Sustainable Upland Management
Project Status: Completed (See Final
Report Summary)
Type of Project: Scoping Study
Principal Investigator: Dr Klaus Hubacek, University of Leeds
(Email)
Website
Objectives
Uplands represent Britain’s most significant carbon store; are a source of potable water; and are vital for biological conservation, extensive livestock farming, tourism, recreation, forestry, game and fishing. Widespread degradation is occurring in response to current land use and management (e.g. fire, grazing regimes and land drainage) and historic atmospheric deposition of pollutants. This may result in the moorland becoming a carbon source and a range of other on-site and downstream impacts, including; altered moorland ecology, reduced biodiversity; increased moorland fires; increased sediment loads with downstream impacts on fisheries; increased water coloration; heavy metal leaching; fluvial and atmospheric carbon loading; and changes to the incidence/severity of downstream flooding. Changes in land management that lead to hydrological and ecosystem rehabilitation in uplands therefore have the potential to deliver social and economic benefits for rural stakeholders at local, regional and national scales. To realise this potential and deliver sustainable upland management, it is necessary to identify relevant management goals, strategies and sustainability indicators, and develop tools to evaluate them in a multi-stakeholder, participatory framework. Impacts of land management cross many academic disciplines. Effective land use recommendations, policy options, and innovative research, from a range of physical and social science disciplines is required.
To address these problems this Scoping Study will develop and apply a novel, multidisciplinary methodological framework to identify, evaluate and monitor sustainable land management in close collaboration with stakeholders, and natural, economic and social scientists. The Peak District National Park (PDNP) will be used as a case study for social and natural scientists to elicit and evaluate visions, management strategies and indicators for sustainable uplands in collaboration with stakeholders. Visions, management strategies and indicators will be adapted and short-listed with stakeholders to minimize trade-offs and optimize synergies, and then integrated into preliminary land use plans. This information will be used to support ongoing moorland restoration by Moors for the Future (MFF) (a not-for-profit research institution in the PDNP). Data and research gaps will be assessed and tools developed to evaluate the environmental, social, economic and carbon impact of upland management strategies in future research.
Publications
Journal Articles
Holden, J., Trotter, S., Hodson, S., Lindup, S., Milner, S., McHale,
S., Worman, C., Flitcroft, C., Buckler, M., Bonn, A., Evans, M., Allot
T., Crowe, S., Liddaman, L., Hobson G., Irvine B., Maxfield, E., James,
T. (2005) Understanding gully blocking in deep peat, Geophysical
Research Abstracts: 7: 00796.
Working Papers/Briefing Papers
Hubacek et al. (2005) Sustainable Uplands Scoping Study Final Report
[for stakeholders] (2005)
http://www.env.leeds.ac.uk/~mreed/sustainableuplands/
Final Report for Stakeholders.pdf
Reed, M.S., Prell, C. and Hubacek, K. (2005) Sustainable Upland Management for Multiple Benefits: a multi-stakeholder response to the Heather & Grass Burning Code consultation. Project report submitted to DEFRA’s consultation on the review of the Heather and Grass Etc. (Burning) Regulations 1986 and the Heather and Grass Burning Code 1994.
Reed, M.S. and Hubacek, K. (2005) Sustainable Upland Management for
Multiple Benefits: Interim Report, March.
http://www.env.leeds.ac.uk/~mreed/sustainableuplands/
Interim Report.doc
Stringer, L.C. (2004) Social Science Methods Annotated Bibliography.
http://www.env.leeds.ac.uk/~mreed/ sustainableuplands/ Social Science
Methods Annotated Bibliography.doc
Turner, A. (2005) GIS options: RELU upland moorland scoping study project. Working Paper 20, School of Geography, University of Leeds.
Turner, A.G.D. (2005) GIS Options Working Paper
http://www.env.leeds.ac.uk/~mreed/
sustainableuplands/ GIS Options Working Paper.doc
Conference Papers and Presentations
Dougill, A., Reed, M., Hubacek, K., Burt, T., Chapman, P., Fraser,
E., Holden, J., Kirkby, M., Prell, C., Sendzimir, J., Shotbolt, L.,
Stagl, S., Stringer, L., Turner, A. and Worrall, F. (2005) "Managing
uncertainty in dynamic socio-environmental systems: an application to
UK uplands" Presentation to RELU Workshop ‘People and
the Rural Environment: Scoping the Research Agenda’ 18 May, York.
http://www.relu.ac.uk/events/WorkshopMay05/1ADougillReed.pdf
Evans M.G., Allott T., Holden J., Flitcroft C., and Bonn A. (2005) "Understanding gully blocking in deep peat" Presentation to Moors for the Future Conference, Castleton, September.
Hubacek, K., Dougill, A.J., Burt, T., Chapman, P., Fraser, E.D.G., Holden, J., Kirkby, M.T., Prell, C., Reed, M.S., Sendzimir, J., Shotbolt, L., Stagl, S., Stringer, L., Turner, A.G.D. and Worrall, F. (2005) "Doing Adaptive Learning Rural Research: Lessons from the Peak District National Park" Presenation to Bioscience 2005 - Biodiversity Conservation and Sustainable Development in the Mountain Areas of Europe: the challenge of interdisciplinary research, Greece, September.
Prell, C., Stringer, L.C. and Reed M.S. (2005) "Adapting to future change in the Peak District", Presentation to Moors for the Future National Conference, Castleton, September.
Reed, M.S. and Hubacek, K. (2005) "Sustainable upland management for multiple benefits" Presentation to UKPopNet Large-scale Upland Manipulation Feasibility Workshop, Stockolm Environment Centre, University of York, March.
Reed, M.S., Prell, C. and Hubacek, K. (2005) "Managing uncertainty in dynamic socio-environmental systems: an application to upland management" Presentation to Moors for the Future National Conference, Castleton, September.
Hubacek, K. (2004) Peak District Moorlands: drivers of change.
Paper presented to Moors for the Future Partnership, Castleton, October.