We’re eager to create a collective resource showing how we enjoy, monitor, research, innovate, manage and conserve our water resources. This is your opportunity to submit a short video as part of a competition. By getting involved we can highlight how Scotland, as a Hydro Nation, is leading the way in water-inspired activities, research, technology and management.
Feeding our growing world population without further adverse environmental impacts remains one of farming’s biggest challenges. Farmers are now expected to deliver much more than simply food. Storing Carbon, conserving biodiversity and mitigating floods are amongst the multitude of wider benefits that we now expect from our farmland.
Invasive plants compete with crops of commercial interest for resources, tending to outgrow them owing to more robust dispersal mechanisms and quicker germination times. Once established, invasive species also become exceedingly difficult to remove. Currently, removal of unwanted plant mass generally involves animal consumption (herbivory), incineration, mechanical removal, or disposal in landfill. The use of herbicides is also a popular and often the preferred method of managing unwanted plant invasion.
Woodland expansion is a key part of the Scottish and Westminster Governments’ plans to meet net zero carbon emission targets by 2045 and 2050 respectively. Here, we use replicated experiments to study the changes that occurred on heather dominated moorland when birch and Scots pine were planted. On decadal timescales we found that net ecosystem carbon storage did not increase, above ground gains being off-set by loss of carbon from the soil. There were few other changes in soil chemistry, but the soil microbial community was shown to change, as was the above ground vegetation.
Across the globe the COVID-19 pandemic has changed how people work, communicate, socialise and learn. As an active person who is always out and about doing things, I personally have found this a great challenge. I am missing the simple things in life that I have always taken for granted. Popping into my mum’s for a tea and a chat, meeting friends for coffee (or wine!), or finding a new hill to climb. During the week I am now confined to a little desk in the corner of my kitchen, it is a nice kitchen, but that desk is become tiresome.
The Cryptosporidium oocysts have a tough outer waxy shell, composed of lipids and glycoproteins that enables the parasite to survive in the environment over a wide temperature range (-220C -600C) for several months. As a result, Cryptosporidium parasites are a real problem for the water industry as the parasite survives extremely well in water and is resistant to chlorination.
Green Infrastructure consists of interconnected multifunctional green spaces and green features. Components of Green Infrastructure include parks, nature reserves, street trees, streams, sustainable urban drainage systems and green roofs. Proponents of Green Infrastructure are hopeful that its use in planning systems will provide multiple social, economic and ecological benefits to improve the liveability and sustainability of places.
In the last year, we have been able to flexibly adapt our research in order to react to the evolving COVID-19 situation. We collected data in both the early (first) ‘lockdown’ (May 2020) and then as the local restrictions in Aberdeen City began to be eased and schools went back after the summer break (‘post-lockdown’; August 2020).
Before we discuss our new projects we must express our delight that in November one of the first projects we funded, namely ‘Conserving Genetic Diversity’, won the Innovation category at the Nature of Scotland Awards. This multi collaborative project established a world-first method to help understand and conserve genetic diversity in some of Scotland's most iconic wild species. Congratulations to all.
The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated our need to use new digital technologies to communicate. Video conferencing has quickly become the preferred communication avenue for colleagues and families – we’ve all become Zoom experts, Teams champions and WebEx authorities. Online forums have refocused to answer questions such as: does Teams have breakout rooms? Where is the WebEx whiteboard? How do you get out of the Zoom waiting room?