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Reassessing the multiple values of lowland British floodplains

Everard, Mark; Bradley, Peter; Ogden, Wendy; Piscopiello, Enrica; Salter, Louis; Herbert, Samantha; McInnes, Robert

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Authors

Mark Everard Mark.Everard@uwe.ac.uk
Associate Professor in Ecosystem Services

Wendy Ogden

Enrica Piscopiello

Louis Salter

Samantha Herbert

Robert McInnes



Abstract

Ecosystem services provided by lowland British floodplains respectively under semi-natural conditions and converted for intensive maize production were assessed. Floodplains across lowland Britain have been extensively disconnected from river channels, depleting habitat for wildlife and other beneficial ecosystem services. Conservation measures are often regarded as costly constraints on economic and development freedoms whilst, conversely, conversion for intensive agricultural production is rewarded by markets despite many often-overlooked externalities. Maize growing has increased in Britain since the 1970s, initially for feedlot production of livestock and now increasingly for grant-aided biofuel production for anaerobic digestion. Comparative literature-based ecosystem service assessments using the RAWES (Rapid Assessment of Wetland Ecosystem Services) approach reveal that lowland British floodplains in semi-natural condition provide a wider range of provisioning services than those converted for monocultural intensive production of maize, in addition to a diversity of regulating, cultural and supporting service benefits that are lost or transformed into disservices when floodplains are converted for intensive maize growth. Benefits and disbenefits of floodplains managed under the two scenarios (semi-natural versus monocultural maize) are presented graphically as an intuitive means to support decision-makers. Monetisation of benefits would be risky, not merely due to uncertainties but as this may skew conclusions and subsequent decision-making towards maximisation of marketed or near-market services, consequently misrepresenting the diversity of values of whole socioecological floodplain systems. Management solutions protective of the societal values provided by floodplain ecosystem may include buffer zoning as a mitigation measure, but a more strategic solution may be zonation of land use based on suitability not only for crop production but recognising the full spectrum of societally beneficial ecosystem services demonstrated by RAWES assessment. A variety of drivers for a changing approach to floodplain farming – statutory, fiscal and self-beneficial – are highlighted, and are generically applicable beyond Britain with context-specific modification.

Citation

Everard, M., Bradley, P., Ogden, W., Piscopiello, E., Salter, L., Herbert, S., & McInnes, R. (2022). Reassessing the multiple values of lowland British floodplains. Science of the Total Environment, 823, Article 153637. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.153637

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date Jan 29, 2022
Online Publication Date Feb 5, 2022
Publication Date Jun 1, 2022
Deposit Date Jan 31, 2022
Publicly Available Date Mar 29, 2024
Journal Science of the Total Environment
Print ISSN 0048-9697
Electronic ISSN 1879-1026
Publisher Elsevier
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 823
Article Number 153637
DOI https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.153637
Keywords Ecosystem services; value; wetlands; RAWES; energy crops; conservation
Public URL https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/8704279

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