Climate resilient habitats: two new ecology risks in Mycelia
As England goes through another heatwave, two checks we added recently flag when a created or enhanced habitat may not thrive in a changing climate.
This week much of England and Wales is under a red heat-health alert, with temperatures forecast close to 38°C. When we create or enhance habitat to deliver Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG), will it survive the climate we are heading into? A blanket bog, a wet woodland or a coastal saltmarsh has to be held in target condition for 30 years. The statutory biodiversity metric scores the habitat as designed today; it does not account for drier summers, falling water tables, sea level rise or more frequent extreme weather over that period.
What we’ve added
We’ve introduced two new ecology risks in Mycelia that flag this gap automatically on metric upload.
- High climate vulnerability flags post-development habitats facing existential or irreversible climate threats that management cannot prevent: peatlands and fens drying out, wet woodland losing its water table, coastal habitats squeezed by rising seas, and drought-sensitive woodland such as lowland beech.
- Moderate climate vulnerability flags habitats where climate change makes target condition harder to reach, but good management remains the main lever: lowland and upland heathland, species-rich grasslands, hay meadows and traditional orchards.
Like every ecology risk, these new flags surface a concern an ecologist would want to scrutinise and point to where it might be addressed. For example, the Habitat Management and Monitoring Plan should assess the habitat’s climate resilience and set out contingency measures if target condition cannot be held.
Why it matters
Ecological expertise, applied throughout development, is what turns a habitat on a plan into one that survives. These checks direct that expertise to where it can be most valuable. They draw on the Natural England Climate Change Adaptation Manual, the National Biodiversity Climate Change Vulnerability Assessment for England, and CIEEM’s Resilient by Nature guidance, which sets out how to integrate climate resilience with BNG.
As always, we value your feedback. Email us at mycelia@verna.earth.
