Communicating carbon: The voices behind Nature Unlocked

The full picture

Research Lead Justin Moat oversees the carbon research at Wakehurst, bringing together the below ground and above ground research, to build the full picture of carbon storage.  

'Part of my job is to understand how much carbon we have in the landscape. What we're going to do is look at how much carbon is within a tree in its landscape.  

As we move from the top of the tree, we have the leaves, and those leaves are doing all of the work – converting the sunlight and the carbon dioxide into carbon and woody matter. But in actual fact, there's very little carbon in there. 

As we move to the trunk of the tree, we have large amounts of carbon in there where all the woody matter of the tree is being produced […] but in the soil, that's where lots of the carbon is sitting.' 

'Below ground [mycorrhizal fungi] connect to the roots of plants. 90% of the plants we know form this relationship. In this relationship, they explore the soil through fungal filaments, and they get nutrients and water that they transfer to the plants in exchange for carbon. 

In UK forests, up to 80% of the carbon can be stored in soil. There is much more carbon in the soil than in the atmosphere and the vegetation together. 

Once we understand the role of these fungi in carbon storage below ground, we hope to inform better decisions in future on what to plant, and where, to optimise carbon storage.'

'We measure trees using high resolution technology such as LiDAR, which is essentially a 3D laser scanner that allows us to capture huge amounts of data about our trees.  

So far, I've scanned more than 1000 trees in different habitat types, from broadleaf woodlands to pine forests – but that's the quick step! Now the data analysis stage is the much longer process and that's where we build the 3D models of the trees individually to understand the total weight – so essentially the biomass of the tree and within that biomass how much carbon every tree has. 

We want to encourage woodlands that are resilient to climate change, but also that can provide different contributions to biodiversity so we can tackle all of these challenges in a much better way.'

'These chambers are in a parked position; they continuously monitor the flux of CO2. For two minutes out of every hour they move, and they sit on the soil to measure how much CO2 is coming out. 

We're really lucky here at Wakehurst to be involved in a project that looks at the above-ground carbon, the below-ground carbon, and the flux between the two. There are not many other people who are involved in a similar study.'

'We only have about half of the hedgerows that we used to have. 

We know that hedgerows are important for supporting nesting birds and small mammals, and that they serve an important role in agriculture for marking out field boundaries and protecting livestock. 

What we want to understand is, in addition to being important for biodiversity, what role hedges play in storing carbon. 

What we're hoping that this work will highlight is the importance of hedgerows for storing carbon, and promote not only growing hedgerows wider and taller to have even more wood within them, but also to convince landowners and the government that we need more hedgerows to help combat climate change.' 

Net Zero 

'Net zero used to be referred to commonly as ‘climate neutral’, and it's a term for organisations who are seeking to reduce their emissions as rapidly as possible.' 

Carbon offset

'Carbon offsetting is the term for taking action to remove or draw down carbon from the atmosphere and store it somewhere safely lock it away, so you're balancing any remaining emissions, and storing them somewhere where they can't do any harm.' 

Carbon sequestration 

'Carbon sequestration is the process that often through natural growth, so for example, by trees growing, they're drawing down carbon and locking them safely away in their branches, their trunks and their roots.'

Climate positive 

'Climate positive is a term for organisations that are going one step beyond net zero. So, to draw down more carbon than they emit and have a positive impact, fighting climate change.'

Nature-based solutions

'Nature-based solutions is a term used to refer to investment in nature, investment in restoring and protecting natural habitats and ecosystems for a whole range of benefits.

[This includes] carbon sequestration; drawdown of carbon and storing it safely; but other benefits too including clean air, clean water preventing erosion and the myriad of wonderful things that nature does for us.'

A living laboratory  

Nature Unlocked has transformed Wakehurst from a botanical garden to a site of pioneering scientific research, a journey which was led by former Director of Wakehurst, Ed Ikin.  

'This amazing landscape that we're standing in [has] got an intrinsic beauty – it's absolutely full of plant life, insect life, fungal life, but it's also really important for us as well.  

It's got an amazing ability to store carbon and reduce the impacts of climate change – its ability to control flooding, for example, and it's filled with really important populations of insects that are beneficial to our local agriculture. We knew that if we could research this landscape, we could build a stronger case for nature.' 

Questions

1. What do scientists agree is causing climate change? 

A. Human activity such as burning fossil fuels 

B. The sun 

C. Cows burping methane 

2. What's one of the easiest ways you can help reduce climate change? 

A. Become a scientist  

B. Move to another planet

C. Eat less meat

3. How much of the world's food is thrown away uneaten every year? 

A. A third

B. A quarter  

C. Only the Brussels sprouts  

4. What everyday activity counts for almost 1/4 of the carbon footprint of a typical UK home? 

A. Driving to work  

B. Heating up water 

C. Eating baked beans. 

5. Where were the first solar panels as we know them today used? 

A. Germany 

B. On the roof of the Millennium Seed Bank here at Wakehurst

C. Space