Monadh Mor in northern Scotland is a complex area of ridges and hollows resulting from glacial deposition. Many of the areas have become filled with peat and swamp, though larger depressions contain open water. Peat coring suggests these bog woodland communities are relatively recent developments on previously cut-over mire. The ridges are free-draining and are largely wooded with Scots pine Pinus sylvestris and birch Betula spp, while the more extensive hollows support Sphagnum bog on which stunted pine is abundant. The pine-bog relationship appears to be stable and the pines are still growing. The site represents one of the largest areas of bog woodland in a single location in the UK, with an estimated 75 hectares of the habitat. The main areas of open water are particularly peaty and bordered by a floating swamp of mosses, sedges, bog bean Menyanthes trifoliata and marsh cinquefoil Potentilla palustris. These communities form a distinct habitat known as transition mire, an interest for which Monadh Mor cSAC is selected in addition to the bog woodland habitat.

Overall the variation in topography, nutrient status and moisture conditions produces an extensive plant list for the whole site, with species more characteristic of richer conditions found along the margins, and more acid-loving plants towards the centre. This diversity has also resulted in the development of a rich invertebrate community including nationally rare species such as the northern damselfly Coenagrion hastulatum.

The site is of importance for a range of breeding moorland and woodland bird species, including Scottish crossbill Loxia scotica and osprey Pandion haliaetus.

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Targets

It was decided to concentrate restoration work at this site on an 82 ha plantation on bog woodland to the north-east of, and directly adjacent to, Monadh Mor cSAC. The plantation comprised a mixture of non-native conifers, principally lodgepole pine Pinus contorta with Scots pine Pinus sylvestris planted on the drier areas. The following specific targets were identified:

• Removal of exotic and non-natural coniferous tree species from a total of 82 hectares, mostly adjacent to the cSAC.
• Hydrological works (drain blocking) to be carried out over a total area of 104 hectares, 22 hectares within the cSAC and 82 hectares adjacent to the cSAC.
• Overall target: the restoration of conditions favourable for the continuation and expansion of bog woodland habitat over a total area of 104 hectares.

Original targets (amended targets in brackets) and actual achievements:

Management

The management work at Monadh Mor was mainly undertaken by Forest Enterprise, in collaboration with the owners. The bulk of the restoration work was carried out on an area adjacent to the cSAC and began in February 1999 with FE staff using the harvester/forwarder extraction method. A harvester is a purpose-built machine which can fell, de-limb and cross-cut a tree in one continuous operation. A forwarder is an all-wheel drive vehicle which can load itself with logs and transport them to the roadside. The harvester was particularly effective in concentrating brash material which allowed early recovery of a higher proportion of ground vegetation. Damage through machine use was minimal, and as conditions became wetter the machines were fitted with wider than normal tyres to reduce ground damage. Brash piles were also regularly moved to allow the ground to recover. Throughout the harvesting operations watercourses were bridged using timber/brash bridges with piping to allow waterflow. On completion of the timber extraction, and following a detailed hydrological assessment, these bridging points were altered as necessary to become drain blocking dams.

The second phase of the restoration was carried out by a local contractor and began in August 1999 with thinning planted Scots pine on drier knolls. Straight edges were sculpted, and the thinning intensity varied to leave denser clumps in some areas. A variety of tree form and age was retained in the remaining crop.

The third phase of the work involved the felling of non-marketable timber with chainsaws, again carried out by a local contractor. The felled trees were cut into shorter lengths to assist the breakdown of brash. On the wettest and most sensitive areas, felled trees were extracted either manually or by winch. By the end of the Project a total of 142.6 hectares of habitat restoration had taken place, considerably exceeding the original target.

Hydrological re-instatement by drain blocking was carried out as the fourth phase of the restoration work. A mechanical digger (a 6 tonne Hymac) constructed dams by digging out saturated peat from the side or bottom of the drain and using it to form the bulk of the dams. The surface vegetation scraped off the peat was then replaced on top of the dams. This is one of the techniques featured in the RSPB led LIFE Project: Conservation of Active Blanket Bogs in Scotland and Northern Ireland. In areas of shallow peat the dams had to made from mineral soil, and as the underlying soil is mostly clay at Monadh Mor, they have proved very effective. Experience from previous LIFE projects has shown that dams of more porous sandy soils can be much less effective. Overall, the drain blocking on the site has worked well, largely due to a skilled digger operator and close quality control. This work was carried out by a local contractor who also carried out some essential road and track improvements to facilitate access for monitoring and light recreation.

Forest Enterprise have largely supervised all phases of the restoration work at Monadh Mor, with regular meetings of the Local Operational Planning Team on site to assess the work.

For the first half of the Project, feedback from the local community was largely positive, however during the later period of work, a number of neighbouring farmers and householders were concerned that the work had caused flooding problems on their properties. At a meeting with the National Farmers Union (representing the farmers) in August 2000, it was agreed that the Project would commission an independent Impact Assessment of the restoration work, to cover both the restoration area and the adjoining agricultural land. This would help determine whether the Project work had had any effect on the land of any of the neighbouring farmers and, if so, present a series of costed options for mitigation measures which would not undermine the Natura interest of the site.
The Scottish Agricultural College carried out this assessment and produced a report which concluded that the main causes of the flooding problem were increased rainfall coupled with the poor state of the drainage system outwith the area of Project work. Some recommendations were made to ensure that the Project area would not pose a problem in future, but most of the recommendations referred to adjacent farms. Although the Project work was not found to be responsible for the flooding, 500m of public roadside ditch was cleared by the Project to foster good community relations and ease local concerns.

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Achievements

• Hydrological integrity restored over 103.3 hectares of the restoration area.
• Felling of non-native conifers and thinning of plantation Scots pine over a total area of 142.6 hectares.
• Removal of 1 kilometre of redundant fencing from the site to improve visual aspects and reduce the potential for birdstrike.
• Two new gates provided to allow access for visitors on foot or bicycle and the addition of waymarkers on the route through the restored areas.
• Two interpretation panels erected on site.
• Guided tours given to various groups including the Inverness Botany Group and junior rangers (12-17 years old) from various country parks in Glasgow.