Understanding interactions between climate and nature

There are strong relationships between climate and the natural world. Habitats and wildlife often suffer as a result of climate changes, but they are also a key part of the solution, helping us to build resilience to current and future change.  

The UK is one of the most nature depleted countries in the world. To restore and conserve our natural systems we must understand their relationships with the changing climate and assess how these are likely to vary in the future.  

Many habitats are threatened by climate change, and many provide vital ecosystem services that support human communities and lifestyles. For example, peatlands are not only internationally important for wildlife they also provide important ecosystem services accumulating and storing carbon, preventing its release to the atmosphere, and slowing water flow, which can reduce the risk of flash flooding and sustain water flows in times of drought. Inter-tidal habitats, while providing refuges for wildlife, also increase the resilience of coastal communities to storm surges and sea level rise. Therefore, by supporting our wildlife and habitats we are also helping to build the resilience of the communities and activities that rely on them.

Priority climate research for The Wildlife Trusts

Over the past year and a half, Met Office volunteers have been working closely with experts from The Wildlife Trusts, our corporate charity, on five research projects, see below.

As an evidence-based organisation, The Wildlife Trusts are committed to ensuring their decision-making is based on robust science. The aim of the joint research projects was to advance the understanding and communication of specific relationships between nature and climate, focusing on climate-related challenges that were considered priorities for The Wildlife Trusts.

Five research projects – understanding climate challenges for nature

• Communicating climate changes at Wildlife Trust sites

Challenges posed by climate change at Wildlife Trust sites were discussed, together with how their habitats help landscapes and communities adapt to the climate change that is already happening. Key points were collated in four public-facing infographics.

• Bespoke climate indicators for nature

Specific climate-related indicators, including accumulated rainfall and number of days with temperature above a threshold, were developed to identify how climate influences natural events at Wildlife Trust sites, including the first-flowering dates of hay meadow plants and movements of chalk grassland butterflies.

• Invasive Pacific oysters and sea temperature changes

Current and future projected UK sea-surface temperatures were analysed to assess the likely responses of the Pacific oyster, an invasive non-native species, to our changing climate.

• Climate suitability for reintroducing rare plant species

UK gridded climate data were used to map the current and future areas of suitable climate for Meadow Clary, a localised plant in the UK, and identify sites for potential reintroductions taking into consideration future climate change.

• Climate and Barn owl success in Northern Ireland

Climate variables were compared with data on the nesting survival of Barn owls in Northern Ireland. It was shown that the survival of nesting Barn owl chicks, which have non-waterproof plumage, are negatively affected by high rainfall and low temperatures during key months of the year.

Nigel Doar, Head of Science and Research at The Wildlife Trusts said:

“We already know that climate change is a key threat to our native wildlife. These projects have given us some excellent scientific insights into some of those threats and the ways in which we might respond to them. This should help us to protect our native wildlife from further decline and create more resilient landscapes and seas.” 

A novel approach to the research

A novel approach was used to deliver these research projects. Staff across the Met Office were invited to volunteer their time and expertise to lead and drive forward the research in close collaboration with experts from across The Wildlife Trusts. The response was overwhelming, we had staff from a range of disciplines and backgrounds working on topics that were not necessarily their area of expertise. What they all shared was a passion for wildlife and a determination to help The Wildlife Trusts to understand and communicate their climate challenges.

Initial discussions with experts from The Wildlife Trusts were conducted to understand its specific climate concerns and challenges. Then small project teams were formed, led by Met Office staff who were keen to develop their leadership skills, and these worked closely with Wildlife Trust volunteers to take forward the research projects and develop useful outputs.

The approach was a huge success because of the commitment of the volunteers from the Met Office and The Wildlife Trusts who were involved.

Debbie Hemming, Scientific Manager at the Met Office and the person responsible for leading the creation of these projects said:

“The dedication and professionalism of all the volunteers is what has driven these projects and made them such a success. Each of these projects has provided useful outputs that will help The Wildlife Trusts make appropriate decisions to support our wildlife through the challenges posed by climate change.”

On completion of the projects, a celebratory event was held at the Met Office headquarters in Exeter. This was an opportunity for those involved and interested parties from both organisations, to come together and discuss the research and outputs.

Professor Penny Endersby, Met Office Chief Executive, opened the event with an overview of the relevance and importance of our work at the Met Office for supporting nature, biodiversity and wildlife. This was followed by The Wildlife Trusts' representatives Kathryn Brown, Director of Climate Change and Evidence, and Nigel Doar, Head of Science and Research. They discussed some of the climate challenges for wildlife, and the ways in which actions to support nature and wildlife can provide vital ecosystem services that will help us all to become more resilient to climate variability and change.

The novel approach to these research projects has enabled us to deepen understanding of the interactions between nature and climate. They provided an opportunity to combine the data, skills and expertise of both organisations to produce outputs that really make a difference to conservationists on the ground.

All the results and outputs from the projects have been made available to The Wildlife Trusts and are accessible on the Met Office joint research projects webpage.