PLANS to plant tens of thousands of trees to create a new woodland in the Cairngorms have been unveiled by a charity.
Led by the Spey Catchment Initiative (SCI), the scheme, called Coire na Ciste Montane Woodland Project, aims to plant around 30,000 trees on the Cairn Gorm mountain.
The new forest would be around 600m (1968ft) up the slope of the 1245m (4085ft) high mountain and would include species like dwarf birch and montane willows.
Cairn Gorm is one of Scotland's best-known mountains, with its name lent to the whole surrounding mountain range of the Cairngorms, which is a popular walking spot and also has a ski resort on it.
Organisers say the new woodland would be planted along the banks of a small stream called Allt na Ciste and will be funded by the Cairngorms National Park Authority.
They added that the project, which aims to restore the habitat in a bid to revitalise the area's ecosystem, is the first of its kind due to its large size.
Penny Lawson, of SCI, said: “The Coire na Ciste Montane Woodland Project will create essential habitat for rare species, help cool rivers and connect fragmented habitats.
“It's a powerful example of how woodland restoration can deliver nature-based climate action in one of the most special places in Scotland.”
Around 11,000 years ago, Scotland had a vast woodland, called the montane woodland, which was found at high-altitude habitats and was part of the Caledonian Forest.
The forest even reached the Western Isles and Shetland 5000 years ago, but due to the climate becoming cooler and wetter, along with human activity, it led to a decline in the forest's coverage.
According to Scottish Government agency NatureScot, by the 1900s around 5% of Scotland's land area had woodland.
