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The 2023 British Society for Animal Science Conference focus is Animal Science: Delivering for all our Needs. #BSAS2023 More details about the conference, including the draft programme, can be found here. SEFARI will sponsor, organise and host/chair a session - 'Farming with Nature' - 4 x talks + 30 min Q&A. Our speakers will be: Nikki Yoxall, Head of Research at Pasture for Life (i.e. the Pasture-Fed Livestock Association), which supports the link between research and Knowledge Exchange. She is also a livestock farmer and, along with her husband, runs Grampian Graziers up in the NE of
This returning, to an in-person, event will focus on the topic of innovation. It will feature an exhibition space, together with an impressive speaker programme of key note addresses and panel sessions, early evening reception, and awards ceremony. Further details can be found here. SEFARI & SEFARI Gateway will have a stand presence, so please come and visit us.
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. We reviewed recent literature on changes in carbon storage following woodland establishment. Studies across modelling work, experimental plots, and large-scale surveys indicated that in the initial decades following tree establishment soil
In 2020, researchers and practitioners collaborated to better understand how inclusive growth can be conceptualised and measured across a large, diverse and predominantly rural region in the north and west of Scotland. The project, in collaboration with Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE), led to a focused statistical and spatial analysis which identified the underlying dimensions ‘behind’ inclusive growth, and then classified small areas in the Highlands and Islands into clusters, representing differences in inclusive growth performance and protected characteristics. With further
Jonathan Hopkins 1, Nick Schurch 2, Andy Sarjeant 3, Catherine MacNeil 3, Mags Currie 1, Eilidh MacDonald 3, Rachel Forrest 3, Heather Smith 3, Robin Clarke 3 1 Social, Economic and Geographical Sciences Department, The James Hutton Institute; 2 Biomathematics and Statistics Scotland; 3 Highlands and Islands Enterprise. The ToWards Inclusive Growth project was funded by the SEFARI Gateway Responsive Opportunity Initiative and the Rural and Environment Science and Analytical Services (RESAS) Division as part of the Scottish Government’s Strategic Research Portfolio. Views expressed are those of
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. Livestock farmers often feel unfairly criticised by press coverage, usually dwelling on negative environmental and human health impacts of red meat production, while underplaying the varied benefits of livestock farming, especially here in Scotland. Increasingly vocal environmental
A healthy soil can provide us with nutritious food, clean water, provide habits for biodiversity, and can slow the impacts of climate change. This project will strengthen our understanding and help protect soils, improve soil health, and identify the roles and contributions of Scotland’s soils in delivering key beneficial services (e.g. food production and other wider benefits).