We all know that climate change is happening, but I’m not sure we really understand just how things might be in the future, what the implications are for nature and what we gardeners can do about it.
You may also like
- How are gardeners adapting to climate change?
- A Mediterranean garden for a changing climate
- Climate change is bringing new species to the UK
My fear for the future is that so much of the land we have set aside for nature – National Parks, nature reserves etc – will be ploughed up for food production. Coastal flooding will become a major problem and there will be associated salt-water incursion into areas near the sea, which is often good farmland.
The impact on global agriculture could be severe. The enormous gains of science-led agriculture since the Green Revolution of the 1960s onwards will be lost if we lose so much prime farmland. New hi-tech food sources, such as fungal proteins and lab-grown meat, and changing diets, including reducing meat and dairy consumption, will help to reduce the pressure on land, but they can only go so far.
What can we do to preserve as much of the world’s biodiversity as possible?
We will need new places for nature. With this in mind, what can we do to preserve as much of the world’s biodiversity as possible? I believe our gardened spaces, both private and public, should focus on conserving biodiversity.
The greatest change in gardening I have seen in my lifetime has been the idea of ‘wildlife gardening’, which gives me hope that we can extend this concept. If all urban green spaces could be designed and managed with nature in mind, a great deal of habitat could be created. Many of these green spaces will be multi-functional: recreational and amenity, of course, but also used for environmental amelioration, with sustainable drainage schemes, trees for shade and cooling and more.
The area managed by private gardeners is huge, and while many in the future may choose to grow fruit and veg to get around the disruptions to supply chains that climate change will bring, many will want to provide habitats. If we collaborate across boundaries and throughout neighbourhoods to link parcels of habitat, we would have the capacity to create extensive areas of nature-friendly space.
Threatened species are not necessarily pretty, nor are the species that are best for supporting biodiversity
We will also need to re-consider the species of plants we grow. Gardening to date has focused very much on the plants we find attractive. The concept of the wildflower meadow has changed this to some extent, as this involves growing vegetation that is aesthetically low-key for much of the year. We will probably need to continue in this vein. Threatened species are not necessarily pretty, nor are the species that are best for supporting biodiversity – think nettles and hedge garlic, for example. We must learn to see beauty in the complexity and overall impact of interwoven plants in a habitat, and see them less as individual standalones.
The post climate-change world of the future will look very different
Private gardeners already grow an amazing range of species. The networks of enthusiasts who collect particular plants, such as the one overseen by Plant Heritage, are impressive. We will need networks of amateur growers to conserve the species that are being wiped out in the wild by climate change and agriculture-led habitat destruction. Species conservation and the preservation of the cultural heritage often linked to wild plants could become the core of a new horticulture.
I haven’t used the term native, because the idea of ‘native plants’ may become increasingly irrelevant as climate change shifts the boundaries of temperature and rainfall beyond what supports current regional floras, to say nothing of non-native species establishing novel ecosystems. Species conservation will inevitably involve growing plants thousands of miles from their previous homes – and collaboration will bring growers together across continents.
There could be endangered species in every garden and along every road
I believe the post climate-change world of the future will look very different. My hope is that dedicated people will still find solace, companionship and joy in working together to create, manage, evaluate and appreciate pockets and parcels of high-density nature.
There could be endangered species in every garden and along every road. Rare insects and birds could live in clumps of forest at the edge of the local park or community vegetable garden. And local voluntary organisations could bring people together in a communal effort at doing something to mitigate the consequences of, as I see it, the human race’s vast collective folly.
Here's more on gardening for wildlife