White storks (Ciconia ciconia) are a majestic bird with a two-metre wingspan and an enormous circular nest.

The recent release of these stunning birds at multiple sites in England, with more releases planned and a public consultation under way has kicked off a debate about whether non-native birds should be part of rewilding projects.

The government advising body Natural England says it does not consider white storks to be native birds. But some experts disagree and say it is a native species and was hunted into extinction in the 1400s.

What is a native species?

In the UK, native species are those which have been present throughout the last 12,000 years. This includes migratory species which breed in or visit the UK. It also includes species which have been eradicated by humans but reintroduced.

In England, a licence is needed to introduce any species which is not ordinarily resident, or a regular visitor, to England. This is partly because these species could become invasive, a term used when a species cause substantial environmental or socioeconomic harm.

But even when species are not native, they can have value for rewilding projects. The white stork’s biggest contribution to rewilding is likely to be their ability to inspire the public interest in nature. Storks in Europe are so popular that there are special stork villages which are managed for tourism, and people can see these iconic species up close.

White storks are definitely regular visitors to England, and rare but present in the subfossil record (the last 4000 years). This status as a regular visitor means they fall somewhere between a native and non-native species – they are not considered a priority for introduction, but no license is required for their release.

Introduced non-native species can cause problems. A good example is Japanese knotweed (Reynoutria japonica), brought to the UK by the Victorians as an ornamental plant. It rapidly spreads and causes damage to the structure of buildings and essential services such as water and drainage pipes. Controlling it now costs the UK £247 million each year.

Introduced species are also a major conservation challenge, such as the damage to seabird populations by invasive cats, rats and other animals feeding on their eggs and chicks. If a rewilding project introduces a non-native species, it could become invasive and cause serious disruption to native species already in the landscape.

But evaluating the impact of adding new species to the landscape is important even when a species is considered native. The Scottish beaver trial was conducted to evaluate the impact of introducing beavers (Castor fiber) from Norway in 2008. Eighteen years later, beavers are a key part of many rewilding projects, from London to large estates in Scotland.

What can white storks add?

White storks are charismatic species which are viewed positively by most people, and this could increase engagement with nature. In Poland, tourists travel hundreds of kilometers to visit white storks, making them valuable for rewilding projects which use tourism to raise funds.

Non-native species are also introduced as “ecological analogues” which means they provide the same ecological function as extinct species. The steppe bison (Bison priscus) which roamed the UK in the Pleistocene period were mixed feeders, which means they ate a combination of grasses, leaves and the woody parts of plants. By feeding on a variety of plants and plant parts, mixed feeders like bison can encourage a patchwork of habitats in a landscape. The native steppe bison is extinct in the UK, but projects like Kent Wildlife Trust’s Wilder Blean project have introduced the related, but non-native, European bison (Bison bonasus) to provide these functions.

Adapting to warming climate

Better adaptation to future climates is another reason to include non-native species in rewilding projects. As the UK’s climate changes, species are moving from places where they are considered native to new areas which suit them better. The southern small white butterfly (Pieris mannii) has spread northwards in Europe and was first seen in the UK in 2025. This small butterfly has successfully made the journey over the ocean, but other species may require human help to move to new areas with more suitable climates.

As an island nation with many locally extinct species, the introduction of species has formed a key part of UK conservation, including rewilding projects. It does matter whether a species is native or not. Although both could benefit rewilding projects, non-native species carry greater risks to local environments and have higher regulatory requirements.

The white stork’s status as a regular visitor could allow them to sidestep the regulatory requirements for non-native species, though impact on the environment should also be considered.

But as their nests can attract birds such as swallows and martins, introducing white storks could have broader benefits to the landscape.

Sarah Papworth does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

Quantum computers are coming. Or, at least, that’s what current predictions say. These machines harness the power of quantum mechanics, the set of rules governing how physics operates at atomic and sub-atomic scales.

Because of this, they operate in radically different ways to current machines. Tasks requiring trillions of years on existing supercomputers might be reduced to days on future quantum computers. They could tackle a range of challenges that are out of reach for existing technology.

These potential challenges include code-breaking. In 1994, the American computer scientist Peter Shor came up with a quantum algorithm capable of breaking the form of encryption that would later underpin routine email messaging and internet security. Shor’s advance drew interest from the US military and intelligence community, which began investing in the emerging field.

While decryption is often touted as a potential use for quantum computers, there are now protections against attempts to use them in this way. And in recent decades, other exciting applications have emerged. So is the threat to secure communications being overstated?

