‘It sounds apocalyptic’: experts warn of impact of UK floods on birds, butterflies and dormice | Flooding

“T“Floodwaters are only good for scavenger species,” says Steve Hussey, searching hard for a glimmer of hope from last week’s deluges brought by Storm Chandra. When the waters recede, crows and ravens will feast on the carrion of hedgehogs, dormice and other small animals unable to escape the rising waters, he says.

“That sounds very apocalyptic, doesn’t it?” » says Hussey, communications manager at the Devon Wildlife Trust.

Between Tuesday and Wednesday last week, parts of the west of the UK received more than 110mm of rain during the storm. The deluge caused several places in southwest England to break daily rainfall records in January, leading authorities to issue rare “danger to life” flood warnings. More than 100 flood warnings remain in effect.

As heavy rain and strong winds continue to batter the west of the UK, conservationists are once again confronting the impact of extreme weather on wildlife in a warming world. In certain regions of the country, some nature reserves are completely submerged. The rivers overflowed; the eggs of butterflies and other insects will probably have been washed away by the water; potential wintering sites and nesting sites will have been lost.

“For the long-term health and robustness of our wildlife, this is bad. Wildflowers suffer in the same way as a farmer’s crop that has been washed away. It is difficult to come back and there are unseen consequences. Some species of butterflies overwinter as caterpillars. If they are washed away, what does that mean for a blue tit that will need to feed its chicks in a few months? ” says Hussey.

Rising temperatures mean extreme rainfall has become more severe during UK storms, with research indicating it is 20% more intense. But many conservationists say nature can also be part of the solution to mitigating floodwaters, including slowing their movement across the landscape and avoiding rapid deluges that damage properties and threaten human life.

Many urban areas use nature to control water flow, including Wuhan in China and Berlin in Germany using a “sponge city” approach in their planning. These places use green spaces to absorb rainwater and slow its movement. Environmentalists say this is necessary on a landscape scale.

The UK has lost more than 90% of its wetlands over the past 100 years, now covering only 3% of the country. In many places, river systems and wetlands have been modified to move water away from land as quickly as possible instead of allowing it to flow naturally to floodplains. Environmentalists say restoring wetlands and natural river flow, as well as continuing to re-introduce ecosystem engineers such as beavers, will help.

“It’s all about slowing the flow of water. And the reason we’re really passionate about beavers is because they do all this naturally,” says Jamie Marsh, director of land management at the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust.

“When humans do it, it’s a long process that involves mapping and modeling, specialist advice and getting permissions from different agencies. It’s time-consuming and expensive. Beavers do it for free.”

The rodent, Britain’s largest, is thriving in many parts of the country after 400 years of absence. Their dams are designed to turn streams and small rivers into ponds, preventing rainwater from quickly draining away. In times of drought, their dams retain more water in the landscape, making ecosystems more resilient in summer. With at least 2,000 beavers in the UK today, their numbers are expected to increase.

But environmental advocates warn that much deeper changes are needed. Reconnecting rivers to floodplains and allowing them to meander naturally through high-risk areas are vital measures.

“We have 30 beaver families on the Otter River, which flooded this week. We can’t expect them to sort it out,” Hussey says. “They need to be part of a wider mix. If you’re currently waist-deep in your house in Ottery St Mary, having beavers in that river system isn’t going to make much difference. We need to tackle soil compaction, plant trees in the right place and improve soil health.”

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