Balancing multiple landscape demands: a case study of the societal consequences of creating new woodlands in the UK uplands

Iversen, Sara, Convery, Ian ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2527-5660 , Holt, Claire ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3635-5404 , MacDonald, Michael, Mansfield, Lois ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0707-2467 and van der Velden, Naomi ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8969-1191 (2023) Balancing multiple landscape demands: a case study of the societal consequences of creating new woodlands in the UK uplands. In: IUFRO Division 8 Forest Environment Conference 2023, 24-27 October 2023, University of Évora, Portugal. (Unpublished)

Preview

PDF (abstract) - Presentation Available under License CC BY-NC Download (324kB) | Preview

Abstract

Upland regions in the UK are increasingly under consideration as potential areas for the creation of woodlands. This is driven by a combination of factors, including the aims of UK forestry policy to increase woodland cover, changes in current upland land-use and management, agri-environment schemes in national and international policy and an increasing public awareness of the ecosystem service benefits landscapes can deliver for society. Creating new woodlands in upland areas is challenging, partly due to concerns about potential impacts from a change in land use and stakeholder interests. This study considers a 250 km2 Cumbrian (England) upland landscape dominated by sheep grazing and, using an established ecosystem service assessment tool (TESSA), estimates the provision of ecosystem services under plausible alternative woodland creation scenarios. The assessment focuses on changes these scenarios will deliver in terms of key ecosystem goods and services, which are identified by stakeholders to be of high importance to the study area. The results indicate that, under lower woodland percentage scenarios, no drawbacks and only benefits on all indicators are expected. However, a more complex outcome would be expected from the higher percentage woodland scenarios.

Item Type:	Conference or Workshop Item (Paper)
Departments:	Institute of Science and Environment > Forestry and Conservation
Additional Information:	Ian Convery, Claire D.S. Holt, Lois Mansfield, Naomi van der Velden, all of the University of Cumbria, UK.
Depositing User:	Anna Lupton
Date Deposited:	21 Jan 2025 16:19
Last Modified:	21 Jan 2025 16:19
URI:	https://insight.cumbria.ac.uk/id/eprint/8603

Downloads