The Lost Rainforests of the British Isles

Rainforest? Britain?

Whilst we don't have toucans or jaguars, these islands were once covered in the misty, gnarled forests of myths and legends. Believe it or not, we live next to one of the rarer habitats on Earth - temperate rainforests.

So why have you never heard about this before? Well, you may have, but the reason it has taken the scientific community to catch up is because there are many names to describe the same habitat; "Upland Oakwoods", "Atlantic Oakwoods", "Caledonian Forests" and "Celtic Rainforests" to name a few. They contain all of the trees that you'd find in our usual native woodlands (sessile oak, birch, holly, willow, alder and hazel) but what sets these beauties apart is what's growing on them.

A key defining feature of a temperate rainforest is epiphytes - plants that grow on other plants.

Unlike other environments where this same action could be classified as parasitic, epiphytes have developed alongside their fellow tree friends over millions of years to produce some of the funkiest, spookiest spectacles you'll lay your eyes on. Ferns, lichens and mosses are the stars of the show. The forest is so damp and dense that you will rarely see a bare rock or trunk - just lots and lots of green.

When you think about how much it rains here, you can start to piece together a puzzle and conclude that Of Course We Should Have Rainforests!

Remarkably, 20% of Britain would have once been (and still has the capacity to be) temperate rainforest. Unfortunately, that figure currently stands at <1%, with small pockets clinging on amongst our West coastal and inland regions, from the islands of Scotland down to the hills of Cornwall. The British temperate rainforests require an oceanic climate, where moisture-laden air can roll in from the Atlantic Sea and concoct dense clouds to fuel the moist atmosphere necessary for epiphytes to exist. These forests are incredibly old and are trying their best to expand but there are a few key factors that prevent their return:

1. Overgrazing - Easily witnessed in Wales and Dartmoor, the beloved but rather destructive sheep and deer that populate these lands are non-native (bar two species of deer) and don't the native flora know it. The isolated patches of rainforest left send up new tree shoots every year and every year they are nibbled down to the ground. They will remain this way until some kind of regulation is brought in to allow them to regenerate.

2. Deforestation - Land owned and designated for logging often coincides with areas of veteran rainforest trees or has been completely taken over. Immediate income from crop trees versus stabilising the climate and future tourist income is at battle here. Ancient seed banks may remain within the soil of these logging estates - if only they were allowed to come to the surface.

3. Legal Protection - 73% of England's temperate rainforests are not legally protected or recognised as Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs), which is huge considering they already only cover <1% of Britain's land. Contested laws of land ownership and use also get in the way of this habitat's much-needed recovery. Only as recently as May 2024 was England's largest temperate rainforest, Borrowdale in Cumbria, announced to become a new National Nature Reserve by Natural England.

4. Invasive Species - Bad boy rhododendron is one of this habitat's greatest plant obstacles. Introduced during the 18th century, rhododendron came and never left. They cover much of our wild lands and are incredibly hard to remove once established due to their enormous seed bank potential (from 3-7000 seeds!) and very successful spread of suckers (lil baby rhodies). It will take a highly-motivated and intentional, nationwide approach to be able to remove such a species.

June 22nd is World Rainforest Day and up until this point, most of our efforts as a country have gone towards the preservation of the distant rainforests of the Amazon or Costa Rica. These are incredibly important habitats to protect, their biodiversity and beauty a true wonder. However, we are neglecting a diverse and wonderful rainforest, only a few hours drive away - and they desperately need our help!

Due to how small these rainforests have become, the genetic diversity of the trees has greatly reduced over the centuries, making them highly susceptible to disease (as is the case with ash dieback, and our lovely elm trees). There are so many species that will not appear unless the rainforest is ancient, so we also don't know what other plants we are yet to meet if they are not given the space, time and grace to follow their natural cycles of succession. They are home to liverworts, older than the North Star, older than Saturn himself. They were the backbones of our society, places of council, places of celebration, places of safety - we developed our lives, minds and culture in, around and through them for centuries. There is so much to discover and so much to learn about this unique habitat that it would be the greatest disservice to future generations and ourselves to not protect them whilst we can.

As you would gently hold a butterfly, these rainforests must be experienced with utmost respect and care. Walk slowly and tread lightly: barefoot is best! Leave the unexplored areas unexplored, though it is tempting to ramble on through the fog, if everyone walked as they wished there would be nothing left of this already fragile forest. Whilst this does not apply to all, it is important to determine whether this applies to the forest that you decide to visit.

Take nothing but pictures, leave nothing but footprints.

For more information and ways that you can support, here a few links to books and websites all focused on the wonderful, the wet, the woody, temperate rainforest...

The main bulk of all that is included in this blog post comes from the work of Guy Shrubsole and his labour of love to bring awareness to the temperate rainforests of the British Isles. His efforts to create a map that details existing rainforest patches as well as the potential 'rainforest zone' has given ecologists and nature enthusiasts alike a starting ground to understand what there is and what we have lost. Lost Rainforests of Britain is a blog started by Guy Shrubsole, who later went on to write a book by the same name (which I highly recommend). You can check out both the website and his book here.

Ireland's Hometree - dedicated to establishing Ireland's lost native woodlands. They released a book called Under Summer Pastures which explores Ireland's temperate rainforests through essays from leading environmental thinkers. They also offer other products such as a monthly membership package which allows them to continue their restorative work or you can even adopt an acre of a rainforest!

The Thousand Year Trust are totally nuts about our temperate rainforests, conducting research and campaigns to return the British Isles back to its former wild glory. They are on a mission to speed-up all attempts of regeneration and enchant you with the magic of the forest along the way. You can support their work through donation or partnership.

The Welsh rainforests are being championed by Coedwigoedd Glaw Celtaidd Cymru. It is a 7-year project that aims to address the threats and problems to the fragmented rainforests of the Welsh countryside. They are exploring ways to manage grazing with highland cows!

Dartmoor is most recently famous for its rainforest, and Moor Trees are the ones that are collecting their seeds and nurturing a whole new generation. You can support their work by purchasing a membership or even volunteering.

Scotland is covered by the Alliance for Scotland's Rainforests. Mossy Earth also has a temperate rainforest restoration project in collaboration with Arkaig's Community Forest.