Fragile alpine plants on Scotland's hills and mountains are being hit hard by rising temperatures caused by climate change, with some species facing extinction at certain altitudes, new studies show

They are amongst the rarest plants in Britain, but scientists at the National Trust for Scotland (NTS) have found that less lying snow, dryer springs and milder, wetter winters are all having an impact on those which grow in Scotland’s mountainous areas.

Monitoring of mountain plants on NTS land, such as Highland Saxifrage (Saxifraga rivularis) in Glencoe, has revealed the extent to which plants are dying out. In some cases, plants such as Highland Saxifrage and Snow Pearlwort have completely disappeared from the lower altitude locations in which they once occurred.

Teams from the conservation charity have been monitoring results from as far back as the 1950s which show the impact of warmer temperatures at high altitude on protected species. The trust currently undertakes detailed research on a six year cycle, which is producing evidence of the long term trend towards extinction, particularly on the lower lying, south facing slopes. On Coire nam Beith in Glencoe, one population of Highland Saxifrage was seen to reduce from 300 plants in the 1990s to only 31 in recent years.

NTS ecologist, Dan Watson, said: “Our monitoring shows that climate change is affecting Scotland’s mountains at an alarming rate. Trust monitoring tracks the decrease of rare arctic-alpine plants such as Snow Pearlwort (Sagina nivalis) on Ben Lawers and Highland Saxifrage in Glencoe and shows how populations are declining at lower altitudes. Meanwhile, common temperate plants less able to cope with extreme climates are moving further up the hills. As the distribution of plants found at high altitude is changing, more work is required to confirm the extent of the problem.

“These results are firm evidence of the rise in mountain temperatures and the decrease in lying snow on southerly slopes and at lower altitudes. Current estimates indicate that snow cover at 1060m is projected to be reduced by 21 per cent by the 2050s.”

The results have concerned other conservation bodies. Lang Banks, director of WWF Scotland said:

"These important studies reveal the worrying fact that, as a result of climate change, many of Scotland's cold-loving plant species are literally running out of mountain. It's therefore vital that all our elected politicians are made aware of these finding and continue to support action to address climate change.

"With the Scottish Government putting together a new climate change action plan for the end of the year, this is a reminder that a bold actions are needed to protect wildlife and secure the full benefits of moving to a zero-carbon economy.”