Combatting climate change by adapting

Monday 2 December 2024

Climate and wildlife

https://www.facebook.com/worcestershirewildlifetrust

With both ecological and climate crises unfolding before us, our climate and wildlife blog will explore aspects of this as well as the difference that organisations and individuals can achieve.

Fire at The Devil's Spittleful nature reserve by Wendy Carter

Jack explores what we're doing to mitigate climate change on our nature reserves...

An increase in flooding events is a stark reminder that nature is already facing the effects of climate change and that its effects are not just a problem for the future.

With events like this already occurring, and in anticipation of them happening more frequently and severely, we are taking action to adapt. You'll know that we own and manage many nature reserves on which many rare species depend on; we have a responsibility to try to minimise the effect that extreme weather events have on these habitats and species. As climate adaptations go hand-in-hand with benefits for wildlife, any actions to make our nature reserves more climate resilient will also help biodiversity.

Two photos - top one shows a flooded field in winter with the corner of a gateway included; second one is the same field in summer with green trees and a flush of yellow buttercups throughout — Floodplain meadows have evolved to cope with occasional winter flooding

Wetter winters and stronger storms are already becoming more frequent. As many of our nature reserves are situated along water courses, it's important to think about how we can adapt these to be more resilient in the wake of stronger floods. Floods in themselves are natural and habitats and species have evolved strategies to cope with them but if they occur too regularly, sustain for longer or occur at unusual times of year a lot of species will be unable to adapt. Take grasslands and meadows, for example. Additional nutrients are dumped onto them during floods and this can have a detrimental effect on the wildflowers that grow there. We are actively looking to see if we can introduce natural flood management techniques, such as installing leaky dams to slow the river flow or ponds to take excess water from overwhelming the habitats.

On the other side of the coin, hotter, drier summers are leading to more wildfires on heathland nature reserves like The Devil’s Spittleful; prolonged dry spells leaves the vegetation tinder dry and vulnerable. We are creating fire plans to be better prepared to cope with fires and mitigate the damage that they can cause. An example of what we might do is to create fire breaks by reducing scrub. This will not only stop fires from spreading but it will also give the fire services better access to fight fires as well as create a healthier heathland by allowing rarer species to break through the dominant scrubby vegetation.

Looking more long-term, we're thinking about the types of trees we plant when we create new woodlands. With one eye on the importance of local species, we also need to balance this by ensuring we select climate-resilient species that are predicted to cope with projected climate changes. Again, these will benefit wildlife by creating new habitats, providing food, shelter and shade, and ensure the long-term survival of the woodland.

Of course, much of what we do to help wildlife on our nature reserves already helps to mitigate against extreme weather but the examples above highlight how we're beginning to adapt our nature reserves to ensure they're resilient against the impacts of climate change on wildlife. We're not alone in this; Wildlife Trusts around the country are also implementing climate adaptation measures so, together, we'll make these stepping stones in our landscapes more resilient to extreme weather and help to protect the wildlife that depends on them.