Scotstown Moor facts for kids

Scotstown Moor is a special natural area in the north of Aberdeen, Scotland. It's officially called the Scotstown Moor Local Nature Reserve (LNR).

This nature reserve is about four miles north of Aberdeen city centre, close to the areas of Dubford and Bridge of Don. It covers around 34 hectares (that's about 84 acres!). Aberdeen City Council owns the moor and made it a nature reserve in 1994. It's super important because it's the only place in Aberdeen City with a rich example of lowland heath habitat.

History of Scotstown Moor

Scotstown Moor used to be part of much bigger areas of heathland and bog around Aberdeen. Many other similar places closer to the city have disappeared over time, replaced by houses. Scotstown Moor stayed mostly natural until the 1900s. This was mainly because it was a "Commonty." This old system meant the land was shared and protected from being taken over by landowners.

Even though people could freely access the moor, it belonged to the Bishop of Aberdeen and was farmed by someone else. Local people also had rights to graze animals, cut sod (grass and soil), and cut peat (a type of fuel from bogs).

In the early 1900s, a Children's Camp was built on the moor. It helped children who were not getting enough food, those recovering from illness, and children with symptoms of tuberculosis. The camp ran until the start of the Second World War.

Changes During and After World War II

During the early 1900s, Scotstown Moor started to lose some of its natural habitat, mostly because of drainage work. But the Second World War caused even bigger problems. To produce more food, parts of the moor were turned into farmland and used for cattle grazing. This likely changed large areas of heather into grassland. These changes broke up the natural areas, especially the bogs, making them more isolated and vulnerable.

In 1869, the moor was surrounded by open countryside. Today, houses surround Scotstown Moor on three sides. There's also a new road and conifer tree plantations to the north. In April 1943, during World War II, bombs were dropped on Scotstown wood next to the moor by the Luftwaffe.

Protecting the Moor

In the 1970s, the moor faced more challenges. The owner wanted to turn it all into farmland or sell it for housing. The local council wanted to keep it as a "green wedge" within new housing areas. However, some of their own plans, like clearing bushes and planting trees, could also harm the moor.

In 1972, Scotstown Moor was named a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) because of its wet heath and bog areas. This special status probably saved the site from plans that would have damaged it, like more drainage, tree planting, housing, or even turning it into a golf course. Still, housing developments continued to grow around the moor, putting more pressure on the site.

In 1980, even with opposition from nature groups, a new road (Dubford Road) was built across one of the wettest and most diverse parts of the moor. This not only destroyed valuable habitat but also brought pollution closer and changed the moor's natural drainage. In 1983, permission was given for houses to be built on a small part of the SSSI. The rest of the SSSI and some land to the north were taken over by the local council, forming the Local Nature Reserve we see today.

Changes in Plants Over Time

Studies of Scotstown Moor's plants in 1968 and 1998 show that the number of plant species has gone down. Plants have been lost from all types of habitats, especially from open water and open ground. For example, plants like marsh arrowgrass, early marsh orchid, common twayblade, and various types of dead nettle are no longer found here.

The number of non-native plant species has increased a lot, from less than 1% in 1896 to more than 5% in 1998. This is partly because non-native conifers like lodgepole pine and Sitka spruce were planted. Other non-native plants, like Matricaria discoides and Veronica persica, and even the very invasive Reynoutria japonica, have spread naturally.

Native trees that have appeared since 1868 include Silver birch, oak, hawthorn, wild cherry, and bird cherry. These trees likely spread from nearby woodlands as the area naturally changed. Willow trees are also found in the reserve, though two other willow species have been lost since 1868.

What Scotstown Moor Looks Like

The moor gently slopes from north to south, from about 80 meters down to 60 meters above sea level. Water drains from north to south into the Silver Burn, a stream that flows south of the site. Water seeping from the ground and from several springs feeds a bog at the south end of the reserve. The main soil type is peaty podzol, which drains freely. In the southern part, the soils are freely draining iron podzols, formed from sand and gravel left by glaciers.

