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Nature-based Solutions for Climate Change in the UK: A Report by the British Ecological Society

Edited by Rick Stafford, Bethany Chamberlain, Laura Clavey, Phillipa Gillingham, Sarah McKain, Mike Morecroft, Camilla Morrison-Bell and Olly Watts

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This updated version of the report was made available on 02/02/2022. This version corrects minor errors which are detailed below.

Contents

• Foreword
• Executive summary
• Introduction

Section 1: Habitat specific nature-based solutions: a review of the available evidence

• Chapter 1: Woodlands
• Chapter 2: Heathlands
• Chapter 3: Peatlands
• Chapter 4: Grasslands
• Chapter 5: Arable systems
• Chapter 6: Freshwater systems
• Chapter 7: Coastal and marine systems
• Chapter 8: Built environment

Section 2: Effective implementation and delivery of nature-based solutions

• Chapter 9: Embedding nature-based solutions in strategic spatial planning
• Chapter 10: Delivering nature-based solutions
• Chapter 11: Economic valuation and investment options for implementing nature-based solutions

Appendices

• 1. Table of chapter summaries and recommendations
• 2. Research gaps identified in the report
• Acknowledgements

Copyright © British Ecological Society and authors, 2021
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, except where noted on certain images.

Cite this report:
Stafford, R., Chamberlain, B., Clavey, L., Gillingham, P.K., McKain, S., Morecroft, M.D., Morrison-Bell, C. and Watts, O. (Eds.) (2021). Nature-based Solutions for Climate Change in the UK: A Report by the British Ecological Society. London, UK. Available at: www.britishecologicalsociety.org/nature-based-solutions

If citing an individual chapter, please list the chapter authors and contributing authors, chapter title, report title and year, editors, publisher location and page numbers of the chapter.

Corrections

Correction as of 4th August 2021, after first online publication:

The text on pages 63 (point 3) and 178 (point 4) of the report reads: For example, figures from the UK Land Use, Land Use Change and Forestry (LULUCF) GHG inventory indicate that conversion of arable land to grassland has the potential for removing 8.72 million tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO₂) per hectare per year (t.CO₂ /ha/yr) across the UK. In contrast, conversion of grassland to arable land can result in net emissions of 14.29 megatons (Mt.CO₂e/ha/yr).

This is to be amended in the report to say:

For example, figures from the UK Land Use, Land Use Change and Forestry (LULUCF) GHG inventory indicate that conversion of arable land to grassland has the potential for removing 8.72 megatons of carbon dioxide (CO₂) per year (Mt.CO₂/yr) across the UK.  In contrast, conversion of grassland to arable land could result in net emissions of 14.29 megatons (Mt.CO₂e/yr) across the UK.

Bold text indicates where text has changed.

This does not substantially alter the main conclusions of the chapter or the report but will be updated in the report itself as soon as possible.

Correction as of 17th August 2021, after first online publication:

The text on page 112 (subsection 3.6) of the report reads: Typically, seagrass has the lowest rate at 1.5*10-6 t.C/ha/yr and saltmarsh around four times higher at 6*10-6 t.C/ha/yr ⁵⁵. These values are several orders of magnitude lower than the sequestration rates of the habitats.

This is to be amended in the report to say:

Typically, seagrass has the lowest rate at 0.00378 tonnes of methane per hectare per year and saltmarsh around four times higher at 0.013092 tonnes of methane per hectare per year. These values are several orders of magnitude lower than the sequestration rates of the habitats.

Bold text indicates where text has changed.

This does not substantially alter the main conclusions of the chapter or the report but will be updated in the report itself as soon as possible.