Implications of climate change: soil and water

 

Climate change: Impacts on UK forests - Chapter 5
By Tom Nisbet

Key findings

• Climate change can be expected to have a fundamental effect on soil properties and processes, and a direct impact on water resources.
• There is concern that global warming could result in a long-term loss of soil carbon stocks; however, the general view for temperate forests is that productivity currently exceeds soil organic matter decomposition, and global warming plus rising CO₂ concentrations are likely to enhance carbon storage for at least the next 50–100 years. 
• Good forest management can help to promote soil carbon retention by selecting species best suited to the changed climate and by adopting practices that increase forest productivity and reduce carbon losses. 
• Soil wetness, waterlogging and flooding are predicted to increase in winter throughout the UK; wetter soils will reduce trafficability and increase the risk of soil damage and erosion; an increased incidence of waterlogging will also reduce root survival and tree stability. 
• Opportunities for the restoration of floodplain woodland are likely to increase, with possible attendant benefits of flood control. 
• An increased frequency and severity of summer droughts is thought likely, and would threaten tree health and survival. 
• An increased risk of water shortages in the south will require greater consideration to be given to the water use of trees and the need for better catchment management planning. 
• The mobility, retention, dilution and in-stream processing of pollutants may be affected by climate change; enhanced acidification, eutrophication and the discoloration of water supplies will continue to be important issues. 
• Freshwater biota could be threatened by higher water temperatures and altered river flows. 
• Soil and water changes normally associated with afforestation and forest management practices can exceed those expected from climate change; judicious forest management and the development of best practice offer much scope for ameliorating the effects of climate change.

Next: Chapter 6 - Climate change and the seasonality of woodland flora and fauna

Previous: Chapter 4 - Climate change impacts: storms