An aerial image of farmland and countryside in West Oxfordshire under flood waters has highlighted the importance of floodplains in combatting climate change and preserving wildlife.
The photo shows the 760-acre Chimney Meadows Nature Reserve and others lands awash in floodwater.
The fields have flooded after heavy rain for centuries, which benefits a wealth of wildlife such as wetland birds.
Beyond benefiting the environment, it also aids human inhabitants by slowing the flow of detrimental flood water that could wreak havoc on downstream villages, towns, and cities.
The Berkshire, Buckinghamshire & Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust (BBOWT), responsible for managing the nature reserve, stressed that the image speaks volumes on the crucial role floodplains play for both wildlife and people.
However, the trust also noted the challenges in managing a flood-prone land, especially with climate change exacerbating the issue.
The unpredictability and frequency of floods pose significant hurdles for farmers, who face the loss of crops and need to relocate livestock to dry lands.
The Government is expanding payments to landowners who implement environmentally beneficial land management practices.
This will aid in maintaining the viability of farming operations and help balance the adverse effects of climate change.
Steve Proud, BBOWT land management director, said: “The announcement by the Government last week of new Countryside Stewardship payments will offer farmers much more funding to manage features on their land for flood resilience and water quality.
“This is a very welcome, significant change to improve water quality in our rivers and to help mitigate the impacts of climate change on farm businesses.”
The Wildlife Trust recently completed a £2 million wetland restoration project which included the construction of a new channel of the Thames through Chimney Meadows.
The BBOWT heralded it as a win for the ecological diversity of the Thames landscape, as the channel supports fish mobility around a weir while providing additional wildlife habitat.
Prue Addison, BBOWT director of conservation strategy, said: “This photo shows our Chimney Meadows nature reserve and the floodplain it sits on doing exactly what it is supposed to do.
“This is fantastic for the wildlife like the teal, pintail and wigeon that visit, but it’s also good for humans: by storing this flood water for days and weeks after heavy rainfall, we stop it from doing more damage downstream.
“We also now know that wetlands like this help to store more carbon in the ground than some other habitats, helping to tackle the main cause of climate change.”
The Wildlife Trust, which manages several nature reserves, recently launched their largest-ever appeal, the Nature Recovery Fund.
The goal is to raise £3 million over the next three years.
The fund will aid in managing more land for the benefit of people and wildlife and combating the climate crisis.