Climate change: implications for ecosystem services


any of the choices made by people in both rural and urban areas in relation to moving to a low-carbon economy and adapting to climate change will impact on the way that our rural land resource is used, and this, in turn will affect the balance of ecosystem services that land provides.


M


For example, choices to substitute fossil fuels with biofuels raises issues of where biofuel crops will be grown; choices to buy local food to reduce food miles raises the issue of where the local produce will be grown; while choices to switch to renewable energy sources raises issues of where wind-farms, small-scale hydro schemes, or biomass crops will be located.


All of these will influence future land cover and land management, with implications for ecosystem services such as carbon sequestration, water quantity and quality, flood and erosion control, recreation and biodiversity, and as land is a finite resource, tradeoffs and synergies, competition and conflict between different ecosystem services as well as food and fuel production will inevitably occur. It is therefore essential to consider the impact of climate change on ecosystem services if we are to understand the impact on the sustainability of our agricultural and rural land management systems.


Research at the Macaulay Land Use Research Institute focuses on the impacts of climate change on the ecology, soils, hydrology and land use of Scotland. Our research brings together scientific insights from different disciplines and on different aspects of society, environment and economy in order to provide an evidence base that can be used to develop the joined-up approaches needed to understand the implications of change for agriculture, the natural heritage, and people’s lives and livelihoods.


Scotland’s land resource performs a vital stewardship function in maintaining rural communities, landscapes and important habitats. It is important that the implications


of climate change are explored for these systems and that strategies are developed to ameliorate the effects of climate change on their financial, social and environmental viability.


The Scottish Government has ambitious targets for responding to climate change and scientific research can help to inform the actions and activities needed to meet these targets. Indeed climate change will be a major focus of Scotland’s new research institute, The James Hutton Institute, which will be created by uniting the Macaulay Land Use Research Institute and SCRI, based in Invergowrie next spring.


The James Hutton Institute will bring together existing Scottish expertise in crop research, soils and land-use and is expected to make a major contribution to key global issues such as food and energy security, biodiversity, and how climate change will affect the way we use land and grow crops. The new institute will also underpin Scotland’s long-standing reputation on the world stage as a centre of scientific and research expertise.


Consequences of a changing climate on Scotland’s environment, land use, and rural communities need to be better understood, as do the management systems needed to encourage sustainable landscapes in the face of a changing climate. Our goals are to improve understanding of the interrelationships between changes in climate, land use, natural resources, and human communities, and to provide information at a range of scales that can assist policy-makers and practitioners in developing mitigation and adaptation mechanisms to ensure sustainable development. Better understanding of possible climate changes and their land use and land management implications can help us to better adapt to new conditions.


Climate change is an issue that has an impact on all aspects of society, the economy and environment


The Macaulay Land Use Research Institute Craigiebuckler, Aberdeen AB15 8QH


T +44 (0)1224 395000 F +44 (0)1224 395101 enquiries@macaulay.ac.uk


macaulay.ac.uk


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68  |  Page 69  |  Page 70  |  Page 71  |  Page 72  |  Page 73  |  Page 74  |  Page 75  |  Page 76  |  Page 77  |  Page 78  |  Page 79  |  Page 80