About the Centre | Centre for Adapting to Changing Environments | Centre for Adapting to Changing Environments

ACE is a leading centre in multidisciplinary research. We bring together the diverse expertise needed to address how populations can adapt to our rapidly changing world.

Change is a natural driver of an evolving world but in recent decades the rate of change induced by human activity has become unsustainable. How populations, ecosystems and society adapt will be crucial to sustaining the natural environment. Different disciplines bring together different definitions, frameworks and tools to the process of adaptation, but it is a core idea that can transcend and unite across disciplinary boundaries. Our research integrates across four interlinked areas: Earth, Life, Ecosystems and Society.

ACE works to support interdisciplinary collaboration across these themes to address the grand challenges that we face through the facilitation and development of grant ideas, and through networking across our schools and external partners.

This video, with footage from researchers and collaborators all throughout ACE, explains who we are and what we do. It explores the 4 themes defining ACE research: Earth, Life, Ecosystem and Society. Learn more about our themes below.

_{Produced by our summer intern, Francesca Roberts.}

Our environment is changing faster than ever before, and humanity's overconsumption of natural resources is at an all-time high. We now use the equivalent of 1.7 Earths worth of resources each year. We are depleting the resources we depend on almost twice as fast as the planet can naturally regenerate them to protect our future. We must understand what is changing, why is it happening, and most importantly, how can we adapt? Adaptation is crucial to staying within Earth's limits and sustaining the ecosystems we depend on. Different disciplines bring unique perspectives to adaptation, we have biologists engineering drought-resistant crops and tackling antibiotic resistance, mathematicians using satellite data to map climate change for targeted action, and social scientists working with policymakers to drive net zero by 2050

This diversity of approach is crucial to finding solutions to the challenges we face. Collaboration is key. Ace unites over 100 research groups, 400 researchers and 36 partner organisations across the UK to address the most urgent environmental challenges. Our research is guided by four themes: Earth
life, ecosystem and society.

The Earth theme seeks to understand what is changing, where is it happening, and what impact is this having on our planetary systems?

The Life theme explores how organisms adapt, what molecular, physiological or behavioral mechanisms drive adaptations. Why do some populations collapsem while others thrive?

The ecosystem theme investigates how human activity is reshaping the very ecosystems we rely on. How might growing seasons be affected by environmental change? What impact will there be on plant-pollinator interactions and on invasive species and pathogen distribution?

Finally, the society theme looks at how communities, economies and supply chains can adapt to build resilience as climates, technologies and resources evolve, what new opportunities emerge?

From coral reefs in the deep sea to vast mountain ranges, from small farming communities to global supply chains, and from individual researchers to communities and policymakers. Ace works to connect different environments, peopl,e and industries together to understand how we can create solutions that are adaptive and fair.