Comparing Biodiversity Predictions by People and Computer Models for Woodland Management

Combining local, contextualised knowledge with generalised, scientific knowledge is seen as best practice in decision making for biodiversity management. However, there is the potential for conflict if these two knowledges do not concur. We compared people’s predictions for biodiversity change under different woodland management scenarios with those from a simple ecological model. We found general agreement, but stakeholders were more optimistic about the benefits of some scenarios compared to the models.

Going underground: testing the potential of citizen science and DNA to explore alpine soil biodiversity

Soil biodiversity is critical to ecosystem functioning, but our understanding of the richness and distribution of soil organisms lags far behind that of biodiversity above ground. The difficulties of detecting organisms that spend all or most of their time living below ground and a shortage of skilled scientists able to identify them have contributed to our general lack of knowledge. This is particularly true in alpine zones which support some of our most natural habitats and provide important ecosystem services, including supporting unique biodiversity, carbon storage and water supply.

Water Words

Working with Scotland’s water sector and water users such as the farming sector, school children and teachers, we have designed this informative, engaging and fun series of educational posters on the important topic of water. We hope that by communicating a clear message about water, and explaining the very words used to best describe it and its many links to human life, young people and the general public will be better able to respond with real solutions in the places they live and work.

SAGES Annual Science Meeting

The conference themes this year are:

  1. Land, Landscape and Societal Interactions:

Engaging oral and poster presentations will seek to address the relationships between landscape and societal interactions.

  1. Carbon:

Sessions will seek to analyse what steps have been taken since COP26 towards carbon neutrality, as well as what actions are required to achieve Scotland’s net zero target by 2045.

3rd-5th May 2022 - 09:30-17:00

Sorry, this event has already happened. Have a look at our upcoming events.

Diet inequalities and food patterns in Scotland

Dietary patterns in Scotland remain unhealthy and this has an impact on health. In particular, the health harms associated with carrying excess body weight are well documented, with obesity now the second-biggest preventable cause of cancer, behind smoking. Furthermore, people who live in more deprived areas tend to be most impacted and significant inequalities in the levels of obesity persist between people living in the least and most deprived groups in Scotland.

Centres of Expertise: Delivering Evidence Directly to Policy

The CoEs, funded by the Scottish Government, work directly at the interface between policy and research, providing responsive outputs and outcomes in areas of high policy importance: climate change, animal disease outbreaks, plant health, water and knowledge exchange and impact. The Centres draw upon the wide range of up-to-date research expertise within the Scottish Environment, Food and Agriculture Research Institutes (SEFARI), universities, colleges, government agencies and research organisations across Scotland.