Currently, nobody knows for sure which quantum computing technologies will prevail, when the obstacles to their production will be overcome, or who will build one first.

But we can make educated guesses. Quantum computers built for specialised tasks will probably arrive before machines for more generalised uses. Between 10 and 20 years is a plausible guesstimate for the emergence of practical machines – amid considerable uncertainty. The US and China appear to be market leaders, so the big breakthrough could come from one of them.

It’s perhaps understandable why decryption is the poster child for quantum computing applications. The security of our digital world relies on cryptography, which provides a toolkit of mathematical techniques that underpin cyber security.

Digital secrets are protected by encryption, which converts meaningful data into an unintelligible form. If quantum computers could unscramble current encryption, they could expose highly sensitive data. Useful, perhaps, for nation states tracking terror cells or spying on strategic competitors – but bad news for everyone else.

Cryptography apocalypse

If we fail to act, this digital disaster might indeed happen. But researchers in this field have not been sitting on their hands. In the last decade, they have developed standards for new encryption techniques offering protection against quantum code-breaking. This area is known as post-quantum cryptography.

Many governments have announced timelines designed to motivate organisations to migrate from existing cryptography to the new post-quantum encryption standards. If everyone moves swiftly, by the time cryptographically-relevant quantum computers are built, our data should be sufficiently protected.

Yet stories of a pending cryptography apocalypse – sometimes referred to as “Q day” – still abound. So why, as we manoeuvre towards a future protected by post-quantum cryptography, are headlines still obsessed with decryption?

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Read more: Is a quantum-cryptography apocalypse imminent?

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Well, everyone loves an origin story. The quantum algorithm developed in 1994 by Peter Shor caused a sensation. Cryptographers immediately commenced the hunt for new types of encryption invulnerable to Shor’s algorithm. More significantly, this theoretical breakthrough helped drive the actual development of quantum computers, since Shor’s algorithm was arguably the first convincing application for these machines.

There’s a tangibility to this quantum threat. The (often overblown) idea of a Q-Day posits that we awake one morning and our cyber security has suddenly been lost. In contrast, most constructive use cases for quantum computers seem more abstract. They might greatly assist mathematical modelling of scientific problems such as climate change, along with complex simulations of how physics works.

Other end uses sound fantastical. For example, quantum computers might help us find a cure for cancer or harness vast clean energy from nuclear fusion. In the absence of a proven killer app, decryption often prevails as a prominent, imagined end use. And the prospect of doomsday always focuses human minds.

Other uses

Quantum computing has also become firmly embedded in great power competition. China, the US and Russia, among others, are all pushing the development of quantum computers. To some in government, the consequences of losing a quantum computing race are unthinkable. What if your strategic rival can decrypt your secrets, but you can’t decrypt theirs?

The question is, are these anxieties really driving the stacks of cash being pumped into the field?

Setting aside political advantages, as well as criminal gains, the real money from quantum computing is not going to be made from decryption.

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Read more: Five ways quantum technology could shape everyday life

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A range of quantum computing companies are now promoting their technologies and there’s barely a mention of decryption. Instead, other compelling uses are being trumpeted. Quantum computers would excel at optimisation, which is all about finding the most efficient solutions to complex problems that classical computers struggle with.

This could transform parts of the finance industry that deal with large-scale, complex transactions, and intricate investment strategies. It could also make supply chain logistics easier to manage. Quantum computers could supercharge drug discovery and lead to the development of new industrial materials.

They may be capable of greatly enhanced predictive modelling, leading to more accurate weather prediction and geopolitical risk analysis. Quantum computers might also boost artificial intelligence technology.

Most of these remain unrealised visions, but the prospect of breakthroughs and enrichment fuels investment.

So, there’s a genuine geopolitical power struggle in play, but it’s no longer solely or even primarily about decrypting secrets. Quantum competition between great powers concerns first-mover advantage across a broad base of technological domains. Ultimately, it’s about who’s going to make money.

Early progress seems most likely in industrial materials and optimisation. Later opportunities may involve advanced mathematical modelling and predictive simulations.

If quantum computers surpass the sceptics’ doubts to become capable of breaking current encryption, this will probably be a much later development. And if everyone’s done their post-quantum cryptography migration, it will hopefully be largely irrelevant.

But given how long cryptographic upgrades can take, cybersecurity slowpokes may still have a lot to lose.

Keith Martin receives funding from the EPSRC.

Briana Bowen receives funding from the EPSRC and has previously received funding from the US Government.

