Across the UK, a growing number of projects are expanding native woodlands in upland areas using natural tree regeneration. Perhaps the best known example of this is currently underway on the Mar Lodge Estate in the Cairngorms National Park. In this talk, Patrick will explore how moth communities have responded to this ongoing woodland expansion project, and comment more broadly on the benefits of woodland restoration for Lepidoptera diversity.
Q&A with Patrick Cook
Patrick Cook is a Senior Ecologist at Butterfly Conservation and PhD student at the University of Stirling. Patrick’s main interest is researching how biodiversity responds to nature restoration and he has a particular interest in butterflies and moths. His PhD project investigates how plants and invertebrates respond to the rewilding project at Bamff Wildland in Perthshire and his job involves research and monitoring on scarce butterflies and moths and how they respond to land use change (such as woodland expansion and management).
Are there any moth species that might lose out as a result of woodland restoration in Scotland, or is it entirely positive?
There will inevitably be a mix of winners and losers as habitats change. Species associated with open habitats and the upland plants that grow within them may slightly suffer, for example some of the Bearberry associated moths likeSmall Dark Yellow Underwing, Netted Mountain Moth and Bearberry Case-bearer. These are day flying so we didn’t record them in the project. But it’s important to remember that native woodland restoration doesn’t mean the wholesale removal of open habitats. Indeed, retaining some open habitat is vital. The goal is to create a mosaic of different habitats across the uplands. That is why large-scale natural regeneration (such as at Mar Lodge) is so fantastic – it inherently creates varied, patchy structures that retain open areas alongside recovering woodland. Furthermore, not every estate will undergo woodland creation, leaving plenty of open moorland across the wider landscape. We also try to work closely with woodland creation projects to highlight when open ground needs to be retained for various priority species of butterflies and moths.
Does light trap effectiveness vary between woodland and moorland trapping?
Yes, there is likely a minor difference in capture efficiency. Namely, woodlands tend to yield slightly higher catches because the tree canopy provides greater wind protection and encourages moths to fly around more. In hindsight, using a higher-wattage bulb (such as a 15W actinic rather than a 6W) might have helped balance this, but the exact extent of this effect remains unquantified. My gut feeling is that the findings still offer a realistic comparison between the habitats. We discuss this potential variable in the paper’s discussion section. This paper by Merckx and Slade (2014) is also really useful for looking at some of these differences in moth attraction to light .
Did you have a fixed schedule of survey nights, or did you adjust dates based on weather?
We had a fixed schedule dictated by the logistics of transport to the survey sites and, luckily, we were able to stick to it because we got fortunate with the weather. We had relatively low winds and overnight temperatures between 8°C and 13°C. Some nights had heavy rain, but cloud cover and higher humidity actually meant those nights had some of the highest trap catches. If conditions had forced a schedule change (e.g. if there had been storm-level winds), I’m sure the estate team would have coordinated adjustments, but fortunately that wasn’t necessary.
Did you look at or notice differences between woodlands of different ages (e.g., ancient vs. mature stands)?
The study did not compare ancient against between mature stands directly, as all mature woodland surveyed was ancient Caledonian pine. The early-successional woodland surveyed, in contrast, was roughly 10 to 20 years old. Adding further age classes would have overcomplicated the study design. Long-term monitoring projects (such as work within Cairngorms Connect) are better positioned to track changes across woodland succession over time, whereas this project served as a targeted snapshot.
Were there any outliers or surprising findings that you feel warrant further study?
Three main areas for further research which interest me are:
- The role of broadleaf components within pine woods: It would be valuable to investigate the distinct ecological contribution made by broadleaf trees scattered within mature pine stands.
- Successional transitions over time: Tracking moth community shifts as regenerating stands move from open young woodland into denser pole and thicket stages.
- Natural regeneration vs. tree planting: Comparing the biodiversity outcomes of sensitive native planting (such as Carrifran Wildwood), typical tree planting in tubes and purely natural regeneration would be interesting.
Literature References
- Cook et al. (2025) ‘Landscape-scale native woodland habitat restoration using natural tree regeneration provides a biodiversity boost for moths in the uplands’: https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/2688-8319.70136
Further Info
- Butterfly Conservation website: https://butterfly-conservation.org/
- Mar Lodge NNR: https://www.nts.org.uk/visit/places/mar-lodge-estate
- Traits database for Larger Moths: https://catalogue.ceh.ac.uk/documents/dbc7cc17-cbbd-49dd-bab4-8e8855768d66
- Blog about the project: https://appliedecologistsblog.com/2025/11/12/project-to-restore-and-expand-scotlands-ancient-forests-provides-a-boost-to-moth-biodiversity/
- Caledonian Pinewoods report from Trees for Life: https://treesforlife.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Caledonian-Pinewood-Recovery-Final-Report-Feb-2023.pdf
- ‘Regeneration: The Rescue of a Wild Land’ by Andrew Painting: https://www.waterstones.com/book/regeneration/andrew-painting/9781780277592
- How to make a Moth Trap (Butterfly Conservation Guidance): https://butterfly-conservation.org/news-and-blog/how-to-make-your-own-moth-trap
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