At the University of Edinburgh, researchers are at the forefront of tackling the twin crises of biodiversity loss and climate change. Join us as we shine a light on the innovative work being done across various disciplines to address the most pressing challenges of our time. 

We caught up with Professor Marc Metzger, Director of the Centre for Sustainable Forests and Landscapes. His interdisciplinary approach to sustainable land use offers unique insights into how we can better manage our forests and landscapes in the face of climate change. 

How would you describe your current research? 

I often describe myself as ‘undisciplined’, meaning that my work sits between different disciplines and I use a wide range of approaches and ways of thinking to understand and support sustainable land use challenges.  The projects I am involved in span urban and rural settings, supporting landscape restoration strategies and land-use planning for a sustainable future. 

For instance, my colleagues and I are exploring natural tree colonisation, letting trees grow naturally from seeds, as an alternative to traditional tree planting as a restoration method. We are trying to see how this approach can fit into current land management practices, funding structures and people’s visions for their landscapes.  

How does that link to the Centre for Sustainable Forests and Landscapes?  

Since I’m director of the Centre for Sustainable Forests and Landscapes it probably links quite well! I am examining landscape-scale issues from multiple perspectives, aiming to achieve more sustainable land use. While forests are often a key component, I think about them within the broader landscape context, exploring how various land uses interact and influence each other and explaining the benefits of nature to people. 

How does your interdisciplinary approach differ from traditional research in this field? 

I was inspired by human health researcher, several years ago, who explained her journey from more fundamental blue skies research to wanting to do research that was useful, usable and used. So not just tailored to a problem, but to aim for results that are produced in a way that someone on the ground could do something with them and lead to change on the ground. 

So, most of my research is solution-focused, involving strong collaboration with non-academic partners. This makes the research integrative and interactive, and often leads to unexpected developments. So, you must be adaptive and flexible because you often don’t know what to expect when you go into a project. But luckily, I have developed skills and learnt methods from different disciplines to respond to the realities of real-world situations. 

What are some of the key challenges or threats that your work aims to address when it comes to forest/landscape sustainability? 

A challenge we have been working on in the restoration space is demonstrating the multi-faceted benefits of green spaces in urban places for sustainability. With some colleagues, we mapped the demand for and the benefits of public greenspace in Edinburgh. Working with Edinburgh City Council to improve ways of communicating these benefits – from biodiversity gains and recreation values to flood mitigation – to diverse audiences, including the public and potential funders.  

Another challenge is finding common ground among groups with different priorities or objectives, e.g. farming, forestry and conservation. Differences are often polarised, while it is more constructive to find common ground to build mutual understanding. Working with diverse stakeholders in the Galloway and Southern Ayrshire UNESCO Biosphere, we found a shared willingness to change land management to support biodiversity and climate change adaptation and mitigation within a diverse, mixed and integrated living and working landscape. 

What kinds of impacts or applications could stem from your research? 

It’s often difficult to pinpoint concrete changes stemming directly from research. But the example I gave earlier, where we mapped the benefits from green spaces in Edinburgh, led to the development of Edinburgh’s ‘Nature Network’, which identifies areas for restoration and green space enhancement. This ‘Nature Network’ approach has now also been adopted by the Scottish government, who require all local authorities to develop similar nature networks. This work was a team effort between City of Edinburgh Council, the Scottish Wildlife Trust and myself and an MSc student, which has led to further collaboration funded through a European Horizon project, collaborating with various cities across Europe. 

What roles do partnerships and collaborators, such as CSFL, play in tackling the complex issues around forest sustainability? 

Partnerships drive our success. The Centre for Sustainable Forests and Landscapes aims to foster collaboration, building trust and shared understanding between academic researchers and real-world practitioners. Our monthly networking events bring together diverse voices – from PhD students to senior academics to non-academic experts – and we are building a network of people who come together to have conversations, ask questions and share ideas. The vision is that this network can be harnessed in future funding applications to deliver projects based on the relationships developed through the centre. 

How do you see the future of sustainable forests and landscapes evolving in the future? Are there upcoming approaches, technologies, international agreements, or ways of thinking that you are particularly excited about? 

It’s exciting to see a real variety of approaches to tackle the biodiversity and climate crisis emerging. There appears less of a focus on single solutions, and a greater appreciation we need to develop and test a wide range of models, including technological, nature-based and societal solutions. From ideas in ecological restoration to finding more sustainable ways to produce food from the land, we need to recognise, experiment and learn from a variety approaches, and acknowledge there isn’t going to be a single best way forward. We’re seeing this innovation at multiple scales – from large commercial pressures pushing for sustainability to small, localised initiatives cutting out barriers to entry. This mix of top-down and bottom-up demand for change is what we need to create a robust strategy for tackling complex challenges in forests and landscapes. 

When you aren’t researching sustainable forests, what are some of your favourite activities or hobbies? Do any of them connect back to your appreciation for nature and landscapes? 

Sometimes, I say I like to ‘consume landscapes’ – whether walking, cycling, or taking a train through diverse terrains to see combinations of people, culture and nature. And of course, I enjoy consuming the fruits of these landscapes too, appreciating locally-produced food and drink in a restaurant or in my kitchen helps connect me to that landscape in a different and tangible way.

Find out more about Marc and his work

Explore the work of the Centre for Sustainable Forests and Landscapes

Join the Edinburgh Forests and Landscapes Network and come along to the next networking meeting on Thursday 7 November.