Tree planting can contribute to the fight against both climate change and biodiversity loss if forests are planned and managed well. Forest structure data, collected using remote sensing technology, combined with bird surveys has been used to test which management regimes maximise bird diversity in managed plantations. Forests with stands of a greater variety of ages are consistently more biodiverse, suggesting that forest managers should prioritise maintaining a diversity of stand ages.

Understanding the impacts of climate change relies on an evidence base generated by the thousands of volunteers who participate in biodiversity monitoring. However, survey participation often carries its own carbon footprint, especially where participants travel to and from survey sites by car. Whilst it is essential that we have accurate information about how wildlife is faring in this changing world, we also need to be mindful of any side effects of our scientific activities. A key step is to estimate the emissions produced during biodiversity monitoring.

Funding incentives have been used in agriculture and forestry to deliver policy objectives, including the support of biodiversity conservation. Understanding the effectiveness of such approaches requires the collection of baseline monitoring data, both from participating sites and those not in the scheme.

BTO research, funded by the Curlew Appeal, investigated the factors affecting wintering Curlew abundance on estuaries in England and Wales. The findings suggest that short and long term trends in these local populations are not heavily influenced by local winter conditions on and around estuaries, indicating that the current declines are driven by factors that impact summer breeding success.

The establishment and spread of invasive species are cited as some of the key threats to biodiversity, through impacts such as disease transmission, increased competition or predation, and parasitism. Monitoring and managing invasive species is therefore an important element of biodiversity conservation.

As demand for new energy infrastructure is growing, international collaborative research involving BTO has identified areas in Europe and North Africa where the construction of new wind turbines or power lines could pose a risk to migrating birds.

Researchers used ringing data collected from over 300 sites across Europe to assess variation in the breeding productivity and survival of 26 passerine species across space and time. The results suggest that targeting factors affecting breeding site productivity will result in more effective conservation outcomes than attempts to address variation in annual survival rates.