DYNAMICS AND THRESHOLDS OF ECOSYSTEM SERVICES IN WOODED LANDSCAPES

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

Woodlands provide a number of benefits to people, including timber production, areas for recreation, and the storage of carbon, which can help reduce the risk of climate change. Such benefits are referred to as 'ecosystem services'. Woodlands are also an important habitat for wildlife, including both tree species and the plants and animals that depend on them. However, woodlands in the UK, and in many other parts of the world, are currently at risk, because of the combined effects of climate change, aerial pollution, overgrazing and the spread of pests and diseases. These factors can interact with each other, leading to the collapse of wooded ecosystems and their replacement with other plant communities. Research is needed to identify which woodland areas are at risk of such collapse occurring, so that appropriate management responses can be identified. Information is also needed on the potential impacts of such "ecosystem thresholds", both on wildlife and on humans, through changes in the provision of ecosystem services. This project aims to provide this information, by studying woodlands in the New Forest National Park. Here, we will examine data that have been collected over a period of 50 years in a woodland in which many trees have recently died, but have not been replaced. We will use this information to see whether any indicators can be identified, which could be used to predict whether such collapses might occur in other woodlands in the future. We will also study the potential impacts of the loss of tree species, as might result from a pest or disease outbreak, both on wildlife and the provision of ecosystem services, throughout the New Forest landscape. We will also explore the possible impacts of other types of environmental change, including climate change, aerial pollution and overgrazing. We will examine impacts on nutrient cycling, carbon storage, timber production and the value of woodlands for recreation. This will be achieved using a combination of field data and computer models, which we will use to forecast how such impacts might occur at the landscape scale. The project will help increase understanding of how major ecological changes occur in woodlands, and their potential impacts. This information will be of value for identifying which woodlands are particularly at risk of ecological collapse, and how such problems may be averted in future, through the development of appropriate management and policy responses.