Past forward: using the past to support the future of the uplands

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Past forward using the past to support the
future of the uplands

• Althea Davies
• RELU early career interdisciplinary fellow
• University of Stirling
• a.l.davies_at_stirling.ac.uk

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Project vision

• The uplands, although a landscape shaped by
  centuries of human activity, are the nearest that
  England has to wilderness. Behind the face of
  scenic beauty, however, the English uplands are
  suffering from economic crisis, social change and
  environmental degradation. (English Nature 2001)
• What underpins current landscape, conservation,
  natural and cultural heritage values concerns?
• Legacies matter value of longer-term ecology and
  management perspective in upland management
• Set current values issues in 300-500 year
  context using palaeoenvironmental historical
  sources
• Assess how they can contribute effectively to
  decision-making in upland management
• Relevant to policy-makers, practitioners,
  researchers, land resource managers,
  stakeholders

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Rationale why look back?

• In theory
• Management of our environment must be informed
  by past, present, and predicted change.
  (Scottish Natural Heritage 2002)
• In practise
• Comfort zone policy-makers, managers monitors
• Short- to medium-term focus remains pre-eminent
  (seasonal to sub-decadal, within last century)
• Why might standards current knowledge base be
  inadequate?
• Environmental ecological processes dont always
  operate on human timescales, e.g. climate change
• Reliance on short-term sources contributes to
  shifting baseline syndrome because gradual
  processes of change are not recognised
• This may generate inappropriate strategies or
  insensitive monitoring standards

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Rationale benefits of looking back

• Longer-term (gtdecadal-millennial) information
• What timescales responses are appropriate to
  particular habitats, species drivers of change?
• Reference points are current baselines targets
  adequate or sustainable?
• Limits of change what is normal, exceptional
  or natural?
• Sensitivity are we nearing critical thresholds?
• Retrospective view does not advocate recreating
  the past!
• Set current issues, values trends into relevant
  context

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Longer-term sources

• Sedimentary archives what how uplands
  changed
• Plant, fungal animal remains vegetation
  land-use history, fire regimes, ecosystem
  processes, hydrology, pH, nutrient balance
• Chemistry climate change, pollution impacts
• Geomorphology erosion, flood history
• Written records archaeology why?,
  socio-economic context drivers of change
• Management aims organisation
• Grazing regimes
• Review of long-term evidence relevant to upland
  management http//www.sbes.stir.ac.uk/people/davi
  es/documents/upland_history_08.pdf

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Knowledge transfer applying unfamiliar sources
to current policy issues

• Past processes baselines established under
  climate change research policy, in Water
  Framework Directive (hydrological reference
  conditions)
• But site condition monitoring is generating new
  baselines
• E.g. Beyond ecological perspectives major plant
  diversity changes

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Communication framework

• Best practice approach integrate information
  from different scales
• Unfamiliar sources time, money, expertise
• Importance of communication networks engage with
  learn from practitioner, manager policy
  audiences
• Willing collaboration from long-term researchers
• Have your say assessing the value of unfamiliar
  sources
• Natural social science approaches case
  studies, workshops, choice experiments
• Long-term perspective forum for debate about
  visions for the future of the uplands
• Opportunity to involve a wider audience joint
  development ensures relevance, usability
  realize benefits