CLIMATE change is causing severe flooding, erosion and storm damage at heritage and garden sites across Scotland, new research has found.
A new report from The National Lottery Heritage Fund has warned that historic parks, gardens and cemeteries across the country are vulnerable to damage from harsher, more widespread drought, intense rainfall, more severe storms and pests which can thrive in warmer conditions.
These impacts, driven by climate change – which is mostly caused by burning fossil fuels for power plants, cars, heating and industry – are affecting all aspects of these heritage landscapes, from trees and plant collections to paths, terraces and lakes.
The report says historic parks and gardens are already being hit by increasingly extreme weather caused by climate change, with paths and drainage systems not fit for current conditions, trees lost to drought and high winds, and potential loss of entire groups of plants to diseases affecting box, ash, sweet chestnut and oak.
The report, which drew on interviews, surveys and analysis, found many park and garden managers are unprepared for the severe impacts of climate change – with staff wanting increased advice and guidance and warning a lack of funding is stopping them implementing changes.
And while all sites are responding in practical ways where they can, for example prioritising actions that will help adapt to climate change, they warn they are spending more time on emergency responses and maintenance.
The report stated: "A major finding is that strategic planning undertaken by parks and gardens is not keeping pace with climate change pressures.
"Although about three quarters of interviewees say their sites have conservation plans, many of these plans are outdated and do not consider climate change in practical terms. Only a small number of sites have carried out a climate risk assessment."
Sites are taking actions such as altering the range of plant species, to make them more resilient, and reducing the reliance on vulnerable plants.
The report, which aims to be a snapshot of a sector that covers 2800 gardens, parks and cemeteries across the country, also warned smaller sites are some of the most vulnerable as they often depend on a single owner or very small management team, and have limited ability to fund and plan adaptation work.
It also identified differing threats across the country, with those in the south east mainly concerned about drought stress and trees dying, while those in the north are seeing heavy rainfall, flooding and storm damage, and those in the south west are being hit by both extremes.
The Scottish gardens which took part in the study are:
- Arduaine Garden, Argyll & Bute
- Attadale Gardens, Highland
- Broughton House & Garden, Kirkcudbrightshire
- Culzean Castle and Country Park, South Ayrshire
- Dawyck Botanic Garden, Scottish Borders
- Glenwhan, Wigtownshire
- Greenbank Gardens, East Renfrewshire
- Holyrood Park, Edinburgh
- Malleny Garden, Edinburgh
- Newhailes House and Gardens, East Lothian
- Pitmedden Castle, Aberdeenshire
- The Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, Midlothian
- Threave Garden, Kirkcudbrightshire
- Greenbank gardens, Clarkson
Drew Bennellick, head of land, seas and nature policy at the National Lottery Heritage Fund, told The National: “The research tells us that in the northeast, Scotland sites experience very wet episodes with rainfall intensity that causes damage, and extensive, storm-driven, loss of trees and shelterbelts, while northwestern sites describe excessive rainfall leading to flooding, erosion, waterlogging; increases in fungal disease, and storm damage as key problems, showing that climate change effects are different from further south but no less serious."
He added: "It’s clear our historic parks, gardens and cemeteries are facing unprecedented challenges due to climate change, and without urgent guidance and advice, many of these precious landscapes will suffer and change beyond recognition.
“As an organisation we are known for saving historic buildings, but the natural landscapes they sit in are equally, if not more, vulnerable to the shifts we are seeing in our climate, and equally as valuable.”
