The Climate Issue

The Climate Issue

by Tim McVey

After the wettest February on record it is hard not to see theevidence for climate change accumulating. We can feel powerlessto alter such global forces but only through concerted effort canwe halt the rise in temperatures and mitigate their effects. MWTsprimary focus is on nature and climate change is causing greatstress on our wildlife. Some animals can move north to areas moresuitable to their requirements but most of the natural world can’t dothis.

Across the Wildlife Trust movement, we are monitoring thesechanges; observing, surveying and recording what is happening. Aswith the recent floods, we cannot categorically say that anychange is due to climate change, but it all adds to the evidence.We are trying to decrease stresses on wildlife by providing reservesas safe havens. These are limited areas, but we encourage, adviseand support other landowners across the county, for examplethrough the Open Newtown and Deri Woods projects. Natureprovides vast resources for carbon sequestration in woodland andMWT has done the research to show the remarkable carbonabsorption levels achieved by healthy peat bogs. Their restorationhas been the focus of our Pumlumon Project and work undertakenat Cefn Croes.

This winter the team at the Dyfi Wildlife Centre have been buildingour new visitor centre. Every aspect has been planned to ensurethat, instead of producing carbon, the centre will remove carbonfrom the atmosphere. It is built with timber and recycled materialsand energy is produced by means of a large solar array and ground-source heat pump, so it will export power to the grid.

But there is plenty more for us as a Trust and you as individuals todo. Read on to find out more.

Tim McVeyMWT Chair

Chair’s OverviewWho are we?Since 1982 MontgomeryshireWildlife Trust (MWT) hasbeen the leading voluntaryorganisation promotingwildlife conservation inMontgomeryshire.

Our VISION:An Environment rich in wildlife foreveryone

Our MISSION:To rebuild biodiversity and engagepeople with their environment bybeing an active and influentialwildlife champion.

Wildlife Trust Wales:The five Trusts in Wales, supportedby Wildlife Trusts Wales, have25,000 members and manage 230Nature Reserves covering morethan 6,000 hectares of primewildlife habitat.

The Wildlife Trusts:There are 46 local Wildlife Trustsacross the whole of the UK, the Isleof Man and Alderney. With 850,000members and 2,300 naturescovering over 80,000 hectares. TheWildlife Trusts are the largest UKvoluntary organisation dedicated tothe conservation of all UK wildlife.

Contact DetailsMontgomeryshire Wildlife TrustPark Lane House, High Street,Welshpool, Powys SY21 7JPTel: 01938 555654Email: [email protected]

Montgomeryshire Wildlife Trust@MontWildlifeMontgomeryshire Wildlife Trust

On The Cover Wellies Required, by Eley Hart.What looks at first glance to be ariver is in fact a lane near Welshpool.Unable to cope with the volume ofwater coming off the hills the waterflows onto the A458 causingdangerous driving conditions.

If you no longer wish to receivethis magazine mailing pleasecontact [email protected] or call01938 555654 to unsubscribe.

Montgomeryshire Trust News

2 Montgomeryshire Wildlife News Spring 2020

The Flooded Garden at Severn Farm Pond

Spring 2020 Montgomeryshire Wildlife News 3

Montgomeryshire Project News

When it Comes to Peat, Wetter is Better! Over the winter, MWT have beeninvolved in a climate changelandscape scale resilience project.MWT Project Officer Dewi Morris,with the help of Nick Young(Natural Resources Wales) andAlison Heal (Ceredigion CountyCouncil’s Ecologist) has had thetask of supervising the restorationof the blanket bog and moorlandunder and around the windturbines above Llangurig. This hasbeen funded from the landscaperestoration funds put aside byCambrian Wind Energy as part ofthe planning permission to buildCefn Croes wind farm.

Prior to the wind farm being builtthe conifer plantation was felled:the main drainage ditches (nowas deep as 4 metres in places)and planting ditches for the treeswere left unblocked. As aconsequence the exposed bogwas degrading, reverting to openmoorland with the types of plantsand trees that you would expectto move in when the water tableis lowered.

