The UK Climoor (also known as Clocaenog) and Recovery roof
field-sites are two environmental manipulation experimental
sites that reproduce the potential changes in climate and
pollution reduction for upland habitats in the UK.
Uplands in the UK store vast quantities of carbon, important for
climate change and the carbon cycle. They support many
unique and protected species, important on both a national
and international scale. They are the source of our drinking
water. They represent a living history of man's influence on the
landscape and through tourism, farming, hunting and water
gathering are an important aspect of regional and rural
economy. The majority of biological activity in uplands is in part
controlled by low temperatures, with climate change
predictions indicating that temperatures will increase we may
expect this limit of activity to be lessened. Drier summers and
wetter winters have been predicted
http://ukclimateprojections.defra.gov.uk/
The two experimental sites utilise the same automated roof
technology. The technology is designed so it can work in the
most sensitive and remote parts of the UK, using solar and wind power. The first site to be established was the UK Climoor experimental field-site in NE Wales. The field-site was
established in 1998 and now is one of the longest running
climate change experiments in the UK. Here we produce
warming and repeated summer drought manipulations on a
large scale. In 2005 we built an additional experimental site in
the Peak District, UK – the Recovery roof field-site. Here we
have the same climate manipulations as at the UK Climoor
field-site, however we also have a Pollution Recovery
treatment. The Recovery Roof experimental site is one of the
few manipulations experiments that compares the impact of
climate change with pollution reduction (ie another potential
driver of change within the ecosystem).
Both the UK Climoor and Recovery roof field-sites have had
long-term support from direct funding from the and its parent organisation the .
has also supported this project since its inception in 1998, funding through the Climoor project (1998- 2000), then the Vulcan Project (under the 5th Framework), then through the Nitroeurope Project (6th Framework) and now alsothrough the Increase Project (7th Framework).The field-sites are also funded by the UK’s , as part of the UKREATE project.
The Forestry Commission has supported this work through donating use of their land for the UK Climoor field-site.
Unitied Utilities and Mr Naylor have kindly donated use of their land for the Recovery roof site. |
