While the British uplands were once understood as wastelands with no perceptible use, today they are increasingly being framed as vitally important spaces that provide society with a range of services, whether they are tangible resources such as food and fuel or processes such as climate and flood regulation. The concept of eco-system services is beginning to place an important role in pulling the uplands out of the margins and placing them at the centre of societal concerns, and it is this concept that provides the starting point for this volume.