Dewi has been supervising localcontractors to block the ditchesin order to raise the water levelson the moor and encourage agood growth of peat formingsphagnum mosses. This hasinvolved contractors driving a 6tonne tracked 360 digger ontostill very boggy terrain. The diggerdrivers were then asked to blockthe main ditches every 20 metresand the planting ditches every 10metres with a dam. The dams,

once complete, were slightlybelow the level of the currentsurface of the vegetation toensure that in the event of hugeamounts of rainfall the damscould release their load and notfail catastrophically.

Driving a very heavy machine onabout 30cm of vegetation and upto 6 metres in depth of verysquishable peat is no mean featand requires considerable skill.Fortunately, local contractors A WJones of Dinas Mawddwy and R JEdwards were up to the task asthey had considerable experienceof such landscapes being fromlocal farming families.

To date both contractors havecompleted at least 40 hectares ofpeatland restoration and there arefunds to complete the rest of theditch blocking. The ditch blockingis being monitored for theamount by which the water tablehas risen using a series of dipwells. Dewi and MWT’s DanHodgkiss have been measuringthe levels of water every monthsince before the ditch blockingstarted. Ecological monitoring by

MWT staff and volunteers hasincluded breeding bird, WaterVole and vegetation surveys. Theresults of this monitoring will becompiled and repeated in orderto prove that the restoration ismoving the landscape back to itsoriginal, beautiful, sodden state.

MWT’s work atCefn Croes will:• Reduce peak flow rates

lower down the rivercatchment area by retainingwater during periods ofheavy rainfall and releasingwater during periods ofdrought

• Improve water quality withinthe catchment by acting asa natural filter and reducingthe amount of sedimententering adjacentwatercourses

• Ensure that the bog remainsa net sink of carbon by re-wetting the land andpreventing the oxidisation ofthe peat and the release ofcarbon back into theatmosphere. As the bogreturns to optimum healthfurther carbon will becaptured.

• Encourage greaterbiodiversity as the peat bogreturns to its original stateand is able to support theflora and fauna which thriveon healthy peat bog habitat.

Ditch Blocking at Cefn Croes

Water Vole Surveying

Cefn Croes


New Wildlife Centre’sLocal Focus to CombatClimate Change The Dyfi Wildlife Centre at Cors Dyfi Nature Reserveis leading by example when it comes to eco-friendly, sustainable buildings that have a positiveimpact on climate change. But it’s not just aboutthe solar panels and ground source heat pump.Repurposing of materials and local sourcing forworkers and products are at the heart of thecentre’s design. Here are some of the ways theDWC is helping reduce the Trust’s climate footprintdown on the Dyfi:

• The DWC is a timber-frame building and thewood comes from Esgairgeiliog forest, threemiles away. Timber is a carbon sequester.

• The roof of the DWC is tiled with Penrhyn quarryslates, reclaimed from a housing estate inLlanberis.

• The building’s insulation material is calledWarmcell, and is made in Welshpool fromrecycled newspapers.

• The DWC’s new reception desk is made fromWelsh oak and slates from Aberllefenni quarry

• Caffi Tŷ Maenan, the centre’s café, will servehealthy meals made to traditional Welsh recipes,prepared using locally sourced ingredients grownand reared around the Dyfi Valley. The DWCShop will only sell products made in Wales.

• Pews and panelling from Capel Salem in Corris,that were built by Welsh carpenters in 1895, willbe transformed by modern-day Welsh carpentersinto tables, booths and chairs for the new café

• Interpretation at the DWC will incorporaterecycled and reclaimed copper, tin, silver, leadand other metals – a reference to the mininghistory and heritage of the Dyfi River

• The main Staircase is being made by localcarpenter Carwyn from Borth, in the shape of theMary Evans, the largest ship ever built on the DyfiRiver in its shipbuilding heyday around the mid1860s. Carwyn is using local timber andreclaimed Welsh oak.


