{"id":85633,"date":"2022-07-02T08:30:00","date_gmt":"2022-07-02T08:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bgs.ac.uk\/?p=85633"},"modified":"2023-07-14T10:25:26","modified_gmt":"2023-07-14T10:25:26","slug":"the-importance-of-biodiversity-in-achieving-net-zero","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bgs.ac.uk\/news\/the-importance-of-biodiversity-in-achieving-net-zero\/","title":{"rendered":"The importance of biodiversity in achieving net zero"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Managing our landscapes, from individual gardens to vast areas of native woodlands and peatlands, is vital for sequestering and storing carbon while also increasing and protecting the biodiversity of our plants and animals. A recent study by Natural England<\/a> has shown that a hectare of woodland sequesters as much carbon dioxide (CO2<\/sub>) each year as 13 flights between London and Rome. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

At BGS, we have been creating meadows from our former lawns and, by maintaining native trees in small patches of woodland, we are contributing to carbon sequestering.  <\/p>\n\n\n

\"long-tailed<\/a>
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Long-tailed tit in the trees around the BGS Keyworth campus. BGS \u00a9 UKRI.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t

\"Expand<\/a><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n

Our Keyworth site, located on the outskirts of Nottingham, was highlighted as a prime place to manage one of our estate\u2019s landscapes and return the area to a more natural state. Our grassland areas are now 80 per cent ‘no mow’ between April and October, after a recent survey of these areas showed we have many \u2018old\u2019 meadow plants, including bee orchids. Various patches of the site have been left to go completely wild and now hundreds of small native trees (hawthorn; blackthorn; holly, etc.) have popped up between the large established trees, while the undergrowth is a mass of brambles and nettles, which is great for butterflies and bees. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Other initiatives to increase our biodiversity include: <\/p>\n\n\n\n