Extinction Devours Rare Life in UK's Celtic Rainforests

(MENAFN) Ecologists are sounding the alarm about an unfolding "extinction crisis" within Britain's temperate rainforests, also known as Celtic rainforests, where unique mosses, lichens, and liverworts are vanishing. These rare habitats are primarily located along the western coasts of the UK.

A 2024 assessment of Welsh rainforests revealed a concerning statistic: only 22% are in healthy condition, primarily due to the detrimental effects of pollution, habitat fragmentation, and the spread of invasive species.

The fragility of this ecosystem was starkly illustrated by the fall of a 500-year-old oak tree in Eryri National Park (Snowdonia) during Storm Darragh in December. Ecologist Sabine Nouvet lamented, "'When this tree came down, in a flash we lost a species.'"

Ms. Nouvet, a rainforest advisor with PlantLife and a member of the Alliance for Wales' Rainforests, explained that the fallen oak had supported a significant population of a rare lichen. She described its loss as "'symbolic of the species crisis, the extinction crisis, that we are facing now.'"

The bark of the ancient tree once harbored over 60 different types of lichen, including the exceptionally rare rinodina isidioides. This minuscule lichen, whose tiny structures resemble skeletal fingers when viewed through a hand lens, exclusively grows on trees at least 300 years old and thrives in the rain-drenched valleys of western Britain and Ireland.

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