We have been working on thePumlumon Project for over 10years now. I have been askedwhat have you done and whyhave you gone so quiet at themoment? The answer to both ofthese questions is surprisinglyencouraging!

It has always been a technicalproject pulling together newecological thinking, theeconomics of supply chains andpolicy development in the WelshGovernment. The idea, however,is simple: the richer our naturalenvironment, the more servicesit can provide us – and the moreit’s in our interest to invest in thenatural world.

The good news is that it works.We have measuredenvironmental improvement,

engaged the farming communityand valued the “ecosystemservices”. All we need to do nowis fix the economic policy. Yes,it’s as dry as it sounds but overthe last 18 months this is whatwe have been doing, workingwith ADAS and an economicconsultant to prove the socialand economic value in restoring

nature. This final section of workis more about WelshGovernment policy andanalysing “supply chains” than itis the beautiful mires and moorsof the uplands but if we get thisto work we really will have givenWales a workable way to defendpeople from flooding, absorbcarbon dioxide, bring prosperityto the uplands and at the sametime make our uplands a placewhere wildlife thrives.

Pumlumon Progress

Pumlumon

Capel Panelling


Montgomeryshire Wildlife News

As our ‘Where the Wild Things Are’project comes to an end, we arethinking about how to put a valueon Powys’ Local Wildlife Sites(LWS). It might seem gross andeven dangerous to put a price onnature but, in our modern world,it can be a powerful way ofhighlighting how importanthealthy ecosystems can be forpeople. Our primary focus willalways be the wildlife, but ourcherished habitats can alsoprovide other services. If we wantto get everyone on board, it’s agood idea to use a variety ofangles to get our message across.

So what are these ecosystemservices? Simply any serviceswhich the land provides tohuman beings. They can be verytangible things like food, timberor water, or benefits to our healthand wellbeing through recreation,tourism and education. Arguablymore important than those,however, are the so-called“regulating services”.

LWS are selected for their value towildlife; it might be a diverseflower-rich grassland, ancientwoodland or peat bog, or perhapsthe site has rare species living orgrowing there. A site which hassufficient quality to pass the

criteria for selection as a LWS, willnearly always provide at least oneregulating service. Woodlands andtrees are recognised as beingparticularly good for improving airquality. They can also alleviateflooding and sequester carbon, byremoving carbon dioxide from theatmosphere. Healthy peat bogsare even more effective at carbonreduction and, provided they arenot dug up or drained, will lockthat carbon away in deep peat, formillennia. Freshwater habitats cantackle water pollution, as well asbeing crucial for flood regulation.

Putting a value on all this is noteasy. In fact, a whole new projectwould be required to estimate thecontribution Powys’ LWS canmake to society. In the meantime,we have to stick to roughestimates to get our point across.For example, a recent Office forNational Statistics reportestimates the total value ofpollution removal by vegetationfor Powys at £2.1 million. Clearlysome of this vegetation will beoutside LWS, but it gives someidea of just one significantcontribution they can make.

We are living in challenging times.Climate change has become avery real threat, motivating

greater urgency in us all to makereal changes in our lives. If youare a landowner or land manager,whether you have a LWS or not,you can use your land to helpreduce your carbon footprint ormitigate climate change. Many ofour habitats are in a damaged orfragmented condition, so you canmake the most difference bycarefully managing those habitatsyou already have and by creatingnew ones. Together, we cancreate a ‘Nature RecoveryNetwork’ to benefit the wildlifeand the people of Powys.

The Birds and the BeesSimon Boyes is the new County Bird Recorder forMontgomeryshire. Simon intends to continue thegood work of Mike Haigh, who has filled the rolefor the last seven years. Simon is the thirdmember of the Boyes family to take on a countyrecorder role in Montgomeryshire. Douglasbecame butterfly recorder seven years ago at theage of 16; Clare became recorder for bees andwasps last year; and now Simon completes thehat-trick after 50 years of studying birds. Pleasecontinue sending your bird sightings and records– including your 2019 records for the annual birdreport - to the usual email address([email protected]) or by post to Simon Boyes,Bridge Cottage, Middletown, Welshpool, PowysSY21 8DG.

