Culbin Sands - afforestation

Culbin Sands in Moray is one of the largest dune systems in the United Kingdom. Tree planting began in 1839 in an attempt to stabilize the shifting sand surface which by the end of the seventeenth century had overwhelmed the local agricultural estate. More areas were planted with Pinus sylvestris using techniques established nearly 100 years earlier on the Acquitaine coast. This was continued by the Forestry Commission which began planting in 1922. By 1950, 1,428 hectares west of the Bay of Findhorn had been afforested, approximately 80% of the total area. By 1977, virtually the whole of the Culbin sands area had been afforested (Ross 1992). See also Figure below (Doody 2001).

Caption: Afforested area of the Culbin Sands, Moray, Scotland which covers the shingle ridge structure and sand dune.

Comment: Paradoxically, the sand dune stability brought about the tree cover at Culbin sands has provided a habitat for terrestrial lichens growing on heather and has been identified as one of the best sites for this type of lichen development in the United Kingdom by the British Lichen Society.

References

Doody, J.P. 2001. Coastal Conservation and Management: an Ecological Perspective. Kluwer, Academic Publishers, Boston, USA, 306 pp. Conservation Biology Series, 13

Ross, S. 1992. The Culbin Sands - Fact and Fiction. Centre for Scottish Studies, University of Aberdeen, 196 pp.