Hydrology and the natural heritage of the Scottish mountains

The physical natures of the Scottish mountains and their geographical position have created a montane environment, which can be considered as unique in European terms. The mountains of Scotland have been subjected to major environmental changes throughout the past centuries including climate change, deforestation, hydropower developments and more recently the expansion of plantation forestry. Mountain ecosystems have the ability to withstand large climatic variations and extreme events but it is suggested that they may not withstand some of the climatic barriers, which have recently been crossed. The greatest recent land use change in Scotland's mountains has been the expansion of plantation forests. The effects on headwater catchment hydrology are mainly in the reduction in runoff. It is suggested that plantation forestry has a more significant impact on the natural heritage through other influences such as water chemistry and river sediments. Future management of the Scottish mountains needs to consider the great natural heritage value in addition to other interests such as water resources, hydropower generation, commercial forestry and tourism.