There are over 500 species of solitary bees andwasps in the UK, and Montgomeryshire has veryfew records for this group. Many species are verysmall, and it is not always obvious what they are.It would be good if you could collect up anydead bees and wasps from your greenhousesand conservatories this summer and send themto Clare. Clare’s polytunnel has already producedmany new county records and a bee in Tammy’sgreenhouse last summer was new for thecounty. If you are not sure if it is a bee or wasp,count the wings as a starting point. Flies haveonly one pair of wings whereas bees and waspshave two pairs.

Clare, Simon and Douglas can be contacted [email protected], [email protected] [email protected]

Valuing Local Wildlife Sites

“Conflict of interest? Peat bogsand renewable energy generationcan both mitigate climatechange, but only if the latterdoes not destroy the former!”

By Dan Hodgkiss

Or does it? We humans are verygood at seeing the world insimple black-and-white terms, so‘more trees = good’ sounds right.People and organisations oftenpledge to plant trees, but thedevil is in the detail. For example,are they just planting one speciesof tree? If so, they’d be creating amonoculture, prone to attack bydevastating pests and disease andoffering limited provision ofhabitat for wildlife.

In Wales our most prominentwooded monocultures are forestsgrown for wood production, themajority of which are non-nativetree species such as Western RedCedar, Sitka Spruce and DouglasFir from North America, whichoffer little in the way of food andhabitat for native wildlife.Consider the Horse Chestnuttree. This species is native toEastern Europe but has been inBritain for around 2000 years. Itsupports just five insect species.By way of comparison, our native

oaks can support 423 differentinsect species.

Many of these non-native speciesare soft-wood conifers, whichare fast-growing but don’tsequester anywhere near thesame amounts of carbon asslow-growing deciduous forests.These conifers, with their darkerleaves, also absorb more of thesun’s energy, which in turnincreases the warming effect ofclimate change. To make mattersworse, their shedding needles


Montgomeryshire Campaign News

Restoring Cors Dyfi from commercial forestry (above) to healthy peat bog (below).

More Trees = Good?

can lead to acidification ofnearby soils and waterways,making them unsuitable for manyother species.

Many non-native trees areinvasive, with the capacity tospread un-hindered into thenatural environment, oftenousting native species andleading to dramatic species loss.Some are spread by birds(reluctantly, given the highcontent of cyanide in their berriescompared with native ones) suchas Wall Cotoneaster, which is avigorous spreading invasive onour Llanymynech Rocks NatureReserve. Others, such aseucalyptus and rhododendron,are also allelopathic, whereby theroots secrete chemicals which killoff any competing vegetation,requiring more aggressivemeasures to root them out.

Management is another challengewith tree planting. We’ve all seenthe classic spindly town treeswhich never seem to grow.Often, quotas of trees are plantedin such density as to kill youngsaplings (roadside motorways arefamous for this). The result is athick stand of mostly dead youngtrees, or else a very dense growthof tall, thin trees (known by

foresters as ‘carrots’). If we areserious about planting trees, weneed to be planning their futurecare ahead of time. Involvinglocal community groups to aidwith their management ensures along-lasting habitat, rather thansimply ‘planting and hoping forthe best’.

In the UK, hedgerows alsocontain vast swathes of treespecies and are hugely importantwildlife corridors. However, theyare in trouble. Many of them havebeen removed and replaced withfencing, to squeeze as muchvalue out of the land as possibleand many more are neglected orover-managed. A hedge which isrepeatedly over-trimmed willeventually die, with large gapsappearing and dominance ofmore vigorous species such asElder acting as early warningsigns. The planting andsympathetic management ofhedgerows can be just asvaluable for creating ‘woodlandhabitat’ as tree-planting.

