in Europe. Known as Scotland's Rainforest, this habitat holds a rich bryophyte community and has one of the richest assemblages of lichens in Britain. 

Our objectives prioritise the health and future of the woodland and its associated species. To achieve this objective we aim to encourage the expansion of the full range of woodland species through removing non-native species, controlling bracken and managing deer numbers to ensure appropriate levels of browsing. 

Our long-term vision is to encourage woodland expansion further towards the Beinn Churalain summit, whilst natural woodland processes and sympathetic management encourage openings and glades within the woodland canopy to ensure light conditions for butterflies and lichens.

Lichen and butterfly interests require light conditions and sheltered, yet open glades. The long-term vision for the site is that these conditions will be achieved through a healthy dynamic woodland, naturally creating openings and infilling at a rate compatible with the continuity of lichen and butterfly interests. In the short-term appropriate, active management will be implemented to create openings by cutting and maintaining glades. In the longer term our monitoring will guide adaptive management with the aim to allow natural dynamic processes to reach their full potential. 

The regeneration that is occurring at Glasdrum is not at a level sufficient to sustain the reserve’s full range of natural heritage interests in the long term. As well as being a key designated feature of the reserve, ash is an important tree for several lichen species. Since the onset of ash dieback, ash has become under-represented. By allowing a more dynamic habitat system, with diverse tree regeneration, we’re ensuring a healthy dynamic woodland robust enough to overcome future challenges and diseases.  

Tasks planned to inform and achieve Objective NH1:

NH1.1: Implement deer management across whole landholding to deliver low habitat impacts defined by regular monitoring. Ensure delivery follows Wild Deer Best Practice guidance.

NH1.2: Continue to collaborate with other landowners/ managers through Appin DMG to reduce deer numbers.

NH1.3: Carry out Herbivore Impact Assessments following accepted current best practice and use data to implement deer management. 

NH1.4: Monitor woodland structure, extent and glades. Explore new monitoring methods and repeat 2013 glade monitoring exercise..

NH1.5: Remove all non-native invasive plants (mainly rhododendron, azalea and Japanese Knotweed). 

NH1.6: Continue to follow latest government guidance about tree health and disease (particularly ash dieback and Dutch elm disease) and instigate remedial management.

Objective description

Glasdrum Wood has a rich lichen interest, being ranked as a Grade 1 site by the British Lichen Society (BLS). Rich and diverse lichens rely on canopy gaps, sometimes referred to as micro-glades, where humidity and sunlight are both at relatively high levels. These micro-glades are created when trees fall over and decay creating natural gaps in the woodland canopy. Retention of a significant number of these glades (i.e. preventing them infilling with natural regeneration) is necessary to maintain structural diversity for rich lichen floras. 

The long-term vision is for glades to naturally occur through natural woodland processes maintained by appropriate browsing. In the short-term we will continue to actively create openings by thinning and cutting back, particularly around larger trees where the lichen interest is greatest. The reserve team will explore opportunities to introduce cattle as a management tool, but this will be subject to further research and resources. We will compare and review our management with the findings of our other lichen surveys at sites through the Glen to further understand changes in lichen ranges, expansion and colonisation trends.

Tasks planned to inform and achieve Objective NH2:

• NH2.1: Continue to monitor glades and maintain positive habitat conditions for priority lichen glades by cutting scrub regrowth and ensuring appropriate browsing levels. 
   
• NH2.2: Explore lichen monitoring methods and repeat lichen assessment as necessary to provide management recommendations.

Objective description

Glasdrum is one of the best butterfly sites in Scotland, hosting several rare species such as chequered skipper butterfly and pearl-bordered fritillary butterfly. 

It’s south-east facing slope and wooded glades provide ideal sheltered, suntraps for butterflies. These glades provide optimum conditions for woodland flora such as violets amongst other key food plants for feeding butterfly larvae. These open areas are also vital for providing a range of nectar sources for adult butterflies. 

