Details of Award
NERC Reference : NE/M010287/1
Comparison of different approaches to optimising Forest Management and Ecosystem Service Delivery
Training Grant Award
- Lead Supervisor:
- Professor WJ Sutherland, University of Cambridge, Zoology
- Grant held at:
- University of Cambridge, Zoology
- Science Area:
- Terrestrial
- Overall Classification:
- Terrestrial
- ENRIs:
- Biodiversity
- Environmental Risks and Hazards
- Global Change
- Natural Resource Management
- Pollution and Waste
- Science Topics:
- Ecosystem Scale Processes
- Abstract:
- The importance of natural capital in decision making has become central stage with the publication of the Millenium Ecosystem Assessment, The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity and the establishment of a Natural Capital Committee. There are a range of ecological problems that hinder the widespread application of this approach for decision making: (i) there are usually trade-offs between stocks, (ii) the benefits may vary spatially, for example with soil type, and temporally, for example with plantation succession, so leading to complex optimisation problems, (iii) the scale of the benefits range from specific locations (many rare plants and invertebrates, often linked to soil type), regions (tourism and water quality), national (timber) to global (carbon) resulting in different solutions depending on the scale of the analysis, (iv) the evidence base is imperfect, yet decisions have to be made, (v) the many interacting non-linear relationships may lead to complex solutions. Most studies of the values of ecosystem services are theoretical in that the scenarios under consideration are unlikely to be delivered. This studentship, will be a collaboration between Jonathan Spencer and Richard Brooke of Forest Enterprise and William Sutherland at the Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, that will consider the practicality of applying the natural capital approach guide large scale decisions on land use over an extensive area. This is then likely to be influential for others dealing with similar land use issues. The project proposes to use Thetford Forest and Breckland heaths as a model to explore the impact on the range of ecosystem services provided by the forest (carbon sequestration, water yield and quality timber and biomass fuel production, biodiversity conservation and recreational provision) under different land use and management options available. Thetford Forest is a large and most environmentally important forests comprising some 23,000ha of forest and heathland, all of which is designated as a Special Protection Area alongside large areas of nationally important SSSI. It is situated on one of East Anglia's most important aquifers. The project will use the comprehensive detailed data sets on soils, recreational usage, presence and performance of plantations of different timber tree species, detailed information on land management operations across the estate, biodiversity management and the distribution of species assemblages. The impact of land use decisions on provisioning services, such as timber and wood fuel production, agricultural yield, water yield and quality and the impact these decisions have on direct costs of production, indirect opportunity costs, or on income and expenditure incurred by the Forest managers themselves will be carefully gauged under a range of different option scenarios, including under climate change. The financial and natural capital accounting consequences of such changes are at present impossible to quantify in the absence of the study proposed. The student will test a range of means of collating and assessing evidence to test the sensitivities of the outcomes to different approaches. Thus this studentship will test and advance methods for assessing the optimal spatial and temporal solution under a range of different methods and assumptions. This will both be of general theoretical importance and lead to practical outcomes as forestry options are under active consideration by Forest Enterprise across Thetford Forest and nature conservation considerations will have a significant impact in determining the adoption of various forest management options.
- NERC Reference:
- NE/M010287/1
- Grant Stage:
- Completed
- Scheme:
- DTG - directed
- Grant Status:
- Closed
- Programme:
- Industrial CASE
This training grant award has a total value of £85,122
FDAB - Financial Details (Award breakdown by headings)
| Total - Fees | Total - RTSG | Total - Student Stipend |
|---|---|---|
| £16,587 | £11,000 | £57,538 |
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