Dr Mike Morecroft Head of Climate Change Natural England Natural England to ensure that the natural environment is conserved enhanced and managed for the benefit of present and future generations ID: 751844
Download Presentation The PPT/PDF document "Climate change: impacts, adaptation and ..." is the property of its rightful owner. Permission is granted to download and print the materials on this web site for personal, non-commercial use only, and to display it on your personal computer provided you do not modify the materials and that you retain all copyright notices contained in the materials. By downloading content from our website, you accept the terms of this agreement.
Slide1
Climate change: impacts, adaptation and mitigation in British woodlands
Dr. Mike MorecroftHead of Climate Change, Natural England Slide2
Natural England
.....to ensure that the natural environment is conserved, enhanced and managed for the benefit of present and future generations... Advice to governmentSpecies and habitat protection
Incentives for environmental management
Management of nature reserves
Access to natureSlide3Slide4
British WoodlandsSlide5
Woodland fragmentation & microclimate
GB Forest Cover: 13% (England 9%)
FragmentedSlide6
Forest cover in Britain
c. 80% land area before clearancec. 50% Roman period5% by 1900
13% at presentSlide7
Ancient Semi-Natural Woodlands
Management historyContinuity of forest cover since 1600c. 10% of woodlandSlide8
intensification
fragmentationhabitat loss (and gain)
agriculture
air pollution
Pressures on British forest ecosystems
climate change
development
invasive species
?
time
disease?Slide9
Climate Change ImpactsSlide10
http://www.lwec.org.uk/resources/report-cards/biodiversitySlide11
Climate change impacts on woodlands
Large scale relationships to temperatureEngland: change driven by extreme eventsSummer drought more important than temperature?
Drought sensitive trees: beech, birch, sycamore
Ground flora resistant to change
Invertebrates (incl. pests) responsive to change
Complex interactionsSlide12
Seasonal timing (phenology) is changing
Spring is coming earlierMean change 11.7 days (1976 – 2005)
725
taxa
across different groups
83.8% of trends were advance
Thackeray et al. (2010)Slide13
Hickling et al. 2006
Shift north-wardskm
Distributions are changing
UK Animal GroupsSlide14
Indirect effects of climate change
Changing forest management Changes in agriculture Changing catchment management Carbon management Renewable energySlide15
Climate Change mitigationSlide16Slide17
Forests and climate change mitigation
UK woodland stores: c.790 MtC (640 MtC soils and litter)Sequestration:
c.
15 MtCO
2
in 2007 (
c.
3% UK emissions)
Afforestation potential: 10% emissions by 2050 (16% forest cover)
Renewable fuel and materials
Read
et al.
(2009). Combating climate change – a role for UK forests. The Stationery Office, EdinburghSlide18
Semi-natural Woodlands
Climate change mitigationIncrease woodland areaBring more areas into active management
Dilemmas for conservation:
Which species? (Eucalyptus?)
Intensity of management
Potential for ‘win-win’Slide19
Climate Change AdaptationSlide20
Adaptation for conservationSlide21
Adaptation
build resilienceaccommodate changeSlide22
Resilience
Reducing other threatsLarger areas of habitat / larger populationsMaximise heterogeneity in microclimate / soilsSpecific adaptations e.g. planting drought tolerant species.
Morecroft
et al.
(2012) Resilience to climate change: translating principles into practice.
Journal of Applied Ecology,
49: 547-551
.Slide23
Accommodating Change
Flexibility in designationsReview approach to non-native species and genotypesIncreased landscape permeabilityTransplantation?Slide24
enable persistence ---> accept change
resilience accommodationChanging approach as the climate changes
1
°C
>
2
°C
>
3
°C
>
4
°C
Resilience or accommodation?
---> promote
transformation
?Slide25
→
Ecosystem based adaptation
Conservation can help human society
to adapt to climate changeSlide26
Woodlands can...
Contribute to flood and water resource managementPrevent soil erosion Provide shade or shelter for people and livestockSlide27
New approach to land management?
Landscape scaleMultiple benefitsSlide28
Wytham Woods
400 haMixture of ancient, secondary and plantation woodlandAlso grasslands and farmland
Owned by Oxford University
Long history of researchSlide29
Glensaugh
Sourhope
Porton
Wytham
North Wyke
Drayton
Y Wyddfa
(Snowdon)
Rothamsted
Hillsborough
Moor House - Upper
Teesdale
15
14
17
13
16
3
22
2
10
7
9
6
5
4
8
11
1
19
21
12
L
I
F
J
K
N
O
P
G
H
B
C
A
D
E
M
18
Alice Holt
25
23
24
26
Cairngorms
20
Environmental Change Network
Detecting & understanding change
Physical and biological monitoring
Research links
Started 1992
See Morecroft et al (2009)
Biological ConservationSlide30Slide31
Yadvinder takes over.