SAC Research

Land Economy & Environment Projects

Improvements To the National Inventory: Inventory Delivery - Data Mining

•To define the spatial and temporal scale and structure of an improved National Inventory of emissions that enables robust reporting, with a representation of the current key farm system types (conventional, organic, upland, lowland, dairy, cereal etc) to be represented; •To align the improved inventory structure with identifiable agricultural sectors and product lines to improve reporting, stake-holder engagement and support future food chain analysis; •To collate physical agri-environment data for the United Kingdom and to identify representative geo-climate zones for the application of emission factor models, and use in the down-scaling of the inventory emission factors; •To extract and synthesise published and unpublished measurement data on nitrous oxide and methane emissions from United Kingdom experimental sites, to derive robust country-specific emission factors – for representative farm systems and the geo-climate zones as appropriate; •To use existing parameterisations of mechanistic and statistical models to derive emission factors for the representative geo-climate zones, and regional farm practices – to be used as an aid to the interpretation and interpolation of existing experimental data; •To collate, integrate and spatially disaggregate published and unpublished data on baseline farm practices (such as on manure management and livestock feeding practices) by region and farm system for application to the emissions factors; •To review international literature on emission factors and farm practices that can be used to refine the United Kingdom data, and specifically to improve the assessment of appropriate confidence bounds and probability distributions for emissions factors; •To develop an appropriate methodology for the documentation and auditing of derived emission factors and supporting farm practice data, fit for submission to the UNFCCC; •To collate, integrate and spatially disaggregate existing data on the current farm implementation of mitigation methods for the control of emissions by region and farm system, and to collate existing spatial data delineating the drivers for change; •To develop a methodology for the down-scaling of derived emission factors by farm system and the geo-climate zones by integration with land use, livestock numbers and farm type data derived high resolution June Agricultural Survey data, and to develop a reporting methodology that prevents disclosure; •To develop an appropriate methodology for quantifying the uncertainty in the existing and improved inventory of current and projected emissions, and with recommendations on how best to communicate the uncertainty to a range of stakeholders; •To scope the future regular survey of farm practice data that support the application of the improved emission factors, map regional differences in emissions, and explicitly represent the impact of changes in practice due to government policy and sector trends; •To provide support to Defra projects AC0115 and AC0116 by providing access to farm systems and practice data, and agri-environment data to support field experimentation and model development for the derivation of improved emission factors; •To align and closely coordinate all activities and outputs with Defra projects AC0112, AC0115 and AC0116; •To align with and build upon outputs from concurrent Defra projects through effective liaison and sharing of resource.

AN Integration of Mitigation and Adaptation options for sustainable Livestock production under climate change

1. Quantify and reduce uncertainties in GHG emissions and assess climate change impacts on livestock production systems (including grasslands) in study regions, 2. Revise estimates of the net greenhouse gas balance of livestock farming systems, in particular by integrating soil carbon sequestration 3. Integrate climate variability and extremes into the assessment of impacts, adaptation and vulnerability to climate change of livestock systems, 4. Develop a range of breakthrough technologies for adaptation and mitigation to climate change in the livestock sector, both for ruminant and monogastric species, 5. Develop an understanding of trade-offs and synergies between adaptation and mitigation options, 6. Assess climate change vulnerability both in terms of productivity losses and of greenhouse gas emission increases, 7. Assess the costs and benefits of GHG mitigation and of climate change adaptation options for the livestock sector in Europe and in study regions of Africa and Latin America, 8. Provide direct support to the design of mitigation and adaptation policy frameworks for the livestock sector

Options for delivering ecosystem-based marine management - RTD

To develop a set of fully-costed ecosystem management options that would deliver the objectives of the Marine Strategy Framework Directive, the Habitats Directive, the European Commission Blue Book and the Guidelines for the Integrated Approach to Maritime Policy.