The electricity wayleave runs the length of the reserve and is managed in collaboration with Scottish & Southern Electricity (SSE) to keep it open and trees no higher than 2m. Being a large open area of the reserve, it is a key nectar source and suntrap for adult butterflies. 

Monitoring foodplant availability and glade habitat condition is vitally important towards the success of priority species such as chequered skipper and pearl-bordered fritillary. The reserve monitors glades to ensure there are enough open areas with food plant availability and nectar sources for butterflies. Where these open areas are threatened by bracken dominance and scrub encroachment active management is required through cutting back, and bracken rolling. The size of the glade and connectivity is also important so continuing to monitor this is important towards achieving optimum conditions for butterflies. 

The reserve has a long dataset of weekly butterfly counts which feeds into Butterfly Monitoring Scotland (BMS) data to help inform population trends. The reserves data for priority species is nationally important. 

As well as pearl-bordered and chequered skipper butterflies the reserve plays host to mountain ringlet butterflies. Glasdrum’s north-east facing steep slopes rising to 500m provide the perfect conditions for this butterfly which is of high conservation priority. A montane species surviving at altitudes over 350m the species is found only in Argyll and the Lake District in the UK. However, mountain ringlets are a under-recorded species so the dataset at Glasdrum is particularly important towards understanding more about the species. 

Tasks planned to inform and achieve Objective NH3:

NH3.1: Repeat 2018 butterfly glade monitoring report in 2028. Use report findings to advise management.

NH3.2: Control bracken and scrub encroachment across the reserve to maintain corridors of open habitats linking breeding and nectaring areas for invertebrates. 

NH3.3: Continue long-term butterfly and moth population monitoring of chequered skipper, pearl-bordered fritillary, small pearl-bordered fritillary, barred tooth-stripe, narrow-bordered bee hawk-moth and white-spotted sable moth annually, providing results to the national Butterfly Monitoring Scheme.  

NH3.4: Continue to collect mountain ringlet butterfly transect data on an annual basis.

Objective description

Glasdrum’s 169ha is contiguous with a further 535ha of woodland and related habitat in the Glen Creran Woods SAC. This adjacent habitat has much of the same woodland composition, geology and aspect as Glasdrum. A few of the same and similar RDB lichen species, as well as chequered skipper, pearl-bordered fritillary, mountain ringlet and other notable butterflies are found in other parts of the Glen Creran woods; so much of what is special about Glasdrum is found across the whole Glen. Healthy habitats at a larger scale can be expected to be more resilient against changes in climate.

We will therefore seek to inform our management through an ecosystem approach to understand how the habitat across the rest of Glen Creran is changing over time. In doing so minimising the impacts of climate change on the special species found at Glasdrum and beyond, reviewing our management actions to ensure positive outcomes for biodiversity.

We aim to achieve good conditions for each of the woodland, butterfly and lichen interests at any one time. Thus, if the glades in another part of the Glen are infilling with regenerating trees, we might consider the evidence for cutting scrub within the NNR more frequently to maintain an overall proportion of open ground within the Glen. 

We will also talk to our neighbours about the scope for maintaining glades on their land, using our knowledge of the status of the key habitats and species across the Glen. Monitoring is therefore a fundamental element of our management plan. If we can establish a more collaborative approach to habitat management with our neighbours, we will move a long way towards integrated management at a landscape scale.

Some habitats on the NNR may become more vulnerable to wildfires through climate change, wildfires are likely to become larger and more frequent.  We will investigate nature-based options to increase habitat resistance to fire and use a risk-based approach to identify areas of opportunity where mitigation will be most effective, providing it is compatible with our other natural heritage objectives. 

To date the reserve collaborates with various groups, projects and partnerships to deliver aims for the reserve and wider glen. It achieves this through working with deer management groups, local community groups, projects to remove invasive species, wider Glen Creran monitoring projects and local school groups. We aim to continue working with such projects and groups to achieve our objectives and to participate in wider conversations through the glen to help inform management choices. 

