Transcript Forest of Bowland AONB Climate Change Adaptation Plan

Forest of Bowland AONB Climate
Change Adaptation Plan
Wednesday 13th July 2011
Nikki van Dijk, Atkins
Overview of presentation
●
Context of Forest of Bowland Adaptation Action
Plan
● Overview of method
● Summary of more vulnerable assets
● Adaptation action plan
– Strategic actions
– Specific actions
●
Next steps
Context
●
Natural England Character
Area Climate Change
Project
●
Natural England North
West Region vulnerability
assessment
●
NCA assessments
●
Forest of Bowland AONB
Overview of method
Step 1: Identify landscape character, ecosystem services
and biodiversity
Step 2: Identify assets that contribute
to landscape character, ecosystem
services and biodiversity
Step 3: Assess the vulnerability
of assets
Step 4: Summarise implications of vulnerability
assessment for landscape character, ecosystem
services and biodiversity
Step 5: Identify possible adaptation options
Step 6: Screen options for multiple benefits or negative side effects
Definitions
• Landscape Character Types –
FoB landscape character
assessment
• Ecosystem services –
Millennium Ecosystem
Assessment
– Provisioning e.g. food, timber,
energy and water
– Regulating e.g. climate
regulation, water purification
– Supporting e.g. soil formation,
pollination
– Cultural e.g. recreation, sense of
place
http://www.forestofbowland.com/landscape
_character
Vulnerability
Exposure
Sensitivity
+
Potential
impact
+
Adaptive
capacity
Vulnerability
/ +
Relative vulnerability
Relative
vulnerability rating
Description
More vulnerable
Asset is likely to be significantly changed or destroyed
as a result of climate change. Adaptation action should
be implemented as a matter of priority.
Moderately
vulnerable
Asset may be changed as a result of climate change.
Careful management or monitoring is likely to be
required to support adaptation.
Less vulnerable
Asset is less likely to be significantly changed as a
result of climate change or change may be beneficial.
Adaptation action may be necessary, but other assets
should be considered with greater urgency.
Summary of more vulnerable assets
Adaptation action plan
• Two types of action identified
– Strategic actions - high-level,
reduce vulnerability across whole
AONB
– Specific actions - apply to specific
assets, landscape character types
or ecosystem services
• ‘Dip-in’ resource for practitioners
http://www.forestofbowland.com/climatechange#adaptation
Strategic actions
• Increase area and connectivity of semi-natural
habitats
• Promote environmental heterogeneity
• Where possible, adopt adaptive management
approaches
• Seek to reduce sources of harm and pressure not
linked to climate change
Strategic actions (continued)
• Monitor assets
• Review management plans to take account of
climate change
• Ensure current agreements are enforced and
plans are adhered to
• Opportunities for adaptation within the spatial
planning agenda
Specific actions
Asset
Exposure
Sensitivity
Adaptive
capacity
Relative
vuln.
rating
Adaptation actions
Blanket
bog
Drier,
hotter
summers
Increased
evapotranspiration
lowers water
table. Peat
surface
sensitive
to oxidation,
formation of
peat hags.
Low – limited
by topography.
More
vulnerable
Adopt practices to
increase and stabilise
ground water levels
Wetter,
warmer
winters
Intense
rainfall
events
Sensitive to
mould
Flooding and
bog burst
Current
condition poor
in places.
Managed sites
(SCaMP / HLS)
have greater
capacity to
manage for
climate change.
Restore upland mire
and bog-mosses
Restore areas of
eroded and exposed
peat
Identify amount
of carbon stored in
blanket bog
Monitor peat depth,
key species and
burning
Specific actions - uplands
• Return semi-improved rough pasture and grass moorland to
upland heath communities, where appropriate
• Restore areas of eroded and exposed peat
• Encourage appropriate levels, cycles and types of stocking
• Review heather burning plans
• Monitor peat depth
• Plant new woodlands, extend and connect existing
woodlands
• Create and extend upland hay meadows
• Review soil management plans
Specific actions – lowlands
• Adapt the management of lowland hay meadows
• Restore and re-create wet grassland and wet
woodland
• Promote the return of semi-improved grasslands
to species-rich grassland
• Review hedgerow management
Specific actions – ecosystem services
• Provide shelter for livestock in summer
• Monitor pests and diseases
• Increase genotypic variation in plantation woodlands
• Woodland creation and management linked to wood-fuel
production
• Review reservoir operations
• Increase frequency of vegetation management at
important historic and geological sites
• Increase maintenance on rights of way and amenity areas
Adaptation actions
• Drawn from current understanding of good conservation
practice
• Existing management – uplands
• Focus action on fringe and lowland landscapes
• Embedding adaptation
• Prioritise actions with multiple benefits
• Recognise potential conflict between actions – further
assessment
Next steps
Highlighted areas for further work:
– Consider in-direct impacts – response of other sectors
– Monitoring of species at risk
– Monitoring of adaptation actions – enable review of
action plan
– Research peat soil conservation methods
Nikki van Dijk
Environmental Scientist
Climate Change and Environmental Futures, Atkins Ltd.
[email protected]