More than half of people think they know what a “temperate rainforest” is, but far fewer realise the rare habitat is found on Britain’s shores, polling suggests.
Nature charity Plantlife is calling for greater protection of Britain’s hidden and largely vanished rainforests, including government funding, full legal protection and long-term support for forest managers, and point to polling that finds support for the habitat is strongly backed by the public.
The poll of more than 2,000 people by Opinion Matters for Plantlife found that 58% thought they understood what a temperate rainforest was.
But 45% associated them with tropical rainforest-rich Brazil, while just one in five (20%) expected them to grow in England, only 12% linked them to Wales, and 13.5% thought they would grow in Scotland, all areas where they are found.
It also found seven in 10 people would be interested in visiting a temperate rainforest, and 88% thought it was important that government makes protecting the habitat a priority.
Temperate rainforests, once known as Atlantic oakwoods or Celtic rainforests, are a globally rare habitat, with just 1% of the world’s land providing the wet, mild conditions they need, in places including the western fringes of Europe, the west coast of Canada, Japan and New Zealand.
These habitats once swathed western coasts of England, Wales, Scotland, the island of Ireland and the Isle of Man, but the area of Britain covered by these woodlands has shrunk from a fifth to just 1%, cleared for timber, commercial forestry and agriculture.
The fragments that are left are filled with native trees festooned with mosses, ferns and lichens, and rich in rare wildlife such as pearl-bordered fritillary butterfly and birds including wood warbler, pied flycatcher and redstart.
But those remaining pockets of habitat face multiple threats including isolation, invasive species and rising temperatures which put their unique micro-climate at risk.
Conservationists say scaling up and connecting areas of healthy rainforest habitat, by planting native trees and enabling natural regeneration of the woodlands and species that grow in them, is crucial to making sure they and the wildlife they support can survive in the face of climate change.
Restoring these ancient woodlands can also play a role in tackling climate change, storing carbon and reducing run-off and flooding caused by increasingly heavy rainstorms, they argue.
Adam Thorogood, rainforest programme manager at Plantlife said: “Britain’s rainforests are hiding in plain sight – in places like the west coast of Scotland, Eryri (Snowdonia) in Wales, the Lake District and the fringes of Dartmoor and Exmoor.
“These are ancient places with twisted branches, dappled light and boulders cloaked in mosses and lichens – survivors of Earth’s earliest ecosystems, tracing back 400 million years.”
Jenny Hawley, Plantlife’s policy and advocacy manager added: “If Britain’s rainforests are to survive, we need an urgent response from governments.
“Political commitments to tackle the twin crises of biodiversity and climate change are worth very little without real action on the ground.
“National rainforest funds, full legal protection and long-term support for rainforest managers are vital steps forward.”
Plantlife, which unveiled the poll ahead of world rainforest day, says it is working with farmers, landowners, governments and communities to protect and restore the UK’s remaining temperate rainforests.