Tasks planned to inform and achieve Objective NH4:

NH4.1: Guided by the results of our ongoing monitoring and mapping we will work collaboratively with our neighbours to deliver biodiversity through adaptive management at a landscape scale.

NH4.2: Develop a wildfire risk assessment and implement measures to minimise risk to both natural heritage and property from wildfires.

Management for People

Objective description

We want to maintain the current level of visitor interest at Glasdrum Wood NNR by ensuring that the facilities are of a high standard and that information about the reserve is fresh and available in a wide variety of formats. We also want to make the most of Glasdrum’s unique and special qualities by offering themed guided walks and demonstration events on our habitat management. 

Tasks planned to inform and achieve Objective VM1

VM1.1: Maintain existing signage and interpretation. Replace waymarkers and signage on site at end-of-life or as needed to align with best practice and NNR policy.

VM1.2: Work with access colleagues to ensure regular accessibility audits to identify and implement actions to improve accessibility to the reserve.

VM1.3: Use the NatureScot website and a variety of other media to inform people about Glasdrum NNR. Provide up to date information about visiting the NNR, our management of the site and the species/habitats which call it home. 

VM1.4: Investigate opportunities to promote cycling to the reserve incorporating the National Cycling network 78 which passes near the reserve.

VM1.5: Provide public guided walks and events. Also facilitate demonstration events for targeted groups showcasing best practise for woodland management, lichens and butterflies.

VM1.6: Continue to assess visitor pressure on the reserve to ensure our facilities are adequate.

Objective description

We aim to continually invest time in proactively engaging with the local community and providing opportunities for all to become involved with Glasdrum Wood NNR. 

Tasks planned to inform and achieve Objective VM2

VM2.1: Engage with the local community to identify ways for people, community and commerce to become more involved with the reserve and foster an appreciation for Glasdrum NNR.

VM2.2: Provide work party days, engage local volunteers and provide support and training opportunities. 

VM2.3: Contact local schools to support at least 1 school visit per year, working in collaboration with the Kilmartin Museum Education Programme.

Management for Property

Objective description

We will manage the small car park, benches, picnic areas, paths and footbridges at Glasdrum Wood NNR to ensure they are safe, well maintained and allow ease of access for visitors to the reserve. We will continue to assess the condition of these through the life of the plan and ensure that our offering is appropriate to visitor needs whilst enhancing the overall experience. 

Tasks planned to inform and achieve Objective PM1

PM1.1: Maintain all visitor infrastructure (i.e. trails, car park, viewpoints, boardwalks and bridges etc.) in good condition. Conform to Health & Safety Regulations including risk assessment and fire plan reviews.

PM1.2: Carry out quarterly safety and condition assessments of all visitor areas and infrastructure. Ensure accurate records are kept and appropriate remedial action taken.

PM1.3: Ensure the management of the property conforms to Health & Safety Regulations including risk assessment and fire plan reviews.

PM1.4: Ensure legal responsibilities of owners of scheduled monument sites within the NNR are adhered to.

PM1.5: Continue to monitor signs of ash dieback on path edges and tracksides as a H&S requirement.

Summary

The emphasis for management at Glasdrum Wood NNR during this management plan will be addressing the balance required at a landscape scale to keep Glasdrum Wood an internationally and nationally important woodland, with associated habitats, to sustain nationally important lichens, bryophytes and butterfly populations.

We want to share our monitoring results and our management techniques with land managers, visitors and specialist groups by providing on site information, web-based information and delivering site-based events. We would like to achieve all of this with the support and involvement of the local community.

Document Properties

Author: Heather Goodwin
Editor: Neil Mitchell
Approved by: David Maclennan
Date: 17 March 2025

Address 

NatureScot
The Enterprise Centre
Kilmory Industrial Estate
Lochgilphead
Argyll
PA31 8SH