Climate change in the uplands: a UK perspective on safeguarding regulatory ecosystem services

Abstract

The UK uplands are highly sensitive and significant cultural landscapes that have been created by woodland clearance for agriculture and are at threat from fire, over-grazing, mineral extraction, land drainage, air pollution and recreation. Some of these activities increase upland sensitivity to climate change, contributing to increased flood risk, or soil carbon losses. Many distinct areas of public policy impinge on the uplands, but most have yet to integrate climate change protection within their objectives. Placed within the emerging ecosystems services perspective, policies could be modified to deliver land management services to secure soil carbon stocks, and to protect the goods, services and functions that uplands deliver. There are, therefore, both new opportunities and threats to tackle. The present paper outlines climate sensitivity and change in the uplands; reviews adaptation and mitigation options; and considers available policy, information and management tools. Within an ecosystems framework, emphasis is placed on safeguarding key regulatory services. We offer a research agenda to support adaptation and outline measures that could be developed within existing regulatory frameworks, or signal where policies may need revision. Research priorities include better quantification of carbon fluxes under different soils and land management practices, techniques for up-scaling local interventions to quantify landscape-scale benefits, and the evaluation of adaptive responses in the context of sustainable land use. Potential adaptation strategies include improved spatial planning for land and water, the creation of networked habitats to enable species migration, and practical guidance on appropriate locations for intensification and extensification of land use.

Developing site scale projections of climate change in the Scottish Highlands

“…deforestation, burning and grazing management (Orr et al 2008). As a result, landscapes here lack the typical sequence of altitudinal life zones found in continental Europe, and the potential upper extent of the tree line is masked due to grazing pressure (Thompson et al 2005, Fischlin et al 2007.…”

“…There is particular concern that marginal maritime mountains may be especially vulnerable to the impact of climate changes (Ellis & Good 2005, Orr et al 2008). Scotland's highest mountains are located within the Atlantic biogeographic zone (European Commission 2005), and the relatively mild, wet climate renders species here particularly sensitive to changes in the winter and spring half year.…”

“…Ratcliffe & Thompson (1988) and Ratcliffe (1977) preferred to describe the different vegetation zones on mountains as montane when referring to Britain. According to them, the sub-montane zone includes all vegetation derived from forest above the limits of enclosed farmland, an interpretation which also extends to other UK upland regions (Orr et al 2008). However, here we applied a modified interpretation of the (European) continental terminology recommended by Horsefield & Thompson (1996), i.e.…”

“…Equally clear is that advances in modelling capability must be linked to wider policy initiatives for maritime uplands if robust climate change adaptation plans are to be implemented effectively (Orr et al 2008, Price 2008. It is suggested that results such as those presented here can help contribute to conservation policy by delivering more locally relevant projections of change upon which adaptation decisions can be based.…”

Engaging with geodiversity—why it matters

“…However, it is encouraging that the value of geodiversity is now being recognised by the biodiversity community in the management of freshwater (Vaughan et al, 2009), coastal (Jones et al, 2011) and upland (Orr et al, 2008) environments. In relation to site management, Hopkins et al (2007) have also advocated "a need to move from management largely focused on selected species and habitats towards much greater emphasis on the underlying physical processes that are essential to the maintenance of biodiversity" (p. 22).…”