Woodland and wildlife at Burnham Beeches could become moresusceptible to periods of drought, according to a new study onclimate change published by the City of London Corporation.

Experts from the Environmental Change Institute, University ofOxford, working closely with nature reserve staff at BurnhamBeeches, have warned that although the ancient woodland's famousbeech trees may still be able to grow in future they could becomeincreasingly threatened by reduced levels of rainfall (up to a 50%decrease in mean summer rainfall). The research also shows thatunder a 3.2°C increase in global mean temperature, projected for2080, a number of beech woodland species could lose all or over 90%of their suitable climate space in the region.

This could lead to Burnham Beeches (which is owned and managedby the City of London Corporation) becoming dominated by smaller,scrubby species of tree that are better suited to the changedclimate. The ground vegetation in the Beeches is also projected tochange from heathland to have much more grass. These changes mayhave detrimental consequences for insects and animals that dependon these habitats.This issue is particularly relevant as 2010 has been declaredthe International Year of Biodiversity by the United Nations, andtoday (22 April) is the 40th Earth Day.

The Director of Open Spaces at the City of London, Sue Ireland,said: "We are delighted to have had the opportunity to use the bestavailable information to predict in detail what the future mighthave in store for Burnham Beeches. In this time of change weneed to be prepared, as custodians of such precious sites, to dowhat we can to protect them for wildlife and for the public formany years to come."The results were presented to a workshop featuringrepresentatives from the City of London Corporation, managers ofnature reserves local to Burnham Beeches and staff from keyGovernment agencies and environmental charities. Participants alsodiscussed how to manage projected changes by, for example,replicating the type of wood decay conditions in old trees that arefavourable for existing biodiversity if beech trees decline infuture.

Dr. Pam Berry, the researcher who led the project, said: "It wasvery exciting being able to talk about the results of our work withpeople working on the nature reserves where the consequences ofclimate change will have a direct impact. It gave us aninsight into the problems that will be faced and how some of themmay be overcome."The scientists used computer modelling techniques to look at theresponses of the key plant and animal species found at BurnhamBeeches today and how they are likely to respond to the changesprojected in the future.