The most destructive wildfire season on record in Europe was in 2025, with more than one million hectares burned and tens of thousands of people displaced by fires across the continent.

For people in Ireland and Britain, the type of destructive wildfires that ravage southern Europe each summer can seem like a distant problem. But these fires are not confined to the dry Mediterranean landscapes of Spain, Portugal and Greece. In recent years, they have started to extend into regions more commonly associated with rain-soaked hills and bogs.

In 2026, this trend has continued with major wildfires breaking out across Scotland, Northern Ireland and Ireland.

As fires spread across the Highlands and Moray in Scotland this April, public warnings focused heavily on dry weather, campfires and accidental ignitions. In Northern Ireland, cautions were issued as firefighters battled several large gorse fires across the Mourne Mountains and other upland ares.

Similar warnings were issued nationally in Ireland over the Easter bank holiday weekend, when the public was urged to avoid lighting fires or bringing barbecues into the countryside. The threat of wildfires is only expected to ramp up this summer as temperatures rise further.

These are important messages. But focusing only on how fires start risks missing a slower and less visible transformation already unfolding across many upland landscapes. The real wildfire story in places like Ireland and Scotland is not just about climate or how fires start. It is also about how rural upland landscapes themselves are changing.

Changing farming styles

Recent research explores how decades of agricultural policy reform under the EU’s common agricultural policy, alongside falling farming populations and declining active land management, are reshaping vegetation patterns across Ireland’s uplands.

Historically, many upland landscapes were actively managed through livestock grazing, cutting and controlled patch burning. These practices helped maintain open landscapes and reduced the build-up of highly flammable vegetation.

But that balance has shifted. Reduced grazing pressure and changing land management practices are contributing to the expansion of highly flammable vegetation such as gorse, heather and purple moor grass.

While lower grazing pressure can bring biodiversity benefits and support natural regeneration, it can also increase the amount and proliferation of flammable vegetation across the landscape, known as fuel loads and fuel continuity. In practice, this means larger and more connected stretches of vegetation that allow fires to spread more rapidly and across greater distances.

This is especially concerning in upland areas where the average age of people working on farms is rising, and active land management is declining. Rural depopulation and labour shortages mean fewer people are available to manage what is known as commonages in Ireland and common grazing in Scotland. That means less maintenance of grazing systems and a reduction in the small, controlled vegetation burns that historically decreased wildfire risk by clearing vegetation and creating firebreaks. As one upland farmer in County Kerry recently described it to me: “It’s a bomb waiting to go off.”

Increasing flammability

Climate change is intensifying these risks. Hotter, drier conditions increase the likelihood that vegetation will dry out, increasing flammability. But climate alone does not explain why some landscapes burn more severely than others.

Wildfire risk is also shaped by what is growing on the land, how landscapes are managed, and whether fuel loads are reduced or allowed to accumulate over time. Experts responding to the recent Scottish fires also highlighted the role of vegetation build-up, prolonged dry conditions and changing land management in shaping fire behaviour, warning that historically wetter regions may face increasing wildfire risks in the future.

Similar patterns have already emerged across parts of southern Europe, where rural depopulation and land abandonment have contributed to increasingly severe wildfire regimes.

Recent research from Italy has shown abandoned land, declining grazing and reduced active land management have contributed to fuel accumulation, and to the build-up of dense, continuous vegetation – conditions associated with increasingly large and severe wildfires. While the climates and landscapes of Ireland and Scotland differ from the Mediterranean, similar long-term changes are beginning to emerge here.

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Read more: The Pennine hills are full of holes – here’s how they’re helping fight climate change

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This creates a difficult tension for policymakers and conservationists. Reduced grazing pressure and natural regeneration can support biodiversity recovery in upland systems. Yet these same changes may also increase wildfire risk where vegetation becomes dense, continuous and unmanaged. The challenge is therefore not choosing between farming or conservation, but finding ways to support landscapes that can sustain biodiversity, rural livelihoods and wildfire resilience together.

Wildfire risk in Ireland and Scotland can no longer be understood simply as a problem of careless ignitions or extreme weather. It runs much deeper than that. It is increasingly tied to long-term changes in how upland landscapes are farmed, governed and managed.

If future policy is serious about reducing wildfire risk, it must look beyond seasonal warnings and begin addressing the deeper forces reshaping our uplands.

Will Hayes is affiliated with the Department of Geography at Royal Holloway, University of London, and the Leverhulme Centre for Wildfires, Environment and Society. Funding for this research was provided by the Leverhulme Trust.