Since 2012 the Peatland Action Programme has supported restoration of over 10,000 ha of peatland in Scotland.

ClimateXChange researchers in the James Hutton Institute studied the information that was gathered through the process, and captured lessons that could be learned as Scottish Government sets new challenges for restoration under the draft Climate Change Plan.

Further details on the Scheme can be found on the SNH website.

Integrating woodlands or forests with forage and livestock production systems can reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Agroforestry systems can also provide other benefits like diversification of farm income, shelter for livestock, fuelwood, carbon sequestration, nutrient management, reductions in soil erosion and leaching, biodiversity enhancement, and amenity value.

This policy brief explores the potential for carbon savings from agroforestry options in Scotland. There have been challenges in delivering the annual target of 10,000 ha new planting, and the report discusses the potential for silvo-pasture – those in which trees are planted at wide spacing into grazed, permanent pastures – and the multiple benefits it can deliver.

This report looks at options for reducing the greenhouse gas emissions from Scottish Farms. It analyses a range of options across changes in management of fertiliser, soil and manure, livestock feeding and energy use. Some of these changes require an investment in new tools, equipment or other installations on farm.

The analysis indicates that the 20 technology options considered could reduce emissions by between 9 and 150 kt CO2e GHG annually if they were implemented to their fullest potential across Scotland. Doing this would also have other positive environmental effects (e.g. with regards to soil or water quality).

The report recommends use of complementary incentive mechanisms to encourage uptake of the technologies. These could include:

  • increased emphasis on these technologies in extension services or mechanisms;
  • support for collaborative implementation of the technologies;
  • foot printing/accounting schemes for validating and signalling on-farm and supply chain progress; and
  • a comprehensive approach to each stage of the supply chain.

Methane emissions from livestock are responsible for approximately 50% of the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions associated with agriculture in Scotland. Reducing the emissions is key to reducing agricultural emissions in Scotland. 

We have looked at this issue from different perspectives:

  1. Review of options for reducing greenhouse gas emissions via cattle slurry management
    explores how to reduce the greenhouse gases from storing and use of slurry at Scottish farms
  2. Livestock Health & Greenhouse Gas Emissions– looking at how emissions intensity could be reduced through control measures relating to
    • milk yield and cow fertility rates (dairy systems),
    • cow/ewe fertility and abortion rates, calf/lamb mortality and growth rates (beef and sheep systems), and
    • feed conversion ratios, FCR (all systems)
  3. Benchmarking the emissions intensity of Scottish livestock – making recommendations for benchmarking cattle milk and meat, and sheep meat within the boundary of cradle to farm-gate, in the first instance.
  4. Nutritional strategies to reduce enteric methane emissions –  finding that three of the 12 nutritional strategies evaluated could be effective in reducing enteric methane  emissions. Based on this work, we were asked to explore the practical feasibility of including lipids and nitrates in livestock diets and concluded that this option has limited potential due to the complex connection between feeding regime and emissions.
  5. Farmyard Manure and Slurry Management, and Anaerobic Digestion in Scotland – Practical Application on Farm: this report examines the market potential for anaerobic digestion technologies as a tool to manage slurry and farmyard manure arising from Scottish livestock farming, focusing on how greenhouse gas emissions might be reduced.
  6. Slurry Storage on Scottish Farms –  A Feasibility Study – This work assesses the relative value of different slurry management options for reducing greenhouse gas emissions from livestock production.  It examines key sectors where there are significant emissions considers the opportunities for mitigation.

Scotland’s Land Use Strategy enables informed decision making about how Scotland can make the most of its land’s potential now and into the future.

ClimateXChange reviewed the existing research evidence to help Scottish decision makers identify the best land use options for climate change mitigation and adaptation in the second Land Use Strategy.

Workshops on peatland research priorities

Peatlands play an important role in the carbon cycle and are increasingly becoming a focus point for policymakers and researchers. They also deliver a wide range of other benefits including to water, agriculture and biodiversity, which impact on both public and private interests.

As a result, there is growing demand for the best available information on the condition and management of Scotland’s peatlands.

ClimateXChange has hosted two workshops to discuss research priorities:

  • A first workshop in February 2014 to identify the priority research and communication required to ensure that those involved in resourcing, developing and implementing land use policy have access to robust and up-to-date information on peatlands.
  • A second workshop in October 2014 after Scottish Natural Heritage published ‘Scotland’s National Peatland Plan: Consultation Draft’ in June. This event focussed on the research priorities identified in the draft plan and how these might be taken forward.

Both events brought researchers together with representatives from Scottish Natural Heritage, SEPA and the Scottish Government. They identified strategic priorities around knowledge exchange and inter-disciplinary working and recognised the need to establish a cross-sectoral grouping to champion and bring together peatland policy and research.

Download meeting notes and presentation using the links on the right.

Useful links

Fusarium head blight (FHB) is a major disease of wheat. It’s one of the top food safety concerns associated with a changing climate in Europe because the infected grain contains toxins that are dangerous to humans and animals.

This study uses a range of data to project the future risk of this infection spreading. This makes it possible to test how robust our wheat production system is and look at adaptation strategies as our climate changes.

Emissions reduction and habitat restoration are both important considerations in relation to peatland management and restoration in Scotland.

The WISE decision support tool has been developed to summarise all the information that is available at national scale on peatland locations and various condition indicators. This makes it easier to consider where peatland conservation and restoration may be most desirable.

This revised version from September 2014 includes an uncertainty map (p4) of the probability that a given area is highly suitable for restoration management. The tool is still being developed and we welcome feedback.

Native woodland adaptation to climate change has been identified as an area that needs further investigation. ClimateXChange’s work in this area has so far had three outputs:

  • A workshop on Native Woodlands Adaptation to Climate Change in August 2012. The workshop brought together key stakeholders to explore what we know about the risks to native woodlands from climate change, their capacity to respond, and appropriate management responses. It also  considered the scope for providing greater support for woodland managers in relation to climate change, and outlined some of the key issues that will need to be addressed to enhance native woodlands’ adaptive capacity.
  • An Issues Paper, which develops some of the ideas from the workshop in order to stimulate further discussion and promote agreement about what the further policy-making, management and research priorities should be. The Issues Paper sets out the main issues around: the consequences for native woodlands of climate change; their capacity to respond; and possible management strategies, and poses some open questions to stimulate discussion.
  • A report exploring how the principles of the Flexible Adaptation Pathways approach could be applied to native woodland adaptation. The report lists a comprehensive set of options for biodiversity adaptation in Scottish native woodlands.

Scotland’s nature is important to all aspects of our lives, but it also has some very specialised species that can help us monitor how healthy and clean our air is and how our climate is changing. These small but important organisms are also responsible for ecosystem services such as peat formation (Sphagnum mosses) and nutrient cycling (soil fungi).

This project has developed a publicly available online scenarios toolkit, which uses Scotland’s epiphytes to test different woodland management options across a range of climatic and tree disease scenarios. This scenarios type approach does not aim to accurately predict the future, but offers a platform for biodiversity decision-making under uncertainty, and the means to scope alternative adaptation options