Rewilding is a buzzword in conservation. The thinking is that if we reintroduce keystone species such as the beaver, lynx, bear and wolf (in the UK), they will function as ecosystem engineers, making the environment suitable not just for themselves but for other species, too. Reintroducing such extirpated species is thought to aid sustainability as we will no longer have to manage nature, because it will manage itself. One major obstacle to this approach is that in the UK most land is used for agriculture and, for obvious reasons, landowners with grazing animals tend to object to the reintroduction of large predators such as the wolf.
A Journey in Landscape Restoration: Carrifan Wildwood and Beyond studiously avoids the term ‘rewilding’ and instead prefers ‘landscape restoration’. Scotland has been at the forefront of large-scale ecological restoration in Europe, at least in theory if not in practice (e.g. Brown et al., 2011, Scottish Geographical Journal, 127, 288–314). This book describes how a single valley is being returned to its natural state and serves as a guide on how the lessons learnt could be applied more widely. Around 20 years ago, Carrifan was a typical, over-grazed valley in the southern uplands of Scotland, until it was acquired by the Borders Trust, a charity aiming to restore the region's natural landscapes. The book describes the journey of Carrifan's restoration, in three parts: an introduction, a description of the changes observed as a result of restoration actions, and lessons learnt and how these could be applied elsewhere, particularly in southern Scotland.
The first part comprises a short section on the project's beginnings, followed by a detailed description of how nature changed over the following 20 years. To restore the Carrifan landscape, sheep grazing was gradually removed and more than 650,000 native trees and shrubs were planted. This led to a recovery of native vegetation, with upland heath and tall herbs recolonizing the area, woodland plants spreading and species new to the valley being recorded. Quantitative surveys showed a shift from an avian community dominated by species adapted to open countryside, particularly the meadow pipit, to a more diverse array of species, including woodland birds. The following chapters deal with changes to vegetation communities, and taxa such as higher plants, bryophytes, fungi and invertebrates. The final section reflects on how the experiences at Carrifan can be applied elsewhere. The authors emphasize how involving the local community, and the community of naturalists and scientists, has been key to the success of the project. Buoyed by the experience at Carrifan, the Borders Trust has since acquired other sites in the region and is taking a landscape-scale approach to joining up sites owned or managed by the Trust and other conservation organizations.
This is not an academic book; only a single chapter contains references. Chapters are kept short, and each is authored by different people involved in the project. The book is well written and amply illustrated with high quality photographs. The few maps and graphs are clear and readily understandable by the lay reader, and boxes are used to good effect for explanation, without disrupting the flow of the main text. The book may have benefited from being pitched more at the informed naturalist, with up to half a dozen readily accessible references per chapter, although this is a minor point. The introduction mentioned that a pollen analysis was conducted in the valley, and a summary pollen diagram would have been useful to show how it informed the selection of trees for planting (if it did).
The underlying premise—to take an over-grazed upland valley, remove the sheep, plant trees and monitor what happens—seems straightforward. However, as the book makes clear, it is more complex than this. In addition to acquiring the land itself, you need volunteers who have the time, energy and expertise to plant thousands of trees, erect fences and monitor changes over long periods, and in rough terrain. An additional challenge is posed by unwanted grazers such as roe and sika deer, in the absence of apex predators to control them. The success of Carrifan is testament to the vision and leadership of both Philip and Myrtle Ashmole, but this project would not have achieved its goals without the energy and perseverance of volunteers, and the involvement of naturalists, scientists and the local community.
Open access