The reserve has houses on its east and west sides. To the west is Galshie How, an area with trees, bushes, and grass. To the north, there's an area of wild heathland, grassland, and gorse scrub. More houses are to the south, along with mature mixed woodland.

Main Habitat Types and Plants

Scotstown Moor has four main types of habitats: gorse scrub, planted woodland, marshy grassland, and bog/nutrient-rich wet areas with standing water. The nutrient-rich wet areas are special because they support many different plants, including some rare ones.

• Gorse Scrub

Gorse scrub is mostly found in the southern part of the moor. It grows in patches of different sizes, next to bogs and grasslands. In recent years, it has been spreading into the bog areas. Common plants here include gorse, cross-leaved heath (in wet spots), bell heather, heather, and bramble. Other notable plants are broom and bracken.

Gorse is a plant that can add nitrogen to the soil, which helps it spread into heathlands and grasslands. It can regrow after being burned or cut. Gorse provides a safe place for birds like the yellowhammer and whitethroat to build their nests. Bracken is a very common fern that often dominates heaths and open woods, especially on acidic soils.

• Plantation Woodland

A strip of conifer trees, about 50 meters wide, runs across the top of the reserve and down the eastern side for about 200 meters. These trees were originally planted to provide shelter. They include Scots pine, lodgepole pine, Norway spruce, sitka spruce, and larch.

Out of these five tree species, only Scots pine is native to Scotland. These trees offer food and nesting spots for many birds. The plants growing on the ground in this area are sparse because the tree canopy is very dense. However, you can find nettle, bramble, and broad buckler fern here.

• Peat Bog, Nutrient-Rich Flushes, and Ponds

This is the most natural and plant-rich habitat at Scotstown Moor. It supports plant species that are now rare in north-east Scotland. The bogs and wet areas are mainly in the southern half of the moor. There's also a pond in the north-west corner and a small acid bog in the eastern part of the conifer plantation.

Some of the more unusual bog plants include bogbean, grass of parnassus, northern marsh orchid, lesser butterfly orchid, common butterwort, round-leaved sundew, and black-bog rush. These "bog plants" can only grow in waterlogged places where the soil has low oxygen and few nutrients. Common butterwort and round-leaved sundew are insectivorous plants, meaning they eat insects to get the minerals they need from the poor soil. Black-bog rush is very important for Aberdeenshire because it's only found at Scotstown Moor in eastern Scotland.

Other plants found in these wet areas include rushes, sedges, cotton-sedges, cross-leaved heath, marsh bedstraw, tufted hair grass, and Sphagnum mosses.

• Grassland

The grassland at Scotstown Moor includes both natural and improved areas. The area at the top of Corse hill, north of the conifer plantation, has been grazed by animals in the past but hasn't been drained or reseeded. However, the grassland south of the plantation was plowed, seeded, and fertilized during the Second World War.

The main grasses, especially in the improved grassland, are Yorkshire fog and cocksfoot. Yorkshire fog is a very common grass that can grow in many different soil conditions. Cocksfoot is another widespread grass that can handle summer grazing.

Other grasses at Scotstown Moor include species of Poa, Lolium, Deschampsia, and Agrostis. Heath bedstraw and soft rush are also common, but overall, there isn't a huge variety of species in the grasslands.

Animals of Scotstown Moor

You can find evidence of rabbits and moles at Scotstown Moor. Foxes and roe deer have also been seen in the area. Rabbits graze, especially in the grasslands, which helps to keep the dominant grasses from growing too much. Voles and shrews live in the grassland and are hunted by owls, sparrowhawks, and kestrels.

Bird life also includes skylarks, which build their nests in the rough grassland. Various other birds nest in the bushes and woodland areas.

Several species of moths, butterflies, and freshwater invertebrates also live on the site. The two small ponds provide a home for frogs, as well as ducks and other wildfowl.

Military Use

The Ministry of Defence owns a small 25-acre area next to the moor. This area is used by the Aberdeen University Officers' Training Corps for driver training.