Country: UK

Ecoacoustics for assessing ecosystem health and function, from air to soil

Sound is an intrinsic component of an ecosystem, encoding a wealth of information about species presence and behaviours, human activities, and general ecological health. The soundscape of a thriving forest might be a cacophony of bird song, insect chirps, buzzes, howls, squawks, and trills. Below ground, scratches, scrapes, and clicks fill recordings in healthy soil. Lower yourself underwater and you’ll hear a surprising variety of oinks, grunts, boings, crackles, and plops. Anthropogenic activities change the natural soundscape, drowning out wildlife sounds, or causing an unsettling silence over the landscape.

Ecological monitoring using passive acoustic sensors is now a common approach for understanding impacts of environmental change on biodiversity and habitat health, generating bioacoustic data on animal species occurrence, behaviour, and vocal activity, or ecoacoustic data on whole ecosystem sound (the soundscape). Ecoacoustic approaches seek to compare the levels of biotic and anthropogenic sounds and correlate these with biodiversity metrics. We seek to go beyond these correlative methods, towards a processed based approach linking the soundscape to ecosystem function and ecological energy flows. A core aim is to ensure our approach is transferrable across ecosystems and regions, globally, and this hinges on employing cutting-edge machine learning techniques to classify sounds to species or functional groups, anthropogenic, and geophonic sound types.

We and our partners are collecting passive acoustic data in diverse habitats where different nature recovery measures are being tested, including grassland restoration in Oxfordshire, native forest restoration in Scotland, landscape recovery in Ghana, and Savannah recovery in Kenya. Collected alongside traditional and remote sensing ecological monitoring data, we’re able to validate our ecoacoustic ecological energetics estimates and machine learning approach. A challenge in the bioacoustic and ecoacoustic fields is robustly estimating density or abundance of species from their vocalisations or sounds, yet this is key to estimating ecological energy flows from passive acoustic data. We are developing methods to overcome this challenge using arrays of passive acoustic sensors deployed above ground monitoring bats, and below ground, monitoring earthworms.

Sounds of the underground

Until recently, ecoacoustic studies have focussed on above ground or aquatic systems, yet soil health is crucial to nature recovery and can be where much of the ecological energy flows. We are exploring below ground passive acoustic monitoring in Oxfordshire, where most energy cascades through earthworms. However, the application of ecoacoustics to soil health is still in its infancy, largely constrained by limited knowledge on the sources of many below ground sounds. To address this, we are building open sound libraries of soil fauna, starting with earthworms, which will train machine learning models to classify and characterise the underground soundscape.

Oxford Policy Engagement Fellowship: Developing a green infrastructure equity tool

There is mounting evidence of the many benefits of green infrastructure (GI) (e.g. parks, gardens, street trees), including health and wellbeing benefits. Yet although less affluent communities, which typically experience health inequity, derive greater benefits from greenspace, they often have less access to it. Identifying these communities would allow local authorities to develop policies that promote equitable access to GI benefits, potentially reducing health and social care costs.

During this six month Fellowship I will be collaborating with Plymouth City Council (PCC) and the Woodland Trust to develop a novel, transferable methodology (tool) that allows local councils to assess equity of access to GI, building on existing work by Woodland Trust and myself. The close collaboration with PCC will allow us to directly support equitable green infrastructure policy development in Plymouth, as well as ensure that the method is fit for real-world application. The tool will bring together elements of the Woodland Trust’s Tree Equity Score (https://uk.treeequityscore.org/) and my own previous work in Oxfordshire (https://www.naturerecovery.ox.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Oxfordshires_greenspace_deprived_neighbourhoods_APR2024_online-compressed.pdf).

Project outputs will include:

  1. A tool that can be used to assess green infrastructure (GI) deprivation in urban areas according to a range of green infrastructure metrics, weighted by socio-economic and demographic factors.
  2. A report outlining the methods and findings that can inform PCC’s GI planning and policy, and can be used as a case study and road map by other local authorities wishing to use the method. This would include a baseline for greenspace enhancements in Plymouth.
  3. A plain English blog to share the aims and outcomes of the project with the general public; to be shared on PCC website and other appropriate channels.
  4. An ‘Action Research’ paper outlining how the tool was developed and evaluated, demonstrating the value of co-design and using PCC as a case study to show how the tool can be used in practice.

