23 Feb 2021

Making Green Infrastructure Socially Inclusive: Principles and Challenges

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.

  • Climate and the Environment
  • Land and Communities
  • Rural Economy

18 Jan 2021

Liver fluke risk and Agri-environment Schemes: a Tale of Toads, Snails and Wetland Birds

In this case study, we describe field investigations of liver fluke risk to livestock associated with grazing under two different agri-environmental schemes and discuss best practice for conservation grazing and sustainable fluke control.

  • Agriculture
  • Climate and the Environment
  • Plant and Animal Health

14 Jan 2021

New crop protection targets to control late blight

Control of plant diseases such as potato late blight relies heavily on the use of crop protection products such as fungicides.

  • Agriculture
  • Plant and Animal Health
  • Climate and the Environment

16 Dec 2020

Integrated Pest Management: How widely have these management practices been adopted?

Arable crops like wheat and barley, are frequently under attack from diseases, weeds, insects and slugs. These lead to reductions in yield and affect the profitability of farms and the price of produce. To protect crops there is a heavy reliance on pesticides.

  • Agriculture
  • Climate and the Environment
  • Plant and Animal Health
  • Rural Economy

2 Dec 2020

CALEDON: Gamers creating resilient forests

The public are being asked to report sightings of 22 tree pests and diseases and newly emerging threats.

  • Science Education
  • Climate and the Environment
  • Rural Economy
  • Land and Communities

1 Dec 2020

Using Natural Capital Approaches to support sustainable land management in Scotland: Insights from five pilot studies

Natural capital approaches involve identifying, understanding, and measuring the relative contribution of nature to economic performance and human well-being. By adopting the language of business, natural capital approaches allow the natural environment to be included in discussions about business decisions.

  • Agriculture
  • Climate and the Environment
  • Rural Economy

26 Nov 2020

Developing a"Genetic Scorecard": A World-first for Scotland

The following case study summarises a SEFARI Think Tank involving the Royal Botanic Gardens Edinburgh and Scottish Natural Heritage.

  • Climate and the Environment
  • Plant and Animal Health
  • SEFARI Gateway

16 Nov 2020

Assessing natural capital impacts and dependencies within upland farming systems

Natural capital underpins sustainability and refers to the stocks of natural resources, which include geology, soil, air, water, and all living things.

  • Agriculture
  • Climate and the Environment
  • Rural Economy

4 Nov 2020

Phase 2 Grouse Research - Socioeconomic and biodiversity impacts of driven grouse moors and the employment rights of gamekeepers

This ‘Phase 2’ Grouse Research addresses some of the knowledge gaps regarding Scottish driven grouse moor management that were identified during our ‘Phase 1’ Grouse Research as well as gaps identifie

  • Land and Communities
  • Rural Economy
  • Climate and the Environment

30 Oct 2020

Antimicrobial resistance: bringing Scottish expertise together to find the solutions

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a global, immediate and ongoing concern to human health.

  • Agriculture
  • Plant and Animal Health
  • Climate and the Environment
  • Rural Economy

21 Oct 2020

The search for crop pathogens Achilles heels

Plant pathogens trigger changes in host plants that allow them to cause disease.  Understanding which molecules pathogens use to do this (termed effectors), how they allow infection to take place, and how they are detected by plants has important implications for our understanding of plant disease.  

  • Agriculture
  • Plant and Animal Health
  • Climate and the Environment

6 Oct 2020

The impact of sustainable cropping on soil-borne diseases – a focus on Rhizoctonia solani AG3

The Centre for Sustainable Cropping (CSC) is a long-term experimental platform established to integrate all aspects of sustainability research on arable ecosystems. The CSC allows us to study crop management at a more integrated and system wide level and compare this to conventional crop husbandry practices.

  • Plant and Animal Health
  • Agriculture
  • Climate and the Environment

22 Sep 2020

Recommendations for landscape-level adaptive management for ecological, economic, and social outcomes

Improving the management of Scotland’s natural assets at a landscape-level for ecological, economic, and social outcomes is a priority for the Scottish Government and its partners.

  • Climate and the Environment
  • Agriculture
  • Land and Communities

11 Sep 2020

Approaches to reducing potato waste by improving home storage and minimising greening

Potato is the number one wasted household food by weight, estimated at over 700,000 tonnes and with a cost of £555M per annum in the UK. Nearly half of the fresh potatoes bought by UK householders are thrown away.

  • Agriculture
  • Plant and Animal Health

25 Aug 2020

Making Worms Squirm: Sustainable Worm Control in Lambs through Precision Livestock Farming

Electronic identification (EID) tags have been compulsory in UK sheep flocks since 2010, and a decade after their introduction, can still be a controversial topic.

  • Agriculture
  • Climate and the Environment
  • Plant and Animal Health

13 Aug 2020

The cost of peatland restoration in Scotland

Peatland restoration could make a considerable contribution in achieving national emission targets and is a vital part of Scotland’s strategy in moving towards net zero emissions.

  • Climate and the Environment
  • Land and Communities

8 Jul 2020

Modelling the effect of social networks in reducing meat consumption

Our food consumption is guided by perceive norms and the food choices of others around us. In the UK today, unhealthy and environmentally unsustainable diets are most commonly eaten (the norm).

  • Healthier Foods
  • Climate and the Environment

19 Jun 2020

Protein for Life – Supporting healthy ageing in partnership with the food sector

Protein intake is insufficient among middle-aged and older adults in the UK, and this insufficiency is a major contributor to ill health and disability.

  • Food & Drink Innovation
  • Healthier Foods

10 Jun 2020

Nematodirus battus: Is it likely to spiral out of control?

Farming practices are evolving in response to intensification, diversification and climate change. As farm management has changed, pathogens of livestock have also adapted to optimise their reproduction and transmission opportunities.

  • Plant and Animal Health
  • Agriculture

3 Jun 2020

Not all roots are equal – so what?

Soil is, and always will be, a very valuable resource. Soil is critical for food production and regulating several services to the wider environment, such as flood regulation and storing carbon.

  • Climate and the Environment
  • Land and Communities
  • Agriculture

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