Nancy Burrell
I am fascinated by rewilding as a tool for conservation. I find it deeply inspiring that nature holds the answer to so many of the questions confronting us – including climate change, soil degradation, biodiversity and human health.
My project is focused on understanding how browsing animals affect the ability of rewilded areas to store carbon. I'm using the Knepp Estate, a leading example of rewilding, to create an easy-to-use model. This model will help estimate how much carbon can be stored in the scrubland that rewilding produces, both above and below the ground. I'm using a Structure from Motion (SfM) method, ground-truthed by a destructive sampling approach.
Research: What is the carbon storage potential of rewilding?
Rewilding with large herbivores is a conservation strategy being deployed in multiple countries across the world. Putting drivers in place such as large herbivores and then allowing natural regeneration to happen have been proven to increase biodiversity. Whether rewilding projects improve the provision of goods and services remains uncertain because there is a lack of empirical information, particularly in temperate zone Europe. Without quantifying the services or disservices provided by rewilding, it is difficult to estimate the benefits of this conservation strategy. By strengthening our understanding of ecosystem service provisions related to rewilding we will also build upon our awareness of the contextual factors that are affecting rewilding. Quantifying ecosystem service provisions before rewilding took place and changes over time will allow an estimation of the benefits of large herbivore reintroduction and natural regeneration for human well-being.
This project takes the Knepp Estate as a case study for exploring how rewilding can enhance carbon storage. Leading a team, I've overseen the removal of 290 trees, including their roots, from five important scrub species. This work helps us understand the root-to-shoot ratio and delve into the carbon storage and sequestration capabilities of rewilded lands. We're using a Structure from Motion (SFM) technique alongside our destructive sampling to create equations that show how different scrub species' key features relate to their carbon storage. These species-specific calculations will lay the groundwork for an easy-to-use model, designed to predict the carbon storage potential, both above and below ground, of existing and future rewilding initiatives.
Supervisors: Kathy Willis, Elizabeth Jeffers, Marc Macias-Fauria
Selected Publications
Burrell, N. C., Jeffers, E. S., Macias-Fauria, M., & Willis, K. J. (2024). The inadequacy of current carbon storage assessment methods for rewilding: A Knepp Estate case study. Ecological Solutions and Evidence, 5, e12301. https://doi.org/10.1002/2688-8319.12301
Burrell, N.C. (2024) ‘Rewilding boosts Carbon Storage: How trees channel more Carbon into their roots’, Applied Ecologist Blog, (29 January). Available here.
