Examination of the inventory highlights several features of particular interest regarding the status of woodland in Dumbarton district. It can confirm that, despite extensive anthropogenic clearance, the District is relatively rich in native woodland relicts. However, the majority of its woodland is of more recent origin and of lower conservation interest.
The District has apparently retained a larger proportion of its early post-glacial woodland sites than most other Districts in Scotland, and in addition a larger proportion of the sites appear to have retained semi-natural woodland. woodland of ancient origin now covers 2.7% of the land area, woods with long-established semi-natural origin cover a further 1.5%, and the bulk of their areas (85% and 89.8% respectively) is still believed to be semi-natural. Thus whilst for most District Inventories prepared to date a value of between 1% and 2% is the normal range of land cover represented by semi-natural woodland of proven ancient and long-established semi-natural origin, for Dumbarton 3.6% of the land is considered to hold such probable native woodland remnants.
It is not surprising, in view of the particular wealth of semi-natural woodland in the District, that the majority of biological Sites of Special Scientific Interest have been notified with regard to the woodland habitat, and all woodland in these sites is semi-natural. The relationship between nature conservation value and ancient, or probable ancient, origin is also well demonstrated in Dumbarton district where as much as 79.8% of the area with formal nature conservation status falls within the ancient or long-established semi-natural origin classes. The remaining 20.2% of woodland area with nature conservation status merits further historical study which may reveal explanations, possibly associated with management practice, for their apparently more recent origins.
As in other Districts the majority of semi-natural ancient and long-established woodland (70.5% of the area in Dumbarton) is currently not protected by designation as a Site of Special Scientific Interest or another form of nature conservation status.
Despite the District's comparative wealth of native woodland considering woodland's natural dominance it is clear that woodland clearance has been sever. If the large woodland blocks in the Loch Lomond region are discounted the District cannot be regarded as well-wooded, and it is probable that early clearance has been as extensive as in other parts of Scotland. Ancient and Long-established semi-natural woodland sites are infrequent and more or less confined to steep glens, gorges and hillsides. The Kilpatrick hills are fairly rich in these fragments but coniferisation and other extensive alterations carried out, form the 18th century onwards, mean that many of the sites cannot now be considered as semi-natural woods.
Plantation origin woods included in the inventory, because of their age, are the most extensive category in the inventory. They are currently predominantly mixed or conifer plantations but it appears that around 20% of their area is considered to be semi-natural. Away from Loch Lomond and some other locations these semi-natural areas, and smaller areas not shown in the inventory, are the main type of semi-natural woodland and thus they should not be completely ignored for their possible local nature conservation interest. In certain situations, such as gorges, they could include remnants of ancient woodland although this is not proven in the inventory work. Such areas can probably only be identified by detailed survey work.
Recent plantations may account for around half of the current woodland area in the District (513% of the total woodland area is excluded from the inventory), and they are particularly abundant in the Rosneath peninsula and northern mountains. In general their nature conservation interest is low except where semi-natural features are retained. Only a minority of the recent planting appears to have taken place on areas previously wooded. Coniferisation of natural woods for amenity reasons has become a much less common practice whilst large scale afforestation poorer lands has increased in recent years.
The history of Dumbarton's woodland, well documented for the Loch Lomond area, demonstrates clearly that management has been instrumental in maintaining the most valuable areas in the past. In the future sympathetic management, with regard to nature conservation or possibly amenity value, will similarly be essential for retaining these and other less valuable areas now identified in the inventory. The recent operation of the Broadleaves Woodland Policy should help to encourage the appropriate systems of management.
Bibliography - Unpublished Sources
Bunce RGH, Munro RC & Parr TW (1979) Deciduous woodland survey of Scotland. Unpublished report of NCC/NERC contract F3/03/75. The "ITE Woodland Survey"
Forestry Commission Stock Maps (various dates). Used to provide information on FC owned woods.
Forestry Commission 1978-82. Census of Woodlands and Trees
Mitchell J ed. (1986) Loch Lomond Bird Report No14 1986. Nature Conservancy Council SW Scotland Region
Nature Conservancy Council 1988. Dumbarton SSSI Renotification Schedule. Used to check boundaries of woodland sites in the schedule
Nature Conservancy Council (various dates). SSSI and non-statutory site files. Used to check the boundaries and composition of selected woodland.
Bibliography - Published Sources and References
Anderson ML (1967) A History of Scottish Forestry. Nelson, London
Dilke MS & Templeton AA ed (1959) The Third Statistical Account of Scotland Vol VI Dumbarton. Collins, Glasgow
Forestry Commission (1985a) Broadleaved Woodland Grant Scheme. Forestry Commission, Edinburgh
Forestry Commission (1985b) Guidelines for the Management of Broadleaved Woodland. Policy and Procedure Paper No.5. Forestry Commission, Edinburgh
Geology Survey Ten Mile Map (North Sheet) 1979. Institute of Geological Sciences
House of Lords Select Committee on Science and Technology 1980. Scientific Aspects of Forestry: Vol II. Minutes of evidence, London HMSO (HLP 381, Sess. 1979-80)
Kirby JK, Peterken GF, Spencer JW & Walker GJ (1984) Focus on Nature Conservation No.6 - Inventories of Semi-Natural Woodland. Nature Conservancy Council.
Miller r & Tivy J Eds (1958) The Glasgow Region. Glasgow University for the British Association.
McVean DN & Ratcliffe DA (1962) Plant Communities of the Scottish Highlands. HMSO, London
Ratcliffe DA (1977) A Nature Conservation Review. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge
Sherfield, Lord (1980) Scientific Aspects of Forestry. 2nd Report of the House of Lords Select Committee on Science and Technology. HMSO, London
Sinclair, Sir John (1791-1799) The Statistical Account of Scotland. Edinburgh
Steele RC & Peterken GF (1982) Management objectives for bradleaved woodland conservation, In Broadleaves in Britain, Editors DC Malcolm, J Evans and PN Edward p91-103
Tippet R ed (1974) A Natural History of Loch Lomond. University of Glasgow Press
Tittensor RMT (1970) History of the Loch Lomond Oakwoods. Scottish Forestry, 24 :100-118
Walker GJ & Kirby KJ (1987) An historical approach to woodland conservation in Scotland. Scottish Forestry 41: 87-98