Sitka Spruce Growing on Britain's Third Highest Mountain Signals Possible Recovery of Centuries-Old Habitat Loss

Scientists discovered Sitka spruce growing on Britain's third-highest peak. This suggests that millennia of habitat loss and degradation may be reversible.

Britain's Highest Mountains Grow Trees Too

According to a recent study from the University of Stirling, trees have been discovered growing at record-breaking heights in Scotland's highlands.

The highest rowan tree was 3,773 feet at the summit of Sgurr nan Ceathreamhnan, a Munro in West Affric.

A Sitka spruce was discovered at 3,691 feet on Braeriach, Britain's third-highest peak.

The trees might be an indication of how hilltop woods that have been gone for thousands of years can be resurrected.

The study discovered 11 new altitudinal records for tree species in the United Kingdom. Watts' research was just published in the British and Irish Botany publication of the Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland.

A goat willow was discovered on Beinn Èibhinn, a lonely Highlands peak, while a Sitka spruce, which is not native to Scotland, was discovered on Ben Vorlich in Argyll's Arrochar Alps.

Recovering Centuries-Old Habitat Loss and Degradation

Sarah Watts, a Ph.D. researcher in the Faculty of Natural Sciences at Stirling University, collected evidence by making her way up Munros, Scotland's 3,000-foot mountains.

She claims he has climbed more than 200 Munros, though she admits she lost track as she got more obsessed with documenting the distribution and heights of trees and other mountain vegetation.

Watts also stated that finding trees thriving at the very edge of environmental tolerance for these species was remarkable. Some were 200m higher than previously recorded elevations. She stated that this demonstrates the possibility of forest regeneration in Britain's highlands following centuries of habitat loss and degradation.

Watt's study was aided by dozens of Munro baggers and climbers who shared photos of trees growing near peaks on social media with the hashtag #highmountaintrees. She also created the Facebook group High Altitude Trees of the United Kingdom and Ireland, where members may share knowledge.

Using a portable altimeter, the scientist confirmed the altitude of the trees.

Watts stated that high-altitude ecosystems have mostly gone over the Scottish Highlands due to livestock and deer overgrazing.

She went on to say that if they were restored, they might be biodiversity hotspots, bringing advantages to both animals and people like natural hazard mitigation, sheltering, and flood risk reduction, BBC reports.

Shorter Trees on Mountains

According to Sciencing, mountain tops have shorter trees, which has something to do with height. Plant life is impacted by height from sea level to timberline and beyond. The climate varies as altitude climbs so plant life suffers when the air grows colder and drier. Many plants have developed techniques for surviving at high elevations, and while other elements play a role in the creation and survival of all plant life, height plays a role.

Trees become smaller and more dispersed towards the timberline. Growth is slowed or deformed. Leaves are smaller and have a reduced surface area to absorb the carbon dioxide that provides the energy they require.