 

Assessing urban ecosystem composition and function to understand pathways towards equitable, Nature-smart cities

The state of nature in cities is a topic of concern. As the proportion of the global population in urban areas nears 60%, it has become vital to consider ways we can protect nature in these human-dense areas.

The urban sprawl brings with it fragmentation, and losses of ecological connectivity and biodiversity. This impact is well-known and motivated Target 12 of the Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) to “increase the area and quality and connectivity of, access to, and benefits from green and blue spaces in urban and densely populated areas”. In addition to the targets of the GBF the London Boroughs have Local Neighbourhood plans, the London Environment Strategy and the City Plan, all of which include guidelines to green London. But, as of yet there is no ecological assessment of the city as a whole.

Few papers have employed ecological evaluations used in so-called “natural” areas within the urban context, fewer still looking in London. I hope to perform such an assessment and provide a pathway to creating an urban landscape for nature and people. I will assess ecosystem structure and composition through the AGILE initiative mapping program, and quantify ecosystem connectivity through models like Circuitscape, the Spatial Resilience Index, Graphab, and/or Conefor.

Then I will consider ecosystem functioning, looking at urban heat island mitigation, carbon storage, flood prevention, and air quality improvement. I also hope to look at the state of ecosystem services and avenues for improvement. This would involve crossovers between biodiversity and social science, such as health, wellbeing, natural capital, and the impact of biodiversity on people.

This would generate an assessment of the impact of people on nature and nature on people, considering the way the city currently is and ways this could change not only in London but in cities worldwide.

From greening to wellbeing: Multi-scale analysis of green infrastructure and mental health at population level within the UK

This project will focus on testing the co-benefits of green infrastructure and nature-based interventions on mental health and human wellbeing at different scales in the UK and expand to the Global South. The overall aim is to provide evidence through a multi-scale analysis of green infrastructure and mental health, encompassing national (macro), regional (meso), and local (micro) perspectives at population level within the UK.

From the national level, the project will start by quantifying how much green space is needed to provide justified mental health benefits, as well as determining the format in which those benefits should be. To answer this question, the first study is an assessment of the mental health impact of an urban forestry rule: the 3-30-300 on population mental health outcomes. The 3-30-300 rule sets guidelines for cities to ensure fair access to nature. It suggests that people should be able to see three trees from their home, have a neighbourhood with 30% tree coverage, and be within 300 meters of a green space. The project plans to test whether the different components of these three rules make a difference in mental health outcomes and if tree canopy density might have a threshold in impacting resident’s mental health.

Following that, the project will test whether different types of green infrastructure might have different impacts on mental health and how the relationship differs when looking at self-reported mental health and wellbeing status versus NHS diagnosis records. The second study is designed as a spatial-temporal disparity in the relationship between different types of green space and objective mental health outcomes, considering urban, peri-urban, and rural contexts and socio-economic factors. The study will employ longitudinal data of mental health outcomes, alongside green space indicators such as grassland, woodland, trees, and water bodies. The aim is to identify how green space type, quality, and accessibility impact mental health and whether these effects vary across socio-economic groups and geographic settings.

On the regional level, the third study will investigate spatial and social disparities of school greenness and the impact on physical activity and mental health in children and adolescents. This study will explore the impact of school greenness on the physical activity, mental health, and overall well-being of children and adolescents in Liverpool and Oxfordshire, UK. Using longitudinal survey data, the study will examine spatial and socio-economic disparities in school greenness and their associations with health and well-being outcomes. The research aims to provide actionable insights for improving school environments and informing urban planning and environmental policies that promote healthier, more equitable settings for young people.

The national and regional findings from the initial research plan will then lead to the next stage of the project, which will focus on a local case study of the co-benefits of green infrastructure.

