National Trust: Midlands nature feels impact of climate change in 2023
The National Trust has looked back on how the weather in 2023 has affected nature and wildlife at the places in its care.
With 2023 widely anticipated to be declared the warmest year on record, and 2024 forecast to be even warmer, the National Trust is sounding the alarm for UK wildlife as the loss of predictable weather patterns and traditional seasonal shifts causes chaos for nature.
A dry start to the year did nothing to ease the low water levels caused by last year’s low rainfall, with areas in the southwest of England and east Anglia remaining in drought for over 12 months.
In the summer, the UK recorded its warmest-ever June. The river Derwent in the Borrowdale Valley in the Lake District (traditionally the wettest area of England) dried out for the third consecutive summer, and sea temperatures reached new highs – with scientists clocking temperatures 3 to 4C warmer than usual, particularly on the north-east coast of England and Scotland and north-west Ireland.
July was also the hottest month ever recorded globally, 1.5C warmer than average with global air and ocean surface temperatures also setting records.
Autumn was warmer and wetter than average with huge levels of rainfall, particularly in October, retipping the balance. Two extreme weather events - Storm Babet closely followed by Storm Ciaran - battered parts of the country, causing serious flooding which impacted people, nature, landscapes, properties and coastlines.
At Carding Mill Valley and the Long Mynd, the huge volume of water eroded some of the banks of the Ashbrooke River – more commonly referred to as a stream – that flows through the valley. The flooding also resulted in the transportation of lots of rocks from higher up the valley, which had been carried downstream.
Near Shrewsbury at Attingham Park, the deer park was closed for several days after the River Tern burst its banks. Floodwater blocked access to bridges, and a huge swathe of water resembling a large ‘lake’ flowed through the parkland.
Ben McCarthy, head of nature and restoration ecology at the National Trust, said: “The shifting weather patterns we’re seeing in the UK, particularly with the warmer temperatures we’re experiencing, is continuing to upset the natural, regular rhythm of the seasons, causing stress to wildlife and making it more susceptible to pests and disease.
“This loss of predictability causes chaos for the annual behaviours of animals in particular, but can also impact trees and plants.
“The warmer year-round temperatures are resulting in shorter winters which could have particularly devastating impacts for trees – with cold snaps just not long enough to kill off diseases such as oak processionary moth, whose caterpillars infest oak trees, leaving them vulnerable to other threats.
"The spread northwards through Europe from their traditional home in the Mediterranean is a tangible consequence of our warming climate.
“Warmer winters could also impact our heathlands, allowing the heather beetle to take hold killing off huge swathes of heather.
“It also impacts hibernators like dormice, which may emerge from hibernation early using up vital energy stores, and red deer may leave rutting to later, meaning calves are born in the summer rather than the spring, with insufficient time to grow and put on fat reserves to survive cold snaps.
“It’s these baseline changes that we’re seeing that are really worrying and what we should be taking more notice of, particularly when combined with extreme weather events, which makes things even more challenging.”
November did see some good news for the region's wildlife after pine martens were spotted on land at Barns Farm in Shropshire. The farm forms part of the Stepping Stones project, a partnership between the National Trust, Shropshire Hills National Landscape, Natural England, Shropshire Wildlife Trust and local land managers and farmers.
Pine martens are a recovering species in England and Wales following reintroductions after having gone locally extinct.
Due to intense farming during the 20th century, the area experienced a notable loss of wildlife. By creating improved ways for wildlife to move between the existing good wildlife habitats at Long Mynd and Stiperstones, including through better hedgerow networks and wider grassland and woodland areas, the Stepping Stones work has allowed for pine martens to re-enter the area naturally.
The rare black oil beetle was also spotted just over the border at Kinver Edge in Staffordshire for the first time in nine years - a regionally significant discovery.
The sandy soils of lowland heath suit many species of burrowing insects, including solitary bees, whose nests and eggs the oil beetle feeds on.
National Trust countryside manager Ewan Chapman said the discovery of the beetle was a "good indicator" that work to restore the heath on Kinver Edge was "really paying off".
