The Tarland Burn Catchment (~70 km2) has been studied since the year 2000 making it one of the longest running comprehensive catchment management case studies in the UK. Critically there has been core funding support through cycles of Scottish Government strategic research programmes in turn, enabling integration with UK and European projects.
Biodiversity has never been under more pressure, with over a million species – around a quarter of the world’s mammals, one in seven birds and 40 percent of amphibians and plants – currently threatened with extinction. Land-use change, direct exploitation and climate change are the leading causes of what’s been dubbed the ‘sixth mass extinction event’ in the Earth’s history.
The global food system is thought to account for around one third of global greenhouse emissions which contribute to climate change. It is estimated that food production, which includes growing, transport and processing, contributes to 15-30% of total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the UK.
Increasingly trees are being promoted as a means to increase carbon storage and hence off-set climate change. However, it is critical to not only understand the gains in above-ground carbon (the carbon in the trees) but to also understand the impact of the trees on the carbon stored in the soil, and how these impacts differ between different soil types.
Healthy, intact floodplains play an important role in mitigating extremes of water availability (droughts and floods) expected under climate change. Compared to other ecosystems, intact floodplains also support a disproportionately high biodiversity.
Floodplains often become detached from adjacent water courses by flood embankments resulting in a loss of these characteristics and reconnection through removing embankments can help to regain lost functions in river corridors. However, case studies of the effects on floodplain water levels and plant ecology remain rare.
‘You do not like them. So you say. Try them! Try them! And you may. Try them and you may, I say.’
I suspect farmers feel like they receive plenty of advice served up in the relentless manner of Sam in Dr Seuss’ children’s book, Green Eggs and Ham. Tellingly, the well-meaning advisors are frequently not farmers.
The climate emergency presents a double challenge for public bodies as they reduce their greenhouse gas emissions and learn to adapt to the already changing climate. The Scottish government is committed to delivering a Just Transition to Net Zero by 2045 meaning that public entities must come up with innovative ways to meet these targets.
We all know that eating fish is good for health. Fish represents a great source of lean protein, unique omega- 3 fatty acids and bioavailable micronutrients which are often lacking in plant-based diets.
Streams and rivers in farmland areas often have a degraded morphology due to straightening and run-off pollution (inputs of fine sediment, < 2 mm particle size diameter). Constraints on land use also mean restoration is limited to short sections of watercourse and long term (~10 years) restoration studies are currently limited, making it difficult to assess their success.