Wendee is a postdoctoral researcher in the Health and Wellbeing theme at the Leverhulme Centre for Nature Recovery and Flourishing and Wellbeing Theme of the Oxford Health Biomedical Research Centre.

Revealing the compositional and functional responses of mycorrhizal fungi to rewilding at the Knepp Wildland

Rewilding is a nature recovery approach that prioritises functionalism and ecosystem autonomy, using low-impact interventions that aim to create resilience and self-regulation. However, whilst rewilding has seen many successes above-ground, little attention has been paid to those communities below. This project responds to the call to improve our knowledge on the responses of below-ground taxonomies generally by studying mycorrhizal communities at the Knepp Wildland, a large ~3500acre ex-farmland site in West Sussex, UK. This site provides unique opportunities to study one of our longest, largest, and more mature rewilding projects and the dynamic environment created by its reintroduced disturbance actors.

Mycorrhizal fungi build symbiotic relationships with plant roots, exchanging nutrients that usually helps bolster survival for both fungi and plant. Mycorrhizal fungi send out long, thin strands of hyphae that explore the local soil environment and forage for resources, extending the reach of the roots far beyond the traditional rhizosphere. These strands come together to form mycelium, which can fuse with those extending from other plants to create extensive common mycorrhizal networks. These networks help seeds germinate (with some completely dependent on them!), aid plants in their growth and survival, and have been reported to translocate resources and nutrients around the soil system. These characteristics make this a ‘keystone’ below-ground organism, making their study imperative as they could be an important ingredient to catalysing UK nature recovery.

Utilising novel technologies, this project uses soil eDNA to resolve changes to both mycorrhizal community composition and function to see if rewilding is serving the below-ground ecosystem as it is above. A space-for-time comparison to a local conventional farm is used to track change from the initial land-use to the outcomes seen ~20 years later. It is hoped that as these new technologies become cheaper and more widespread, frameworks such as this can be more routinely applied to nature recovery monitoring, normalising the inclusion and consideration of soil biodiversity in these initiatives.

We have large eDNA datasets for both fungi and bacteria and would be open for collaboration.

An energetic approach to assessing nature recovery in soils – a regenerative agriculture case study.

71% of the UK land area is farmland, which without transformation will mean no realistic chance of solving this nations biodiversity crisis. Regenerative agriculture promises a way to farm with and bolster nature, helping provide the many varied habitats and resources needed for functional and flourishing ecosystems, whilst also helping feed the country. This project aims to assess the ecological impact of arable regenerative agriculture methods on soil biodiversity, helping build an evidence base to reveal how these organisms drive this approach.

Utilising the emerging framework of ecosystem energetics, this project aims to apply this methodology to the soil environment to establish a consistent approach to assessing nature recovery progress in this traditional ‘black box’. By tracking energy flows from the sun to the soil, we can follow its cascade through the below-ground food web to understand where it pools and flows. With energy translating into the ability to ‘do work’, we can use this as a proxy to understand how the activities of these organisms emerge to provide services we take advantage of for farming, such as water infiltration and nutrient cycling, amongst others. In comparison with chemical farming, we aim to show how these organisms support regenerative agriculture without expensive or environmentally damaging additives.

Working at FarmED in the Cotswolds, we are able to take advantage of their 8 year arable chronosequence and conventional control plot to demonstrate the ecological impact of herbal leys and their lingering effects during cropping to reduce our reliance on agrichemicals. Taking the opportunity this novel chronosequence provides in one location, we have built a very large and detailed dataset for each plot, accounting for its diversity of soil life (micro, meso, and macrofauna), soil characteristics (pH, SOM, cations, particle size, temperature, moisture, bulk density), and net primary productivity (vegetation biomass, dung, and respiration). It is with this data that we ultimately aim to build a streamlined and unified framework for assessing nature recovery in soils, and encourage its routine monitoring as apart of restoration initiatives.

We are open to collaboration and are keen to be able to use this wealth of data to understand more about these systems to help accelerate UK nature recovery.

