What do we need to know to improve the management of Scotland's biodiversity and landscapes?
Background
Question Group: Focused on safeguarding and enhancing Scotland’s natural resources, its air, soils, land, water, plants and wildlife, by addressing the drivers of nature loss and environmental degradation. Emphasises restoration of degraded ecosystems, sustainable use of wild species, minimising of pollution, improving the management of invasive non-native species. Targets sustainable use of resources to support thriving communities, nature, and the economy in a changing climate.
Sub-questions: -How will climate impact nature restoration and how do we mitigate these impacts?
- How can we make better decisions on landscape scale biodiversity restoration and regeneration practices?
-How can we better predict wildfires in Scotland , what risks do wildfires pose to nature restoration and will nature restoration increase wildfire risk?
-How can we develop an adaptive management approach for deer and other grazers?
-What new Invasive Non-Native Species (INNS) will emerge under future climate projections?
-What are the costs and benefits of future climate risks to nature?
-What are the impacts of INNS on native species and habitats, and ecosystem resilience and ecosystem services?
-How effective are methods in existing biosecurity guidance in removing viable INNS?
-How can we identify aspects of the ecology, biology or life-history of high priority INNS that are most relevant for management, and how they can be exploited?
- What siting, design, and management regimes for river woodlands across Scottish catchments will most effectively deliver combined outcomes for clean water, reduced flood peaks, improved drought resilience, enhanced biodiversity, and verified carbon storage.
- How can interventions (including both catchment and within river) be optimised to reduce cumulative pressures on water quality and hydrology across catchments to improve freshwater ecosystem condition?
- How can our towns and cities be better managed for biodiversity and to improve health co-benefits, and how can this be assessed and evaluated?
Next steps
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Source
This question was published as part of the set of ARIs in this document:
Environment natural resources agriculture research strategy 2027 2032
Topics
Research fields
Related UKRI funded projects
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Creative Adaptive Solutions for Treescapes of Rivers (CASTOR)
Critical interventions are required if the UK is to reach its afforestation target of 17% by 2050. The CASTOR project both elucidates and provides solutions for the challenges that will be faced, with a specific focus on...
Funded by: NERC
Lead research organisation: University of Manchester
Why might this be relevant?
Partially addresses the question by focusing on riparian treescapes and reforestation, but does not cover all aspects of biodiversity and landscape management in Scotland.
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Biodiversity and the water cycle: can rewilding mitigate the impacts of hydrological extremes?
Managing and responding to floods and droughts in the UK demands vast amounts of public spending, and the frequency and severity of extreme high and low flows will increase under future climate change. Many parts of our ...
Funded by: NERC
Lead research organisation: Queen Mary University of London
Why might this be relevant?
The project specifically addresses the impact of rewilding on hydrological processes and how it can mitigate hydrological extremes, aligning with the question's focus on climate impact on nature restoration and mitigation.
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Open KE Fellowship: Developing best-practice for natural process restoration in the British uplands
The EU and UK Biodiversity Strategies have set ambitious goals of halting the decline in biodiversity and restoring ecosystems to maximise the services nature provides society by 2020. This Open NERC Knowledge Exchange F...
Funded by: NERC
Lead research organisation: University of Sussex
Why might this be relevant?
Partially addresses the question by focusing on upland natural process restoration and rewilding, but does not cover all aspects of biodiversity and landscape management in Scotland.