Speaker:

Mark Broadmeadow
Principal Advisor Climate Change
Forestry Commission England
Alice Holt Lodge
Farnham, Surrey

Biography:

Mark Broadmeadow is the Forestry Commission’s Principal Adviser for Climate Change in England. His role covers the development of policy and its application to delivery for both mitigation and adaptation. Mark views the incorporation of climate change adaptation principles as critical for woodland management and was involved in drafting the UK Forestry Standard’s Forest and Climate Change Guidelines. Prior to transferring to Forestry Commission England in 2006, Mark led Forest Research’s Environmental Change Research Group. He is a plant physiologist by training, and research interests have included elevated CO2 impacts research and developing decision support systems for species choice in a changing climate.

Synopsis of Presentation:

The need to adapt to climate change is highlighted in the context of the UK Climate Change Risk Assessment, the National Adaptation Programme and the Forestry Commission’s Adaptation Reporting Power Report – all of which extol the potential benefits of continuous cover systems of management for increasing woodland resilience. The basic principles of adaptation are presented, including how the considerable uncertainty associated with the detail of climate projections can be addressed. Different approaches to adaptation through continuous cover forestry to meet different objectives and for a range of woodland types is explored. Adopting an adaptation framework in this way, rather than a single approach to adaptation will help to avoid ‘mal-adaptation’ and unintended consequences while, at the same time, providing a sufficient level of intervention to increase resilience so that our woodlands continue to provide the services that society requires of them long into the future.

Conference Resource:

• Download/View Mark Broadmeadow’s Presentation  [PDF, 5.3 MB]
• Watch Mark Broadmeadow’s Presentation  [Youtube]

Websites and References:

1. Forestry Commission (2011). Forests and Climate Change. UK Forestry Standard Guidelines. Forestry Commission, Edinburgh.
2. Forestry Commission England (2012). Adaptation Reporting Power Report. Link to PDF  [PDF, 1.0 MB]
3. Ray, D., Morison, J. and Broadmeadow, M. (2010). Impacts and adaptation in England’s woodlands. Forestry Commission Research Note 201.
4. Read, D.J., Freer-Smith, P.H., Morison, J.I.L., Hanley, N., West, C.C. and Snowdon, P. eds. (2009). Combating Climate Change – a Role for UK Forests. The Stationery Office, Edinburgh.
5. Stokes, V. and Kerr, G. (2009). The evidence supporting the use of CCF in adapting Scotland’s forests to the risks of climate change. Forest Research. Alice Holt Lodge, Farnham. Link to PDF  [PDF, 900 KB]