Exploring the ecological effects of forest pests and diseases in a changing world

Tree pests and diseases are doubling every decade, some of which cause widespread damage to existing woodlands. Ash dieback (Hymenoscyphus fraxineus), a disease caused by an ascomycete fungus, has killed millions of ash trees in Europe. It is estimated to cost £15 billion in Britain, and a population decline of ash obligate and highly associated species. Forests across the world face similar challenges, where tree pandemics eradicate certain species within decades, followed by slow forest recovery.

The increasing interconnectedness of our world through trade and travel, and the lack of biosecurity, have accelerated the spread of invasive tree pests and pathogens. Despite plant sanitation regulations, the exponential growth of these threats continues. While early detection and response can sometimes be useful, in most cases, it is too late to effectively control the disease. In addition, some disease agents may suddenly reproduce fast when climate conditions exceed specific thresholds. In a world with rising temperatures and changing precipitation regimes, we are not sure whether this will lead to unforeseen disease outbreaks and severe ecological consequences.

This project focuses on predicting ecological effects of tree pests and pathogens in the future. As part of an NERC-funded project on ash dieback, we established experimental plots in Wytham Woods (Oxford) in 2020 to monitor the disease’s impact on tree health, nutrient cycling, habitat structure, woodland connectivity, and biodiversity. With the support of the Scottish Forestry Trust, we are developing a comprehensive global database of tree pest and disease outbreaks, covering a wide range of disease types. Through developing a wealth of data and modelling products, this project seeks to forecast future tree mortality rates, changes in nutrient cycling, and their consequences for forests in a changing world. This will be crucial for tree pest management and mitigating, which are important for successful nature recovery.

Participatory governance of nature recovery and Nature-based Solutions.

This project aims to promote Nature-based Solutions (NbS) and nature recovery initiatives that are more effective, equitable, and financially sustainable by leveraging participatory governance processes. It is part of two broader projects, the NERC-funded Agile Initiative project on ‘Scaling up NbS in the UK’ and the Leverhulme Centre for Nature Recovery, and is being conducted in collaboration with the Nature-based Solutions Initiative. The solutions-focused and interdisciplinary project aims to deliver relevant, timely, and actionable evidence and recommendations for practitioners and policy-makers in the UK.

NbS has gained international attention for their potential to deliver multiple sustainability goals by addressing climate change, biodiversity decline, inequality and human well-being issues. However, it is crucial that NbS are designed and implemented in a holistic, integrated, and inclusive way to deliver multiple benefits while addressing trade-offs between goals. At its core, this approach involves ensuring that NbS treats humans and nature as interconnected, while tackling unequal power dynamics and promoting socially ‘just’ outcomes. This project ultimately aims to promote more integrated approaches to facilitate interconnected thinking among decision-makers, and more joined-up policy support and implementation at local, regional, and national scales.

The main project activities and outcomes include:

  • Co-designing the project with partners from across the public, private and third sectors in the UK. Partners included Highlands Rewilding, Nattergal, Defra, Natural England, Environment Agency, BBOWT, National Trust, NFU, RBG Kew, UK CEH, WWF, University of Aberdeen and others. This helped to shape the research and deliver outputs that are relevant, useful, and actionable in policy and practice.
  • Working as part of an interdisciplinary team to produce the Nature-based Solutions Knowledge Hub, which is an integrated one-stop resource to guide users through the process of governing, designing, and funding NbS and monitoring the outcomes. Specifically, this project delivered the Recipe for Engagement (RfE), a new flexible guide for the participatory governance that can be applied and adapted to a wide range of nature recovery and NbS projects.
  • Working closely with Highlands Rewilding to design and implement a ‘Community Engagement Roadmap’, which sets out some key principles and practical steps for engaging and delivering community benefits from rewilding projects. This project team also collaborated with Joshua Davis (lead author) at the Countryside and Community Research Institute to produce an evidence report and guide for Nattergal on ‘Best Practice Engagement in Landscape-scale Nature Recovery Projects’.
  • Engaged with policy-makers and produced a policy brief on ‘Embedding nature recovery in the Levelling-up and Regeneration Bill’ which was submitted as evidence to the House of Lords.
    In addition to the impact-focused outputs, this project is publishing a series of academic papers on the politics, power, and participation dynamics of NbS and nature recovery.
The landscape aesthetics of nature recovery

Ambitions for nature recovery in the UK involve profound changes to land use that will shift the ecological composition and appearance of different landscapes. Recovery commonly involves a transition from worked, agricultural landscapes towards those in which natural processes are given more autonomy. It aims to move from landscapes characterised by low biological abundance and diversity, linear landscape features, and tightly controlled processes towards those marked by biological abundance and diversity, complex landscape features, and unpredictable landscape dynamics.

