Sustainable Uplands

The uplands of Galloway in south-west Scotland are facing changes as never before. Science writer and broadcaster Richard Hollingham visits a project that aims to restore the area for wildlife and local people.

Richard climbs the green hills of Galloway in southwest Scotland to find out about an important rural area of the British Isles. There are mossy dry stone walls and the landscape is dotted with woodland and the occasional farm.

The correct term for these places is uplands, but they may be more familiar to people as moorland, fells or hill country. Richard meets hill shepherd Mary Armstrong and researcher Mark Reed from the University of Leeds to find out why uplands are facing changes as never before.

Uplands areas support many livelihoods through farming and they're important for leisure and for water. Most of our drinking water comes from uplands, which are valued for their biodiversity, because they contain species that can't be found anywhere else in the world. Not only this, but they store carbon.

More carbon is stored in Britain's soils than in the forests of France and Germany combined. But the landscape is semi-natural and has evolved under the influence of humans who have shaped the uplands by burning and grazing.

Mary has seen the vibrancy and wildlife of the area disappear over the last few years and the area is now at a crisis point. Upland habitats are not in the condition they used to be.

Mark's project uses the knowledge of people who work in upland environments to try to anticipate the future for these areas. This knowledge is combined with research knowledge from many different disciplines to understand the current pressures uplands are under. Mark then develops scenarios of the future so that we can better prepare for it.

The researchers have hit on the idea of getting companies to offset their carbon emissions by investing in land management to regenerate uplands. Regeneration means that the carbon stays in the peat soils rather than being released into the atmosphere.

Mark estimates that two per cent of car emissions can be stored in this way. Regeneration restores the ecology and helps support impoverished societies in the area.