Climate change, both projected and realised, impacts on livestock production – and livestock impacts on climate change, both here in Scotland and globally. Changing weather patterns can affect livestock directly, in terms of heat and cold stress, availability of food and water, and dictates what can be raised where and when. Climatic change also affects the prevalence, seasonality and geographic spread of livestock diseases.
Scotland has committed to peatland restoration as part of its array of policies to tackle climate change. Peatland restoration can make a significant difference for Scotland and the UK, as a substantial sink of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and to enhance an internationally important habitat for biodiversity and water aspects, and a culturally significant place for the public.
You may be wondering what we can do to help? Well, at the Centre for Sustainable Cropping (CSC) near Dundee, we’re aiming to develop a cropping system that can produce high quality food, whilst still maintaining a healthy environment. This means using what we understand about ecology to work with the environment to improve the health and physical structure of the soil, minimise the losses of nutrients and chemicals from cultivated fields, and support a rich variety of farmland wildlife.
Leaving the European Union could have major repercussions on a wide range of environmental and land use concerns within Scotland, and across the whole of the UK. Whilst some of these issues may seem complex, it is increasingly recognised that SEFARI contains a wealth of expertise which can contribute to such discussions. Of course our place is not to delve into the politics, but to use our research and expertise to provide an evidence-led platform for discussion.
To meet many local, national and international policy and business requirements there is a need to monitor the state of Scotland’s natural resources. These commitments span from day to day monitoring of Scotland’s freshwater bodies, so ensuring enough water of the right quality is available for a range of individuals, communities and wildlife; to longer-term monitoring of legally protected and iconic terrestrial and marine habitats and species e.g. Caledonian pinewoods and Capercaillie. A range of policy and management commitments e.g.
Animal & Veterinary Sciences
SRUC
Kirkton Farm
Crianlarich
FK20 8RU
Grasslands, carbon sequestration and greenhouse gases
What are the benefits of grasslands?
Globally, grasslands represent 70% of the agricultural land area. In Scotland the figure is even higher (approximately 80%), due to the contribution from rough grazing on land less favourable for agriculture (LFA).
Vera is interested in the socio-economic aspects of sustainable agriculture and works with interdisciplinary methods to understand better how to reduce the environmental effects of agricultural production. Her research spans across topics, including the cost-effectiveness of mitigation practices, environmental co-effects, farmers’ perceptions and the assessment of policy instruments. Besides developing and leading research projects, she supervises PhD projects and works with a range of stakeholders.
Research interests
Paul is a grassland researcher at SRUC in Future Farming Systems - Dairy Research and Innovation Centre, with research interests in soil structure and compaction, greenhouse gas emissions/atmospheric chemistry from grassland production, and agroecology.