Temperate rainforest
A temperate rainforest is a type of woodland found in places strongly influenced by the sea. In Britain it is also called Atlantic woodland, and it grows where there is high rainfall and humidity and only a small change in temperature over the year.[1]
Definition
The botanist Ben Averis, in a 2023 report he described as a provisional definition for Britain and Ireland, follows the definition given by the ecologist Paul Alaback in 1991. Under this definition a temperate rainforest has at least 140 cm of precipitation a year, with more than 10% of it falling in the summer months; cool and frequently overcast summers; a hottest month below 16 °C; and fires that are infrequent and not an important part of its evolution.[2] Averis wrote that Britain and Ireland, along with the Faroe Islands, have the most oceanic climate in Europe and are of major importance for temperate rainforest.[3]
In Britain and Ireland
According to the Woodland Trust, a British woodland conservation charity, rainforests in the UK are part of the coastal temperate rainforest biome.[4] The habitat is a mix of ancient oak, birch, ash, pine and hazel woodland, made more varied by open glades, boulders, crags, ravines and river gorges.[5] The high humidity and small temperature range suit lichens and bryophytes (mosses and liverworts) that need moisture,[6] and the Trust says a good example may hold over 200 species of bryophytes and 100 to 200 species of lichen.[7]
In Scotland, NatureScot, the government's nature agency, describes "Scotland's rainforest", also called Atlantic woodland and Celtic rainforest, as the native woodlands of the west coast in the "hyper-oceanic zone".[8] There, high rainfall and fairly mild temperatures all year give the right conditions for some of the world's rarest bryophytes and lichens.[9]
Conservation
NatureScot calls coastal temperate rainforest "incredibly rare on a global level", and says Scotland's rainforest is as important as tropical rainforest but even rarer.[10] It reports estimates that as little as 30,000 hectares of Scotland's rainforest may remain.[11] The Woodland Trust describes the habitat as globally rare and says that "some say" it is more threatened than tropical rainforest.[12]
References
- ↑ "Temperate rainforest". Woodland Trust. Retrieved 20 October 2026.
Otherwise known as Atlantic woodland, temperate rainforest is found in areas subject to the influence of the sea (places with 'high oceanicity'). These places have high rainfall and humidity and a low annual variation in temperature.
- ↑ Averis, Ben (July 2023). "A Provisional Definition of Temperate Rainforest in Britain and Ireland" (PDF). Retrieved 20 October 2026.
at least 140 cm of precipitation annually; >10% of this during the summer months cool and frequently overcast summers; temperature of hottest month below 16oC fire infrequent and not an important evolutionary factor
- ↑ Averis, Ben (July 2023). "A Provisional Definition of Temperate Rainforest in Britain and Ireland" (PDF). Retrieved 20 October 2026.
Britain and Ireland (along with the Faroe Islands) has the most oceanic climate in Europe and is of major importance for temperate rainforest.
- ↑ "Temperate rainforest". Woodland Trust. Retrieved 20 October 2026.
Rainforests in the UK are part of the Coastal Temperate Rainforest biome.
- ↑ "Temperate rainforest". Woodland Trust. Retrieved 20 October 2026.
This unique habitat of ancient oak , birch , ash , pine and hazel woodland is made even more diverse by open glades, boulders, crags, ravines and river gorges.
- ↑ "Temperate rainforest". Woodland Trust. Retrieved 20 October 2026.
The high humidity and low temperature range create the perfect conditions for moisture-loving lichens and bryophytes (mosses and liverworts).
- ↑ "Temperate rainforest". Woodland Trust. Retrieved 20 October 2026.
A good example of this habitat could contain over 200 different species of bryophytes and 100-200 species of lichen.
- ↑ "Scotland's Rainforest". NatureScot. Retrieved 20 October 2026.
Scotland's rainforest, also known as Atlantic woodland and Celtic rainforest, is made up of the native woodlands found on our west coast in the so-called "hyper-oceanic zone".
- ↑ "Scotland's Rainforest". NatureScot. Retrieved 20 October 2026.
Here, high levels of rainfall and relatively mild, year-round temperatures provide just the right conditions for some of the world's rarest bryophytes and lichens.
- ↑ "Scotland's Rainforest". NatureScot. Retrieved 20 October 2026.
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.
- ↑ "Scotland's Rainforest". NatureScot. Retrieved 20 October 2026.
Some estimates suggest that as little as 30,000 hectares might remain of Scotland's rainforest.
- ↑ "Temperate rainforest". Woodland Trust. Retrieved 20 October 2026.
This habitat is globally rare and some say is more threatened than tropical rainforest.