I mentioned before that sometrees contribute towards climatechange and nowhere is this moredamaging than on upland peatbogs. Peat bogs are constantlywet, acidic places full of lovelysphagnum moss. When a treeremoves carbon dioxide from theatmosphere, it stores it as carbonin wood, which is released whenthe tree dies. When sphagnum

moss removes carbon dioxidefrom the atmosphere, it turns itinto more sphagnum moss. Whenthis dies, new sphagnum mossgrows on top, burying and storingthe carbon of the dead moss,which gradually turns into peat.This process acts as a carbonsink, removing far more carbonthan a forest could on the sameland, as well as providing filtrationfor our water, habitat for wildlifeand reduced flooding down-stream. MWT has been workingto restore peat bogs for sometime, at our Cors Dyfi NatureReserve (once a forestry site) andGlaslyn Nature Reserve as part ofthe Pumlumon project.

As part of all our ongoing effortsto save the world, a very simpleway to improve yourenvironmental impact is to changeyour internet search engine. If, forinstance, you start to use Ecosiainstead of Google, each searchyou make helps to pay for treeplanting schemes the world overand their servers run on 100%renewable energy. Ecosia hasproduced an informative video on‘how to plant trees, the right way’,which can be viewed here:https://blog.ecosia.org/everyone-getting-tree-planting-wrong/.Although largely focussed onvarious parts of the tropics, theissues are just as relevant here inWales, perhaps more so than ever.


Montgomeryshire Campaign News

Volunteers planting a mixedspecies hedgerow at LlandinamGravels

Trees, once planted, need ongoing management


Wild to Work - For People, For Wildlife


Wild to Work is a six weekprogramme of training andoutdoor activities offered inpartnership with the Departmentfor Work and Pensions to clientsof Welshpool Job Centre Plus.The scheme is part of the JobCentre’s support to enableindividuals to gain the skills andconfidence to help them get backinto employment. MWT has beendelivering these sessions since

May 2019 at our Severn FarmPond and Llyn Coed Y Dinasnature reserves. Each participantis mentored by MWT staff todevelop an action plan setting outpersonal goals which they will besupported to achieve. Participantsgain experience, know-how andconfidence while the Trust’snature reserves, and the wildlifewho live there, benefit fromimproved infrastructure andhabitat creation. The participants have beeninvolved with a lot of creativeprojects up-cycling materialsfrom ex-boardwalks and anample supply of pallets fromneighboring Parry and Evansrecycling yard. These materialswere turned into much neededseating, worktops, hay balingmachines, hedgehog homes, batboxes and even the furniture for a

mud kitchen. Participants willengage with 5 areas of activityduring their time on theprogramme: PracticalConservation, Wildlife Walks,Bushcraft, Growing projects andEnvironmental Awareness whichfall under the broad heading ofeco-therapy.

Deri Woods Volunteers Look to the FutureDeri Woods is an HLF fundedproject and over its two-yearlifespan the Deri Woodsvolunteers, who meet every thirdThursday in the month, have hada big impact on the wildlife andpeople who use the woodland,located in Llanfair Caereinion. Sofar, they have completed footpathrestoration, step building, draindigging and clearance, handrailreplacement and bridge repairs.They have also constructed asizeable leaky dam! This hasmade a substantial difference tothe rates of water transfer intothe main river Banwy. Itsbranches only obscure two thirdsof the channel allowing for freepassage of wildlife through thiswater column. The other thirdhas been blocked with brashwhich catches a huge amount ofthe woody debris flowing out tothe Banwy. At the peak of therecent rainfall the water levelupstream of the two leakystructures was ½ metre higher

than that below. The woodymaterial caught by these damscreates crucial habitat for insects,which in turn provide an amplefood source for resident andmigrant birds.

