Welcome

In Spring 2022, things do seem to be getting back to some semblance of normal. Hybrid working is now the new normal but I can report that we are out and about once more, with trips across the UK, to the Caribbean and Colombia in recent weeks. I can also report that we are as busy as ever and we are recruiting in a number of areas. In this edition of Sphere, we cover everything from coastal monitoring to future agriculture, and we have a fresh influx of new starters to boost our capacity, experience and expertise.

Contents

Future Agriculture: Land Suitability for Trees and Permanent Crops
Building Capacity to Deliver Nature Recovery Networks for Northern Ireland
Coastal Monitoring
Peatland Restoration Portal Presented at CivTech Demo Day
Crop Suitability Report Published
New Starters

Future Agriculture: Land Suitability for Trees and Permanent Crops

SENCE, our land suitability modelling technology, is proving to be a valuable tool for future agriculture assessment. Trees and permanent crops require long-term investment, so in a changing climate it is important to ascertain the long-term suitability of land for their production. Using SENCE, we have been working in the Caribbean to provide scientific evidence to guide land acquisition reconnaissance for a forest production enterprise. Our work established the biophysical suitability (climatic, topographic and soil characteristics) of land for four different tree species, modelled at national scale. Using different climate scenarios stretching through to 2080, we located areas that will remain suitable for each tree species in a changing climate.

The analysis revealed that extensive areas would become of limited suitability, or totally unsuitable, for some of the tree species due largely to a predicted reduction in rainfall. The assessment went on to factor in other considerations, narrowing the search locations to wooded areas with optimal soil types, as well as avoiding the main areas of productive agricultural land and protected areas.

Next steps include rapid site assessments using satellite imagery to provide comparative information on prospective sites quickly and at low cost. In-depth assessment of preferred sites and their surroundings can be supported by the following sustainability metrics:

• Carbon storage estimates & their market value (current and future projected)
• Biodiversity value (with habitats identified, such as endemic forests)
• Green and blue corridors, tree cover within fields and vegetation productivity
• Surface water regulation and flood mitigation opportunities/sources of soil erosion risk
• Places where nature-based actions (like tree planting) can improve water regulation, benefit biodiversity and reduce soil erosion risk in the local landscape.

These approaches show the value of SENCE to evidence investment decisions and help deliver company sustainability goals.

Building Capacity to Deliver Nature Recovery Networks for Northern Ireland

Habitat loss and fragmentation are factors driving biodiversity decline on a global scale. Northern Ireland (NI) ranks 12th worst in the world for biodiversity loss, with 11% of vegetation species at threat. Environment Systems, on behalf of Ulster Wildlife and in partnership with the National Trust, RSPB and the Woodland Trust, has created Nature Recovery Networks (NRN’s) across the whole of Northern Ireland, as well as local-scale case studies in Ards & North Down Council and the Belfast area.The first of its kind for Northern Ireland, these data were created with the aim of providing evidence that can help steer momentum towards conserving and improving biodiversity in Northern Ireland.

The maps produced for the project show the areas of primary habitats and associated habitats (habitats which are found in mosaic with the primary habitat type, that support species movement throughout the landscape), as well as areas that could be restored to strengthen each habitat network. These opportunity areas were identified based on soil type, existing habitat cover, and proximity to areas of primary habitat. The opportunity areas are divided into different classes (Network Enhancement Zones, Network Expansion Zone, Fragmentation Action Zone), which assist with prioritising and selecting the best locations for habitat restoration and recreation, in order to increase the resilience of existing habitats and maximise the effectiveness of the action.

NRNs were created for 20 habitats at a national scale, and for 14 habitats at a local scale. The NRNs were also combined to produce four grouped networks (grassland, wetland, woodland and coastal networks) at national and local scales. The local network maps complement the national network datasets but incorporate more locally focused data and local conservation priorities (e.g., by incorporating small urban habitat features), and provide more detail on habitat networks and opportunities at a finer scale. For example, the local network of deciduous woodland in Belfast shows urban street trees and their importance in connecting areas of deciduous woodland, as well as supporting biodiversity in urban areas.

30 by 30 ambition
30 by 30 is a global initiative for governments to classify 30% of Earth’s land and sea area as protected by 2030. NI has over 1.3 million hectares, which means over 400,000 ha would need to be protected. Our work on this project indicates that 27.1% of NI is primary habitat, just short of meeting the 30% goal. Much of these primary habitat areas are not currently protected, but protecting all of the existing habitat fragments may not be the best way to protect and enhance ecological resilience; for example, if habitat patches are geographically isolated, they are more likely to be vulnerable to disturbances and extinctions. Even if all areas of primary habitat became protected it would still be necessary to look to restore or create new primary habitats – our work has indicated that this is entirely possible.

Additional input datasets are required to support decision making when choosing which areas to prioritise. NRNs alone do not provide the solution and need to be supplemented with other data. Areas of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI’s) are an important network of protected sites that could serve as a starting point for identifying new priority sites for protection, in order to strengthen ecological connectivity between existing priority sites.

Coastal Monitoring

In 2012, Environment Systems became a preferred supplier of ecological mapping for the coastal monitoring frameworks for the North West, North East, South West and South East of England. Since that time, we have carried out projects across all of these areas. The habitat mapping component of the monitoring is undertaken to provide freely available coastal and terrestrial habitat extent data for use by Local Authorities, the Environment Agency, Natural England and other stakeholders. They help to improve the understanding of the current situation, and how change is occurring in these dynamic environments. The data can also be used to predict how factors such as climate change, driven by sea level rises, could impact flood risk and biodiversity.

