Adaptive Landscapes Project
Adaptive Landscapes Project
This primarily DEFRA funded partnership project (involving Land Use Consultants, Bangor University, CCW, WAG and Environment Agency), is a case study for the development of a tool that can identify practical measures, at a landscape-scale, that mitigate the affects of climate change. Working across the Leri, Ceulan, Clarach and Rheidol river catchments of the Cambrian Mountains, the Polyscape digital mapping tool identifies the areas where adaptation measures, such as tree planting or re-wetting of blanket bog, can be most effectively undertaken after taking into account existing agricultural land uses.
It is important to stress that Polyscape is a negotiation tool that seeks to identify the best fit of potential ecosystem services (biodiversity, food production, flood mitigation, water quality and carbon management) that can be achieved on farms within the study area. The delivery of that best fit is then subject to negotiation between land managers and the mechanisms (agri-environment payments / market forces) that can pay for the delivery of the ecosystems benefits required.
It is hoped the tool may prove useful in the development of the market place for Ecosystems Goods and Services, by demonstrating the tangible benefits that can arise from improved and targeted landscape management changes. The Ecosystems Goods and Services approach is central to current thinking within the Natural Environmental Framework (currently being developed by the Welsh Government) and has the potential to become the key to unlocking the full value of the Cambrian Mountains landscape.
Adaptive Landscape Project Summary Report (2176k)