HLF have paid for therefurbishment of the pump houseto be used as a secure tool store.The volunteers, with the help ofHLF funds, have brought all thetools and materials that they willneed to look after the woods andkeep it safe and well maintainedin the future. The pump house

has also been fitted with a falseceiling to allow the inclusion of abat loft within the building. TheDeri Woods volunteers are tocontinue to operate with thesupport of MWT as a localvolunteer group.

Do you fancy getting involved?The Deri Woods Volunteer groupis always looking for moremembers. Find out more on theirwebpage:https://deriwoods.btck.co.uk/ orcontact Dewi Morris [email protected]

Wild to Work

Wild to Work Volunteers

Leaky Dam

Volunteers at Deri Woods

Inspirational youthOver the last year, over 2,800

young people aged 11-25 rolled up their sleeves to help nature thrive in their local area. The Grassroots Challenge project, led by Ulster Wildlife, gave young people the opportunity to unleash their passion, creativity and potential to make a real difference to their environment and community. ulsterwildlife.org/news/inspirational-youth

Spooky sightingA ghost slug was discovered in

the gardens of Devon Wildlife Trust’s Cricklepit Mill. The origins of this mysterious species are uncertain, but it’s thought to be a native of Ukraine. Since ghost slugs were first discovered in the UK in 2007, there have been a scattering of sightings, mainly from South Wales. It’s a predator of earthworms and may cause problems for our native worms if it becomes established.devonwildlifetrust.org/news/ghost

Attenborough appealNottinghamshire Wildlife Trust

launched an appeal to raise £1 million to safeguard Attenborough Nature Reserve, a wild oasis at the edge of Nottingham that’s home to large numbers of wildfowl. The appeal was supported by Sir David Attenborough and raised over £900,000 in the first month.nottinghamshirewildlife.org/lifelineappeal

uk highlights

Discover how The Wildlife Trusts are helping wildlifeacross the UK

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A new report, Insect Declines and Why They Matter, commissioned by an alliance of Wildlife Trusts in the south west, concluded that drastic declines in insect numbers look set to have far-reaching consequences for both wildlife and people. The report concludes: “if insect declines are not halted, terrestrial and freshwater ecosystems will collapse, with profound consequences for human wellbeing.”wildlifetrusts.org/urgent-action-insects

An insect apocalypse

UK UPDATE

100 miles wilderspace for nature should be at the heart

of our planning and farming systems. this is the only way we can create a Nature Recovery Network, enabling wildlife to thrive across the landscape and bringing nature into our daily lives.

But current proposals for

developing the land between

Oxford and Cambridge do not

have nature at their heart. Without proper assessment, government

cannot know whether the area

could support the current proposals for housing, road and rail and stay within environmental limits for nature, carbon and water.

special habitats are under threat, including ancient woodland and grazing marsh, which supports rare and declining wading birds like curlew and redshank.

the Wildlife trusts have created an alternative vision for this land: 100 miles of wilder landscape in which people can live, work and enjoy nature. By protecting and connecting the wildest places, we can introduce a new way of planning that has nature and people’s wellbeing at the centre. Find out more wildlifetrusts.org/100-miles-wilder

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the Wildlife trusts are delighted to welcome Craig Bennett as their new Chief Executive Officer.

One of the uk’s leading environmental campaigners, Craig joins the Wildlife trusts from Friends of the Earth, where he was Chief Executive.

in a conservation career spanning over 20 years, Craig has led a movement to end peat cutting on important moorlands, helped secured better wildlife legislation through the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 and, more recently, led successful campaigns to highlight climate change and to protect and restore

bee populations.Craig Bennett says: “the Wildlife

trusts are an extraordinary grassroots movement that is uniquely placed to work with local communities to make this happen and ensure a wilder future, and i could not be more pleased to have been asked to lead them at this incredibly important moment.” wildlifetrusts.org/new-leader

New leader for The Wildlife Trusts

Montgomeryshire Wildlife News | Spring 2020 9

uk NEWS

Peatland

Grassland

Seaweed and kelp forests

Seagrass meadows

Marine sediments

Woodland

Peatlands cover just 3% of the earth’s surface, but store more carbon than any other habitat on land (more

than twice the carbon of all the world’s forests put together). But when

damaged, as in the UK, they release carbon, contributing to climate

change – so restoration is essential.

