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Scotstown Moor in the north of Aberdeen, Scotland, was designated as a local nature reserve in 1994 because of its rich wildlife. Scotstown Moor Local Nature Reserve (LNR) is located four miles to the north of Aberdeen City Centre, near the residential areas of Dubford and Bridge of Don, at grid reference NJ 935116. The reserve covers roughly 34 hectares and is owned by Aberdeen City Council, who established it as a nature reserve in 1994. It contains the only example of species rich lowland heath in Aberdeen City. ==Site history== Scotstown Moor once formed part of extensive areas of heath and bog around Aberdeen. Other similar habitats such as Ferryhill Moss and Stocket Moor, lying closer to the city, have long since disappeared, being lost to housing.Commonty Scotstown Moor remained largely intact up to the 20th century, mainly as a result of its status as a . This system of land tenure protected the site from enclosure and reclamation by local landowners. Records from 1894 show that the site was not maintained without a struggle, being "coveted by neighboring lairds", and that several encroachments had been made onto the site. Although the site's status gave the public free access, Scotstown Moor was the property of the Bishopric of Aberdeen and was farmed by the proprietor of Perwinnes. Furthermore, the feuars of Old Aberdeen were granted rights of common grazing, sod cutting, and peat cutting, although little direct evidence of these activities remains today. A Children's Camp was built on the site and ran from the early 1900s until the start of the Second World War. The camp catered for undernourished children, convalescents, and those showing symptoms of tuberculosis. Throughout the early part of this century Scotstown Moor suffered some habitat degradation, largely due to drainage operations. However, the Second World War brought major problems for the site. The need for increased agricultural output led to the reclamation of part of the site, which was then put under intensive cattle grazing. This probably resulted in extensive areas of heather being replaced by grassland. The overall effect has led to fragmentation of the site, particularly serious for the bogs which became more and more isolated, and therefore vulnerable to external influences. In 1869, there was a much larger area of moorland and rural setting compared with today. Currently, Scotstown Moor is surrounded on three sides by housing. There is a new road and conifer plantations to the north. In April 1943, Aberdeen was bombed heavily by the Luftwaffe, a number of bombs were dropped on Scotstown wood adjacent to the moor. During the 1970s, the site faced further pressures. Ownership of the site had passed to the tenant of Perwinnes, who intended to either convert the site fully to agriculture or sell it for housing development. At this time the local authority felt that the site area should remain as a "green wedge" within new housing planned for the area. However, since the council's "Environmental Improvement Scheme" involved the clearance of scrub and the afforestation of the moor, this option was hardly less destructive than full scale development. In 1972 the site was notified as a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) by the Nature Conservancy Council (now Scottish Natural Heritage) largely on the strength of its wet heath and bog. This designation probably protected the site from various planned land-uses which would have proved highly damaging, including drainage, afforestation, housing, and conversion to a golf course. However, housing developments continued around Scotstown Moor, increasing pressure to the site. In 1980, despite the opposition of the NCC, the University of Aberdeen and the Scottish Wildlife Trust (SWT), a new road (Dubford Road) was constructed across one of the wettest and most species rich areas of boy. This resulted not only in the loss of valuable habitat, but also created a new source of pollution close to the moor and almost certainly affected the site's drainage patterns. In 1983 planning permission was granted for housing on over 0.5 ha of land within the SSSI. The remaining part of the SSSI passed into the hands of the local authority, which also acquired land to the north in 1986. The Local Nature Reserve now consists of these two areas. In January 2013 Aberdeen city council announced that Scotstown moor would be converted into a long term "travellers" site. This announcement was made without any public consultation with local residents of the Bridge of Don. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Scotstown Moor」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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