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Ecological Continuity Trust: The Big Idea

Ecological Continuity Trust: The Big Idea. We need to buy Time. Why Long-Term?. Prepare for the unknown Global change, especially climate Ecological interactions play out over decades – 150y Detect cumulative ecological effects Capture rare events Reveal tipping-points.

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Ecological Continuity Trust: The Big Idea

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  1. Ecological Continuity Trust: The Big Idea We need to buy Time

  2. Why Long-Term? • Prepare for the unknown • Global change, especially climate • Ecological interactions play out over decades – 150y • Detect cumulative ecological effects • Capture rare events • Reveal tipping-points

  3. Why Experiments? • Attribute change to specific causes • Identify mechanisms • Manipulate conditions beyond currently prevailing limits • Test the resistance of ecosystems to change • Measure resilience to extreme events.

  4. Strategy: Ecosystems on the Edge • Interactions: climate X grazing • Other treatments: nested • A platform: spare plots • A range of key ecosystems • Geographically replicated

  5. Can it be done? • Logistics • Longevity • Lolly

  6. 20 scientists from: CEH MLURI IGER Forestry Commission, Universities English Nature/ JNCC Rothamsted North Moor Trust National Trust BES ECT Participants

  7. Next Steps • Complete the Business Plan • Establish the Trust & charity • Application to Esmee Fairbairn

  8. Supporting documents • Theaims of the ECT and the plan for the scoping study • A list of participants in the scoping study. • An annotated list of long-term ecological experiments in the UK. • A summary of long-term forestry experiments, complementary to #3. • The generic experimental design • A review of the international context for long-term ecological experiments. • Job description for a project officer to be employed by ECT/BES

  9. Aims of the trust • To acquire the ownership, or legally-guaranteed control in perpetuity, of land to be designated ‘Ecological Continuity Reserves’, on which long-term ecological experiments will be conducted. • To provide the infrastructure for establishment and permanent maintenance of experiments on Trust land. • To ensure that experiments are continued indefinitely and that no developments predjudicial to this aim take place. • To facilitate scientific research and ecological monitoring within the Trust’s reserves. • To raise funds for and manage an endowment in order to achieve the Trust’s aims.

  10. Replicate grazing unit (4 x 2 paired +/- grazing units) 25 m 2m 2m 25 m Drought Warming Control - spp -litter - spp +rain +rain +rain +N +N - spp +rain -litter +N +N -litter - spp -litter spare spare +NPK spare spare spare +NPK spare +NPK spare spare spare spare +NPK spare spare 100m 2m Warming x Drought 100m Logistics

  11. Short listed existing manipulation experiments Rothamsted Moorhouse Wardlow Whim International links Knowledge base Raisbeck Clocaenog New experiments Buxton Trawscoed Pwllpeiran Techniques Supporting data Continuity Thursley Wytham Craddocks North Wyke Park Grass Experiments old & new Model chains

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