Improving Woodland beside the River Larig and its Tributaries By Kyle Hind

This month the Forth Rivers Trust starts the second year of riparian tree planting along the River Larig and its tributaries. Riverside woodlands are absent in many areas of the Forth catchment because land is being given over to human practises. At the top of the Teith catchment in Balquhidder Glen lies a river named the Larig. The rivers banks are bare of shrubby vegetation and trees and the glen is dotted with Sheep, Deer and Cattle which stops woodland regeneration in its tracks. A lack of large bank side vegetation results in erosion causing sediment to enter the river when is in spate.

With assistance from Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park, Marine Scotland and the landowner at Inverlochlarig farm the Forth Rivers Trust are planting trees along the river Larig and its tributaries in the hopes to mitigate the effects of erosion, lack of riparian and instream habitat and climate change. Heavy duty tree protection is being built to protect the trees from predators such as deer and cattle. The protection is small fence pods which contain 4-5 trees each. Last year the river had seen one of the worst floods in what is believed to be hundreds of years. Paired with many landsides caused by the wet weather. The river has completely changed washing roads away and changing the riverbed. The sediment on the riverbed is now finer which is unfavourable for species such as salmon but gravel beds have also been added improving some sites for spawning. Flooding is a natural process, but the impacts can be reduced with the help of riverside vegetation and upland trees by slowing the flow. Inverlochlarig is a popular hill walking spot with a beautiful valley and surrounding mountains. It is also where Rob Roy lived some of his life and he himself is buried within the glen. These trees should make the spot even more spectacular once fully grown as they will provide habitat for more wildlife, preserve hill walking routes and protect the river environment.

Over the next few weeks, we will be out with volunteers building the pods and planting trees.  A massive thanks to Callanders Landscape and National Park volunteers for coming to help on a very wet day