Doire Damh

Also within

Ross and Cromarty County Wester Ross Scenic Area 26. Coulin & Ledgowan Forest Wild Land Area

Condition (NatureScot)

Description

DOIRE DAMH Doire Damh is located to the south of Loch Torridon and is one of the best examples in the North West Highlands of a sessile oak – birch wood on flushed soils. Apart from the Letterewe oakwoods this is the only site of this type in Wester Ross. This extensive open woodland occupies steep, west-facing slopes. Birch Betula spp. is dominant with hazel, rowan, oak Quercus spp., holly and alder scattered throughout. Although there are areas where the canopy has opened out considerably, good stands of moderately closed canopy are widely distributed and regeneration shows excellent potential for all tree species present. The northern part of the wood in particular is crossed by a series of springs and seepages and this area supports a diverse flora in which woodland and grassland plants, many uncommon in Wester Ross, are inter-mixed. The southern section is more acid, but supports a further range of species including some of local distribution in Wester Ross. Above the current tree line is a series of crags, screes and rock outcrops which support ungrazed tall herb and dwarf shrub heath vegetation in which a range of tree species, heavily influenced by exposure, are found. The influence of altitude and base status on woodland is clearly displayed in this site while the diversity of habitats has produced one of the most extensive vascular plant lists of any wood in Wester Ross.