As they grow, trees absorb carbon from the atmosphere, storing it in

their trunk, boughs and roots and as organic ma er in woodland soils. So,

new woodland creation – through natural regeneration for example –

helps to combat climate change.

Healthy grassland soaks up and stores carbon in its roots and the

soil. Grasslands that are undisturbed by arable agriculture and protected

from soil erosion through sustainable management are important stores. Yet

in the UK, we’ve lost 97% of our semi-natural grassland and they

continue to be at risk.

These aquatic flowering plants are responsible for around 10% of all carbon buried in the ocean, despite covering less than 0.2% of the ocean floor. They store carbon 35 times faster that rainforests, but estimates suggest that globally we

are losing an area of seagrass the size of two football pitches

every hour.

Phytoplankton – miniscule marine algae – absorb carbon as they grow. When they die, some of the carbon they’ve taken up sinks to the ocean

floor, where it can remain for thousands of years.

Kelp grows incredibly quickly, sucking up carbon as it does. These underwater

forests provide critical short-term carbon stores. When they die, bits of

kelp sink into the deep sea, where they remain for a long time.

SaltmarshLike peatlands and grasslands,

intertidal saltmarsh provides an important carbon store in its soils.

Saltmarshes also act as a buffer against coastal erosion – although this and rising sea levels is leading to the loss of this habitat, with only 15% of its

historic range remaining.

UrbanUrban greenspaces help make cities

be er in a world that’s ge ing ho er. Young street trees take up carbon dioxide

and urban woodlands help control the local climate by providing shade and

reducing the street temperature. Pleasant greenspaces can also encourage people to walk and

cycle rather than jump in a car!

We face a climate emergency. Extreme weather events are on the increase and the impacts of a warming climate are becoming evident on our beloved wildlife, with some UK species being pushed to the furthest limits of their natural ranges. To tackle a crisis of this scale, it is imperative every tool in the box is used, and this includes the natural solutions offered by our planet. Over half of all carbon emissions released into the atmosphere by humans are re-absorbed by the Earth’s natural systems. And yet, many of these systems are broken, the habitats providing them damaged and degraded. Restoring these systems would allow even more carbon to be absorbed – and The Wildlife Trusts are playing a leading role in helping this happen.

At sea, the Trusts fought for the Marine Act 2009: properly implemented it restores our most important carbon absorber and the wildlife that lives within it, including kelp and phytoplankton. On land, 9% of the UK’s surface is a huge carbon store with carbon locked up in wet peat. Carbon is also stored in organic rich soils, especially those under grasslands and woodlands. For decades, The Wildlife Trusts have pioneered peatland restoration and sustainably managed woodlands and grassland meadows. This work continues, thanks to our supporters, helping in the fight against climate change.

10 Montgomeryshire Wildlife News | Spring 2020

by JoANNA RIchARDS

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Peatland

Grassland

Seaweed and kelp forests

Seagrass meadows

Marine sediments

Woodland

Peatlands cover just 3% of the earth’s surface, but store more carbon than any other habitat on land (more

than twice the carbon of all the world’s forests put together). But when

damaged, as in the UK, they release carbon, contributing to climate

change – so restoration is essential.

As they grow, trees absorb carbon from the atmosphere, storing it in

their trunk, boughs and roots and as organic ma er in woodland soils. So,

new woodland creation – through natural regeneration for example –

helps to combat climate change.

Healthy grassland soaks up and stores carbon in its roots and the

soil. Grasslands that are undisturbed by arable agriculture and protected

from soil erosion through sustainable management are important stores. Yet

in the UK, we’ve lost 97% of our semi-natural grassland and they

continue to be at risk.

