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Climate change: impacts, adaptation and mitigation in British woodlands Dr. Mike Morecroft

Climate change: impacts, adaptation and mitigation in British woodlands 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...

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Climate change: impacts, adaptation and mitigation in British woodlands Dr. Mike Morecroft

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  1. Climate change: impacts, adaptation and mitigation in British woodlands Dr. Mike Morecroft Head of Climate Change, Natural England

  2. Natural England .....to ensure that the natural environment is conserved, enhanced and managed for the benefit of present and future generations... • Advice to government • Species and habitat protection • Incentives for environmental management • Management of nature reserves • Access to nature

  3. British Woodlands

  4. Woodland fragmentation & microclimate GB Forest Cover: 13% (England 9%) Fragmented

  5. Forest cover in Britain c. 80% land area before clearance c. 50% Roman period 5% by 1900 13% at present

  6. Ancient Semi-Natural Woodlands Management history Continuity of forest cover since 1600 c. 10% of woodland

  7. Pressures on British forest ecosystems agriculture habitat loss (and gain) fragmentation intensification air pollution development invasive species climate change ? disease? time

  8. Climate Change Impacts

  9. http://www.lwec.org.uk/resources/report-cards/biodiversity

  10. Climate change impacts on woodlands Large scale relationships to temperature England: change driven by extreme events Summer drought more important than temperature? Drought sensitive trees: beech, birch, sycamore Ground flora resistant to change Invertebrates (incl. pests) responsive to change Complex interactions

  11. Seasonal timing (phenology) is changing • Spring is coming earlier • Mean change 11.7 days (1976 – 2005) • 725 taxa across different groups • 83.8% of trends were advance • Thackeray et al. (2010)

  12. Distributions are changing UK Animal Groups Shift north-wards km Hickling et al. 2006

  13. Indirect effects of climate change • Changing forest management • Changes in agriculture • Changing catchment management • Carbon management • Renewable energy

  14. Climate Change mitigation

  15. Forests and climate change mitigation UK woodland stores: c.790 MtC (640 MtC soils and litter) Sequestration: c.15 MtCO2 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, Edinburgh

  16. Semi-natural WoodlandsClimate change mitigation Increase woodland area Bring more areas into active management Dilemmas for conservation: Which species? (Eucalyptus?) Intensity of management Potential for ‘win-win’

  17. Climate Change Adaptation

  18. Adaptation for conservation

  19. build resilience Adaptation accommodate change

  20. Resilience • Reducing other threats • Larger areas of habitat / larger populations • Maximise heterogeneity in microclimate / soils • Specific 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.

  21. Accommodating Change • Flexibility in designations • Review approach to non-native species and genotypes • Increased landscape permeability • Transplantation?

  22. Resilience or accommodation? Changing approach as the climate changes 1°C> 2°C > 3°C> 4°C resilience accommodation enable persistence ---> accept change ---> promote transformation ?

  23. Ecosystem based adaptation → Conservation can help human society to adapt to climate change

  24. Woodlands can... Contribute to flood and water resource management Prevent soil erosion Provide shade or shelter for people and livestock

  25. New approach to land management? Landscape scale Multiple benefits

  26. Wytham Woods 400 ha Mixture of ancient, secondary and plantation woodland Also grasslands and farmland Owned by Oxford University Long history of research

  27. 20 26 15 L M 14 Cairngorms I Glensaugh 17 K F J 13 16 Sourhope 3 12 19 21 18 N 22 P O 1 Moor House - Upper Hillsborough Teesdale G 2 D E Y Wyddfa (Snowdon) 6 H 10 B 7 A 9 C Drayton Rothamsted Wytham 5 23 24 Alice Holt 25 Porton 11 North Wyke 8 4 Environmental Change Network • Detecting & understanding change • Physical and biological monitoring • Research links • Started 1992 See Morecroft et al (2009) Biological Conservation

  28. Yadvinder takes over.

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