The monitoring takes place every 5-8 years to ensure that changes are monitored effectively and that new improved processes and analyses can be brought to bear. Most recently, we have returned to the South East, an area that stretches from the Isle of Grain in the east to Portland Bill in the west. The project ran for nine months and included ground surveys over ten randomly selected areas to assess the coverage of vegetation and different habitat types. The ground survey data were compared to the habitat attribution in the map data, mostly generated through air photo interpretation, in order to gauge the accuracy of the dataset as a whole, and on a class-by-class basis.

The resulting map data provides an extremely detailed representation of habitat distribution throughout the project area, which includes particularly detailed mapping of fine-scale features such as hedgerows and saltmarsh, as well as fine-scale definition of other intertidal habitats such as shingle and sand/mudflat.

Coastal environments are very dynamic by their nature, and frequent monitoring of these areas is invaluable for identifying trends and changes that need to be dealt with, such as threats to important habitats and species, and flood risk for coastal communities. One recommendation that has resulted from this survey is that algal communities, not currently included within the scope of the ecological mapping, should be included in future monitoring. A good example is nutrient enrichment, particularly in the Solent region, where increased nutrient loading is a key risk to the condition of protected sites such as the Solent Maritime SAC. This has been cited as a reason for delaying new residential developments.

Peatland Restoration Portal Presented at CivTech Demo Day

Environment Systems presented its solution to the CivTech challenge – “How can technology help us identify peatland restoration sites that will optimise costs and benefits?” at the latest CivTech Demo Day on the 8th February in Edinburgh.

In good condition, Scotland’s peatlands offer a fantastic natural carbon store, equivalent to a third of the Amazon rainforest, and an excellent nature-based solution to the twin crises of climate change and biodiversity loss. The Scottish Government wants to understand where to undertake peatland restoration in order to maximise all the benefits that derive from it.

While peatlands cover 20% of Scotland, around 80% of them are in poor condition and are actually emitting greenhouse gases. Restoring them is therefore a key plank of the Scottish Government’s climate change plan and Scotland’s response to the climate emergency.

Our solution, the Peatland Restoration Portal, has been developed in partnership with the Tweed Forum Ltd and Land & Habitats Ltd. Using Environment Systems’ SENCE natural capital evaluation tool, plus satellite data analytics, this online tool will provide area-based peatland restoration prioritisation to enable policy makers, land owners, contractors and the finance community to pinpoint areas of peatland requiring restoration. This will help Scotland transition to net zero and restore one of its most valuable landscapes and significant carbon stores.

The data in our portal aligns with the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) Peatland Code, the developing standard for peatland restoration, to give peatland investment confidence. There is no other solution available on the market that models the breadth of environmental issues in relation to peatland, whilst at the same time being updated with the latest data for monitoring the sites.

Our user base in the Scottish Government will provide a strong anchor to the service. In addition to this, we will charge our target customers a monthly subscription to access premium features.

We have committed to maintaining free access for individual landowners. This will provide recurring revenue from organisations who are monetising peatland restoration and, by keeping landowner access free, we keep the restoration opportunities i.e., the ‘deal flow,’ high.

The Environment Systems presentation can be viewed here.

Crop Suitability Report Published

In the Summer 2020 edition of Sphere, we reported on a project we were working on which set out to model the land suitability in Wales for 118 crops under nine projected climate change scenarios, as well as under present day conditions. The work on this project was completed in 2021 and the report has just been published.

The project included a variety of crops common to Wales and the UK, as well as crops which are novel to Wales. It included cereals, row crops, horticultural crops, orchard crops, tree crops and specialist crops. The report describes crop suitability modelling undertaken to show how, for each crop, the spatial extent of suitable ground changes with the climate in the different scenarios.

Although the models show decreases in the area of available land for crop cultivation on a commercial basis, the non-commercial tree suitability models show that many tree species will still be able to grow throughout the country, and continue to provide important ecosystem services such as flood mitigation, carbon storage, and supporting biodiversity.

The report provides important evidence for policy makers and the agricultural industry as the future is considered. This will be a valuable source of information as Wales prepares to meet the effects of changes in climate, growing conditions, the extent and distribution of crop cultivation, and supporting infrastructure. The information can also help to foster public engagement and understanding of the issues, and will contribute to the creation of policy decisions that are likely to have a substantial impact on Welsh landscapes as we know them today.

This work formed part of a wider three-year project which was led by the Welsh Government and included Environment Systems, Cranfield University and ADAS. The project formed part of the Welsh Government response to climate change.

You can view and download the project here.

New Starters

Tara O’Neill
Tara is the Project Engagement Officer for the PASTORAL project, working closely with our partners at the Soil Association and University of Edinburgh to engage with beef, sheep and dairy farmers across the UK as we co-design a new tool to optimise pasture management. The project is combining satellite data with advanced modelling of carbon flows to monitor and predict grass growth and carbon storage. This involves talking to farmers about the project and collecting details of their fields and pasture management.

Tara has just finished her PhD in applied ecology, at Royal Holloway, University of London (also with Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and CABI). She also has an MSc in Agro-ecology from Harper Adams University and a BSc in Zoology from the University of Leeds. She is interested in anything to do with sustainable agriculture.

Gulnur Durak
Gulnur has recently joined us as a Junior Software Developer. She has a degree in Computer Engineering from Istanbul Technical University. She is based near London and has worked as a freelance Software Developer for 1.5 years for a company in Germany. Away from work, she enjoys travelling.

 
 

Francis Crickard
Francis is from Belfast. Before joining Environment Systems as a Software Developer he studied in Liverpool for 4 years for a BA in History, with one year studying abroad in Suzhou, China. Subsequently he studied for an MSc in Software Development graduating in December 2021. A keen footballer and gamer, Francis is also fond of travelling.