Temperate rainforests occur in mid-latitude, temperate zones, with serious rainfall. The winds off the atlantic combined with hills mean about 3m of rain fall annually.
These very damp woodlands are characterised by ‘epiphytes’ - plants that grow on other plants. These are mosses, liverworts, lichens and ferns. Without soils epiphytes need access to water through regular rainfall. Mosses often grow in a thick carpet, which reduces water loss. They can extract nutrients from the air and organic debris. . They are adapted to photosynthesize under extremely low light conditions.
Temperate rainforests globally are a rare habitat, and that in western uk is of international importance. They have the greatest concentration of oceanic lichens and mosses in Europe. The fragments that have avoided clearance or intense grazing are in steep-sided riverine gorges, or islands in lochs, or remote sites - the Taynish Peninsula.
Protecting them and avoiding intense grazing is just part of the solution. Different species have a range of preferences: bit open or shaded, damp or wet, rocks, trees, deadwood, waterfalls. Management may involve removing invasive rhododendron and ensuring low level grazing, ideally with cattle, to limit growth of ivy, bramble or dense tree regeneration and create the required habitat diversity.
Filmed Coed ganllwyd, National Trust Reserve, Wales.
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