Some British citizens care deeply about the appearance of the landscape and resist radical changes to land use and landscape composition. Although the rural landscape has undergone radical transformation in the last few centuries, there are powerful, conservative cultural ideals of the countryside as a timeless source of aesthetic, moral and political value that is threatened by change. Imagined archetypes with ecological and cultural baselines in a desired past persist into the present. These archetypes have been central to the history of the conservation of cultural landscapes in the UK.

The lowland English countryside and the Scottish Highlands offer two important examples of these archetypes. The first is exemplary of the English Pastoral and second of the Romantic Scottish Sublime. We anticipate that these two aesthetic ideals help frame the landscape preferences of key players in our two case study regions – rural Oxfordshire and the Scottish Cairngorms. They create the popular and powerful archetypes that are both shared and contested by many farmers, foresters, traditional conservationists, tourists, stalkers, and other rural publics. We expect that there is a good chance that they may both configure and restrict the ambitions of those planning and implementing nature recovery projects across the UK. They shape perceptions of responsible land management and of mess and messiness.

This project aims to test this hypothesis to answer the following research questions:

What are the common aesthetics of UK nature recovery?
How do they contrast with the pastoral and sublime, as expressed in Oxfordshire and the Cairngorms?
How might different publics and stakeholders be engaged in deliberating the aesthetics of nature recovery?
Is there are middle ground between the aesthetics of recovery and the aesthetics of pastoral and the sublime – for example in the aesthetics of regenerative agriculture?

Why study aesthetics?

Aesthetics involves the study of perception and the generally pleasant experience of a sight, sound and smell or taste. There is much debate about the degree to which aesthetics are socially constructed or innate. But research shows that aesthetics underpins both environmental ethics and politics. Aesthetics shape the emotional attachments people form with species and landscapes. It propels relations of curiosity, care, and protection, as well as dislike and disgust. Landscape aesthetics also reflects the predominant social order. They express powerful ways of seeing that may serve to naturalise the status quo. These ways of seeing are contextual and contingent and are thus contested. As a consequence, past and current debates about what is natural and right for the UK countryside are strongly shaped by aesthetic, as well as ecological and economic considerations.

Youth-led Nature Recovery

In this Social Sciences Engagement Fellowship project, we are partnering with the youth-led nature recovery organisation Youngwilders to explore the strategies, policy frameworks, collaborations, and funding opportunities that can support the participation of young people (aged 18-30) in nature recovery-related activities. The project also seeks to enhance the partner organisation’s ability to support this participation by identifying and co-developing new engagement activities and co-designing their approach to impact evaluation.

The main ongoing activities of the project are:

  • Working with landowners and young people across 6 small-scale nature recovery sites across England and Wales to develop and pilot a year-long ‘project officer’ programme in which young people are placed into paid decision-making roles within an active nature recovery project, co-design management plans and interventions for the sites, and engage in monthly seminars and knowledge-sharing activities with their cohort of young project officers.
  • Assisting Youngwilders with reviewing their activities and impacts to date, written up into an Impact Report for dissemination to partners and funders, and co-designing their long-term impact evaluation approach.
  • Working with the European Young Rewilders network coordinated by Rewilding Europe to develop knowledge exchange activities, including a ‘Readwilding book club’, to build shared understanding and new networks among young nature recovery practitioners working across Europe.
  • Launching a special issue of ‘Routes: The Journal for Student Geographers’ on young people and rewilding together with journal editors Dr Jonathon Turnbull and Dr Liam Saddington