Nature of Manor Natural History of a Valley in South-East Scotland

About this book

Manor Valley lies just outside the town of Peebles which is an hour’s drive from Edinburgh, Scotland. Visitors find that it includes some of the highest hills in the Southern Uplands yet any part of it can be explored by the average hill walker or wildlife enthusiast.

Nature of Manor: Natural History of a Valley in South-East Scotland begins with an introduction to the landscape and the history of the vegetation. A chapter on rocks, ice and melt-water describes how the landscape was modified during the Ice-Age and where the evidence can still be seen. This is followed by a chapter on soil types, describing from first principles how soils are formed in the different glacial deposits and how the types were mapped. This leads naturally to a chapter on water in all its stages from arriving as rainfall, passing through soil and rock, emerging from numerous springs and leaving through a complex (but surprisingly ordered) network of streams to join the River Tweed near Peebles. The chapter concludes with an analysis of floods and how current land use may be affecting the rate of water runoff.

Turning to the valley’s biodiversity, the next chapter shows how over 500 different kinds of wildflowers and trees are distributed. Along the riversides over 250 species occur whereas on the boggy summits there are fewer than 30. Te chapter on animals covers mammals, reptiles and amphibians. Chapters on birds illustrate for 94 species the link with habitats and how each bird varied seasonally and annually over 14 years.

The author is not content simply describing the many facets of the valley; he considers the valley as supplier of ‘ecosystem services’ that apply not only within but also beyond the catchment boundary. He concludes that the current focus on sheep/cattle farming and spruce timber is too narrow and not serving the wider ‘public good’. It does not even fit the criteria of ‘sustainability’ required by Scottish Government policy. He proposes that a major reforestation programme and other environmental changes will better meet the needs of society and presents a feasible framework for how this could be achieved. There should also be benefits to biodiversity and these will increase wildlife-based tourism.

The book is an essential guide for local residents and anyone visiting the valley.

Customer Reviews

Biography

Graham Pyatt spent 37 years as a forest ecologist and soil scientist with the Forestry Commission. He had the unrivalled and ofen daunting task of mapping soil types, studying their properties and interpreting their signifcance in a silvicultural context in forests throughout Great Britain. He developed the Ecological Site Classifcation for Forestry and was awarded the OBE for ‘services to forest research’. His work also took him to most countries in Europe, to Newfoundland and British Columbia.