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Urban biodiversity supports the functioning of the urban ecosystem and provides recreational opportunities. This is a West Midlands-based public engagement case study demonstrating both environmental and social impact through a five-year BIG Lottery-funded project based on research into urban biodiversity led by Professor Jon Sadler. The project — OPALWM — focused much of its public engagement activity on some of the most economically-deprived areas of Birmingham and the Black Country, locations that the scientific research had identified as having unrealised environmental opportunities. OPALWM achieved extensive recorded reach (122 organisations; 26,000 people; 60,000 website hits) and active engagement from schools, volunteers and wildlife groups. It has a sustainability plan designed to maintain its impact after its BIG Lottery funding ends in November 2013.
Professor Gowing and his associates' research demonstrated the sensitivity of grassland species to soil moisture regime. They developed a method for quantifying the relationship between plant community composition and soil moisture regime which showed that controlling water levels in traditional ways led to conservation of important plant species and/or enhanced diversity. This research led to the Environment Agency issuing practical guidelines to site managers for these internationally important sites, with a lead section written by Gowing. Advice has been given directly to owners and managers via the Floodplain Meadows Partnership led by the OU, engendering parallel studies abroad.
The way in which UK upland hay meadows are managed and restored to conserve botanical diversity has been largely determined by research carried out at Newcastle University. Increased post-war agricultural production has converted most species-rich upland hay meadows to species- poor rye-grass grassland so that today only 1070 ha (hectares) undisturbed hay meadow remains. The Newcastle research has been used by Natural England (an executive non-departmental public body responsible for England's natural environment) to produce targeted management prescriptions for 2500 ha of farmland in northern England and has informed National Park and AONB (Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty) management on best practice for successful restoration of hay meadows. The research has ensured the successful restoration of more than half of the remaining upland hay meadows in England.
The BUGS research project (1999-2007) at Sheffield was the first large-scale study to reveal the importance of domestic gardens for urban biodiversity. The evidence gathered showed, for the first time, that the extent of gardens, their unique features, and the biodiversity they support makes them a nationally important ecological resource, contributing enormously to conservation and human-nature interactions in urban environments. The results were reported in a series of 13 ISI-listed papers, a popular book and two articles in British Wildlife. The research has had impacts across many audiences and applications ranging from evidence for planning policy changes, through the science to support advisory and campaign groups, to informing public awareness of the merits of individual garden management practices. BUGS research has been a key catalyst in the increased recognition of the importance of gardens in supporting urban biodiversity.
Drs Peck and Stewart are actively engaged in conservation projects in Papua New Guinea (PNG) and Ecuador and have established conservation areas that are now protected from logging and which provide a sustainable income for local communities. These impacts are:
Impacts: I) Improved provision of environmental services in Belize, including the creation of plant reference collections / databases and the training of conservation professionals and students. II) Land-management policy formation by the Government of Belize and NGOs.
Significance and reach: Over the period 2009 - July 2013 there has been a step-change in the quality of biodiversity monitoring carried out by NGOs and the Government of Belize; including the latter being better able to meet international reporting requirements. Over the same period, 40 conservation professionals have been trained in Belize.
Underpinned by: Research into savanna plant diversity, led by the University of Edinburgh (1996 - 2012).
The Sinai Baton Blue is the world's smallest butterfly, and is restricted to the St. Katherine Protectorate in the South Sinai region of Egypt. Research by Francis Gilbert's group on climate change and biodiversity in Egypt surveyed populations of the butterfly for the first time and ensured it received IUCN Critically Endangered status. The butterfly became the focus of biodiversity awareness campaigns in Egypt: appearing on a stamp, in Government-backed educational programmes in schools, and as the flagship species for conservation in Egypt's most important National Park. Current work contributes to international conservation of this extremely rare species and its host-plant, respecting indigenous Bedouin knowledge, benefitting their tribal community, and ensuring international conservation strategies incorporate local pastoralist traditions to sustain the genetic diversity of the planet.
Research by Oxford University has led to the development of a biodiversity assessment tool based on three biological indices, that has been used in many parts of the world to prioritise and protect biodiversity hotspots, particularly in landscapes that are at major threat from logging or conversion to agriculture. In Ghana these methods have led to the protection of ~2,300 km2 of forest reserves (13% of the total forest network) and were codified in a simple field guide. In Liberia a multinational mining company made important conservation decisions based on the application of these methods. Use of the tool has led to the retention of substantial areas of high biodiversity forest in West Africa, despite competing economic and political drivers, and amidst a continuing general decline in forest condition across the region.
Research over the last 20 years by Jane Nicklin (née Faull) and her research group has established expertise in fungi, which has led to impacts in three areas: impacts on the licensing of commercial products for the control of insect pests which affect food crops, which have led to a new product being licensed in the US to the benefit of vine growers; impacts on heritage conservation, where the work has benefitted English Heritage, the National Trust and many other conservation groups; and impacts on public awareness and media engagement with science, in particular through her work with Channel 4's How Clean is your House? in 2009.
Identification of rare plant species on nature reserves at Malham (Yorks.) and Morvich (W. Scotland) led to site managers developing sympathetic management approaches to ensure the species' conservation. These are detailed in management plans and include reduction in grazing and introduction of population census to assess management success. In addition, incorporation of the discoveries into plant guides has led to increased awareness of the two species which in turn has drawn naturalists to view and photograph them. Thus the research at Edge Hill has led to the conservation of and increased awareness of a rare component of the UK flora.