Seeking multiple benefits from natural carbon stores in the uplands (ENRA 2025 poster)

The assessment of carbon stores, flood mitigation potential and bird, bat and small mammal occurrence within characteristic upland farmland, semi-natural and natural habitats is allowing the multiple environmental benefits arising from different habitats on upland farms to be better understood. A particular focus has been put on the innovative use of acoustic sensors and camera-traps to assess biodiversity and digital sensors to monitor water levels. The value of these approaches has been recognised by others involved in large-scale habitat restoration (such as Forestry & Land Scotland, the Wild Strathfillan Initiative and the Resilient Farm Network being established by Loch Lomond & The Trossachs National Park). The RESAS funding has also helped lever complementary UKRI (Grassland resilience for Net Zero: sustainable practices for shaping the future of UK land use) and Horizon Europe (Digital innovation and data technology network for rangeland livestock farming systems) funded research.