Digital Engagement and Resilience (in rural areas) DEAR

1. Identify the “broadband landscape” available to rural communities, by establishing and mapping a baseline of broadband availability across rural UK. 2. Identify the extent to which broadband availability influences rural communities’ sustained and value-added interaction with innovative technologies. 3. Identify and collate information on how rural communities interact with innovative technologies across the range of dot.rural projects. 4. Distill evidence showing where: innovative technologies could have a beneficial effect in many rural areas (i.e. are “transferable”) and/or at different levels and types of community activity (i.e. are “scaleable”). Conversely, show where communities’ interactions with technology are context-specific (i.e. will only work in one place because of local factors). 5. Based on this evidence, develop specific (social and technical) recommendations for improving communities’ interactions with technologies in rural settings. 6. Similarly, develop policy recommendations which will enhance the experience and potential of (broadband-enabled) technologies for sustainable rural community development.

Identification and mitigation of the environmental impacts of out-wintering beef and dairy cattle on sacrifice areas

The aim of this research is to investigate the impacts of out-wintering cattle on grass sacrifice fields. This broadly consists of three main objectives, namely:- a) to identify parameters that quantify the impacts of out-wintering cattle in social, economic and environmental terms; b) to establish the sensitivities of impacts from out-wintering, which emerge from various bio-physical and management strategies; and c) to evaluate the barriers and potential for adoption of strategies to mitigate against these negative impacts.

Modelling greenhouse gas mitigation from the agriculture, land use, land use change and forestry sectors (ALULUCF)

To develop refine a model that maps optimal greenhouse gas mitigation patterns from the ALULUCF sector in the UK

Estimates of future agricultural greenhouse gas emissions and mitigation in China. SAIN

a) Collation of database (with experiment meta-data including details of scale, duration etc.) on soil carbon change and GHG emissions from all experiments conducted / published in China in the last 30 years, b) Meta-analysis examining how GHG emissions vary with different cropping / livestock systems in different regions (building on UK and European database experience), c) Meta-analysis on how climate mitigation potential varies between practices and regions, d) Identification of critical gaps and priorities for further research e) Economic assessment of the marginal abatement cost of agricultural GHG mitigation in China f) Identification of the barriers to implementation, through social science survey (regional differences) g) Modelling of the total emission reduction potential of Chinese agriculture under different scenarios of implementation including uncertainty h) Creation of a list of appropriate, economically-costed agricultural climate mitigation strategies for each region / cropping system in China – construct decision support tools.

Spatial Mapping and Evaluation of Energy Crop Distribution in Great Britain to 2050

The aim of the project is to use a whole systems approach to explore spatial aspects of bioenergy development in the UK to 2050, taking account of environmental, economic and social factors. This will be achieved through the following objectives: 1) Determine potential spatial distributions and yields of energy crops in Great Britain under present conditions, and under climate change to 2050. This requires a set of modelling tools held within the consortium 2) Determine constraints (economic, social and environmental) that shape opportunities for the production of energy crops in both absolute and relative terms and map these under present conditions and future scenarios through to 2050 3) Determine optimised spatial distribution and feedstock supply of energy crops subject to current supply and demand side constraints - e.g. infrastructure, and under scenarios of future potential infrastructure, prices and costs 4) Examine impacts associated with the technical potential (i.e. where crops can be grown) and the economic potential (where they are most likely to be financial viability); external impacts include landscape character, rural livelihoods and environmental greenhouse gas emissions, carbon sequestration, biodiversity, water use/quality.

CREW Consortium - Community Resilience to Extreme Weather

• develop a tool to map probabilistic future EWEs, i.e. flooding, heatwaves, subsidence, wind and lightning • integrate social and physical research to develop an improved understanding of risk from EWEs at the community level; • identify the risks, vulnerabilities, barriers and drivers that affect the resilience of a local community to EWEs; • assess the adaptive capacity of a local community to respond to the challenge of EWEs; • develop and test new strategic and operational models to support effective planning to cope with both current and future EWEs; • provide new insights into the inter-relationships between stakeholders in the local community (decision makers, householders, businesses) for those with national responsibilities for coping with EWEs; • inform communities of the risks and options for coping with EWEs; • create and evaluate the value of an interactive, stakeholder-driven research programme.

Investigating the socio-economic value of species reintroduction in Scotland: The Magnus Magnusson PhD Studentship

To provide relevant student training and guidance for the development of a PhD thesis that will undertake an economic valuation study for the case of species re-introduction in Scotland. This training will vary depending on the candidate, but will normally include elements of social research methodology, natural resource and environmental economics, statistics, econometric methods and environmental policy.