Modelling inter-relationships between biodiversity, land use and landscape: quantifying ecological and economic value of land use patterns in the Chilterns
		Alan Poots Supervisors: Simon Mortimer, Richard Tiffin The Chilterns have been the focus of a successful reintroduction programme for the Red Kite (Milvus milvus) over the past 15 years The success of this programme has been so great that significant benefits to the rural economy are starting to accrue Within this area, a number of drivers are causing land use changes which impact on habitat and landscape quality, and potentially, the environmental suitability for the Red Kite population. OBJECTIVES To improve our understanding of the case for public support in sustaining biodiversity and landscape quality; specifically: Identify the interdependences of features of environmental quality in rural areas at a range of scales (species, habitats, landscapes) Investigate the public’s preferences for the same components of environmental quality, through quantification of market and non-market benefits. METHODS The Ecological component: Habitat requirements will be characterised using existing published studies and analysis of recent distributional data. Data on locations of breeding pairs of Red Kite in the Chilterns will be used to characterise land use patterns associated with nest sites. Statistical models will be generated based on the current relationship between distribution, abundance and a range of explanatory variables, including land use. These will be used to investigate the impact of various land use change drivers on patterns of distribution and abundance. Scenarios of land use change in response to agricultural and food policies and other drivers will be used to predict likely impacts on distribution and abundance. The Economic Component: Measure both market and non-market elements of the value of change in the landscape of the Chilterns. Choice experiments will be used as the core method in providing these valuations. The non-market valuation choice experiment will disentangle the separate values that are attached to landscape, habitat and constituent species. The market study will assess the contribution of the rural environment in which a food product is produced to its value. The data produced through the choice experiments will be analysed using the conditional logic model. OUTPUTS Improved understanding of the how land use patterns contribute to the rural economy, and the impacts of scenarios of potential land use change. This research is conducted as part of the Research Councils' Rural Economy and Land Use (RELU) Programme (Project: RES 224-25-0073). RELU is funded jointly by the Economic and Social Research Council, the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council and the Natural Environment Research Council, with additional funding from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and the Scottish Executive Environment and Rural Affairs Department