Meeting of the Parliament 08 November 2016
It is an honour and a privilege to participate in the debate. I recognise the contribution of the Woodland Trust and of Lorna Scott from RSPB Scotland, whom Graeme Dey missed out when he mentioned people from Scottish Environment LINK. I thank everyone who has made the debate possible.
I am the species champion for the Arran whitebeam, which, like me, resides in the west of Scotland. It is an endangered endemic tree species that is found naturally only on the Isle of Arran and which is believed to have been a feature of Arran woodlands since around 4,500 BC.
All the Arran whitebeams are under threat. In 2004, a Scottish Natural Heritage report stated that only 857 Arran whitebeams were left on the island, and it is believed that only a handful of Catacol whitebeams are growing naturally on Arran. That makes it one of the rarest trees in the world. The small size of the population leaves it incredibly vulnerable to extinction.
The existing tree population is threatened by a number of factors, including grazing by deer and sheep, poor soil, exposure to bad weather and pests. One way of assisting the species is to increase surrounding woodland cover to enable the whitebeams to reproduce—Bruce Crawford and I seem to be on a bit of a line in that respect.
SNH is working with the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh and the local Dougarie estate to protect the trees. To ensure their long-term survival, the botanic garden is growing saplings in its nursery, and it has recently planted examples of the trees outside the Scottish Parliament. On Arran, enclosures have been established to protect the trees from overgrazing and the condition of the trees is regularly monitored.
Not only is the whitebeam species very rare but it represents one of the very few tree species that are unique to Scotland, which are therefore a hugely important part of our natural heritage. Such trees provide an invaluable insight into the evolution of trees and species diversification, and their study offers an incredibly important contribution to scientific research. I am therefore committed to the protection and promotion of the trees, which is enormously important.
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