These aquatic flowering plants are responsible for around 10% of all carbon buried in the ocean, despite covering less than 0.2% of the ocean floor. They store carbon 35 times faster that rainforests, but estimates suggest that globally we

are losing an area of seagrass the size of two football pitches

every hour.

Phytoplankton – miniscule marine algae – absorb carbon as they grow. When they die, some of the carbon they’ve taken up sinks to the ocean

floor, where it can remain for thousands of years.

Kelp grows incredibly quickly, sucking up carbon as it does. These underwater

forests provide critical short-term carbon stores. When they die, bits of

kelp sink into the deep sea, where they remain for a long time.

SaltmarshLike peatlands and grasslands,

intertidal saltmarsh provides an important carbon store in its soils.

Saltmarshes also act as a buffer against coastal erosion – although this and rising sea levels is leading to the loss of this habitat, with only 15% of its

historic range remaining.

UrbanUrban greenspaces help make cities

be er in a world that’s ge ing ho er. Young street trees take up carbon dioxide

and urban woodlands help control the local climate by providing shade and

reducing the street temperature. Pleasant greenspaces can also encourage people to walk and

cycle rather than jump in a car!

uk NEWS

Montgomeryshire Wildlife News | Spring 2020 11

together, the Wildlife trusts form the uk’s largest marine conservation organisation. Our living seas teams are the eyes and ears of the uk’s coast. throughout 2019, with the help of over 5,000 volunteers, they did wonderful things for the wildlife in our seas.

Careful monitoring revealed some fantastic good news stories around our shores, from bumper breeding seasons to amazing discoveries.

A new citizen science project logged 320 sightings of cetaceans off Yorkshire’s east coast, including minke whales, bottlenose dolphins and harbor porpoises. there was good news for seals too, with Cumbria Wildlife trust counting a site record of 483 grey seals at south Walney, including seven pups. Elsewhere, an individual seal, nicknamed tulip Belle, was discovered commuting between the isle of Man and Cornwall.

lara howe, Manx Wildlife trust’s marine officer, says: “it shows that seals will swim great distances for food and a place to pup, highlighting the importance of a network of Marine Protected Areas around the uk, so that wherever marine wildlife goes there are healthy seas to support them.”

Our fight to secure this network saw a huge victory last summer, with the designation of 41 new Marine Conservation Zones.

2019 also saw a welcome boost for some of our struggling seabirds. On handa island, scottish Wildlife trust counted 8,207 razorbills, the highest number since 2006, though the population is sadly still in trouble. in North Wales, sandwich terns had a bumper year, with 800 chicks fledging compared to just 180 in 2018.

sadly, it wasn’t all good news. several Wildlife trusts reported an increase in disturbance. Jet skis, kayakers, boats and drones have all been recorded causing distress to marine wildlife like dolphins, seals and seabirds.

Plastics, ocean litter and discarded fishing gear also continue to devastate marine wildlife, though Wildlife trusts around our shores cleared up huge amounts of litter, including 2.5 tonnes picked up by the isles of scilly Wildlife trust.

All of this was made possible by the fantastic support of all our volunteers and members. For more amazing stories head to wildlifetrusts.org/marine-review-19

A bottlenose dolphin leaps

clear of the water in the Moray Firth

UK UPDATE

A big splash for UK seas - our 2019 marine review

2019 in numberS

n Over 5,000 volunteers supported coastal Wildlife Trusts with beach cleans, surveys and shore-based events.

n more than 200 sharks, skates and rays were tagged as part of ulster Wildlife’s SeaDeep project, helping us monitor these vulnerable animals.

n Two giant gobies were among 1,310 species recorded in just 24 hours as Devon Wildlife Trust’s Wembury marine Centre celebrated its 25th anniversary.

n 27 tonnes of litter and fishing gear collected by fisherman for Yorkshire Wildlife Trust’s Fishing 4 Litter.

Get involved We need to put nature into

recovery on land and at sea. Join us on our campaign for a wilder future: wildlifetrusts.org/wilder-future

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12 Montgomeryshire Wildlife News | Spring 2020

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