“We wanted to test and perfect a methodology (scientific, organisational and partnership) for small-scale farming practices in the forest undergrowth that would respect ecological balance” The historical ‘forest gardens’ of Guadeloupe, an overseas region of France, have provided the inspiration for a research group studying the feasibility of small-scale production systems in the area. The region is one of the world’s ‘hotspots’ for biodiversity; unfortunately, this biodiversity is now under significant pressure. More information from: Adam Walker, Communications Officer, James Hutton
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Wild fire “It is particularly important that socio-economic factors of fire risks, and citizens’ involvement in wildfire risk assessment and reduction strategies, which have had limited attention in previous studies, will be extensively covered in this project. Influence of human activities on fire ignition and on the vulnerability and exposure, will be analysed in detail” A new research project involving 39 partners from 19 countries and including James Hutton Institute scientists has received €10 million from the European Union. The Horizon 2020 funded project FireEUrisk, launching this
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. Delivering these multiple benefits whilst staying financially afloat, however, can be tricky. Farmers throughout the UK are rising to this challenge, and regenerative agriculture is the new buzz word. Taking a holistic approach to farm management, regenerative
Dr Susan Cooksley, manager of the Dee Catchment Partnership “We’re delighted to be a finalist. Our partnership exists to promote, facilitate and deliver collaborative projects that conserve the unique biodiversity and natural beauty of Deeside, and the restoration at Easter Beltie is doing exactly that creating a new area of wild beauty that has created habitat for a rich diversity of wildlife” The partnership tasked with looking after the river Dee catchment in north east Scotland is a finalist in the Inspiring Aberdeenshire Awards. Shortlisted for the Beautiful Aberdeenshire Environmental
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. All these methods have issues around unsatisfactory land use, associated greenhouse gas
"Crucially, we have shown that the plant has an even finer control over its nitrogen-fixing bacterial ‘guests’ in that it can recognise if a strain is relatively better than another" Legume plants can make ‘smart’ management decisions when it comes to interacting with their symbiotic bacterial partners to harness nitrogen from the atmosphere, a research team including a James Hutton Institute scientist has shown, offering insight into how a better understanding of these ‘smart’ interactions could help advance sustainable agriculture. More information from: Bernardo Rodriguez-Salcedo, Media
"Sir Paul Grice brings new and strategically-important insights, skills and knowledge to the Board that will contribute towards keeping Hutton and its work focused on delivering the greatest impact." The James Hutton Institute has announced the appointment of Sir Paul Grice, Principal and Vice-Chancellor of Queen Margaret University, to its Board of Directors as a non-executive director. Sir Paul held the position of Clerk and Chief Executive of the Scottish Parliament from its inception in 1999 to 2019, leading the delivery of all services to the Parliament alongside acting as its principal
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.