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Land and Communities

Land and Communities

The relationship between our land and people is crucial, particularly at a time when demographic, social, economic and environmental change is being experienced in rural areas across Scotland; from rural towns and their hinterlands, to coastal areas and islands. SEFARI research focuses on the resilience and wellbeing of Scotland’s rural communities and provides vital support and a wider view for other SEFARI work on environment, land-based industries, food and health. SEFARI research is designed to help people living in and using the rural landscape; it helps identify policies which can enhance community wellbeing and resilience; and it considers the role of empowerment, local participation and democracy.

Case Studies

30 Sep 2024

Developing Dialogues on Land Use Decision Making for Natural Capital

Spurred in part by Scottish government policies such as the commitment to reach Net Zero by 2045, there has been an increase in investment in land for natural capital purposes in Scotland.

29 Feb 2024

Food system disruptions and food insecurity in Scotland: learning from food support workers

There is significant food insecurity in Scotland and to tackle it, the Scottish Government has published Cash-First.

12 Dec 2022

The Tarland Catchment: Monitoring landscape interventions to improve water quality, benefit riparian habitat and mitigate flooding

The Tarland Burn Catchment (~70 km2) has been studied since the year 2000 making it one of the longest running comprehensive catchment management case studies in the UK.

27 Oct 2022

Working together to improve our understanding of inclusive growth in the Highlands and Islands

In 2020, researchers and practitioners collaborated to better understand how inclusive growth can be conceptualised and measured across a large, diverse and predominantly rural region in the north and west of Scotland.

24 Oct 2022

Does floodplain restoration help to reduce extremes of water availability and improve biodiversity?

Healthy, intact floodplains play an important role in mitigating extremes of water availability (droughts and floods) expected under climate change. Compared to other ecosystems, intact floodplains also support a disproportionately high biodiversity.

30 Sep 2022

Taking the scenic (and sustainable) route - exploring public engagement strategies to decarbonise transport in UK national parks

The climate emergency presents a double challenge for public bodies as they reduce their greenhouse gas emissions and learn to adapt to the already changing climate.

18 Aug 2022

Sustainable Roundworm Control - Getting the Message Across

In an ever-changing world, it is essential that individuals are able to access, and act upon, the most relevant information and advice, and no more so than in agriculture.

28 Apr 2022

Assessing the impact of different management interventions on perceived woodland benefits

The importance of ecosystems and biodiversity to human well-being is now well established as they provide benefits such as timber, pollination and coastal protection. 

4 Apr 2022

Comparing Biodiversity Predictions by People and Computer Models for Woodland Management

Combining local, contextualised knowledge with generalised, scientific knowledge is seen as best practice in decision making for biodiversity management. However, there is the potential for conflict if these two knowledges do not concur.

1 Apr 2022

Going underground: testing the potential of citizen science and DNA to explore alpine soil biodiversity

Soil biodiversity is critical to ecosystem functioning, but our understanding of the richness and distribution of soil organisms lags far behind that of biodiversity above ground.

14 Dec 2021

Exploring the potential of spatially referenced data to support the evolution of land-based policy in Scotland

The way we manage land and plan land-use change plays an integral role in the efforts for meeting climatic targets and for mitigating and adapting to climate change impacts.

7 Dec 2021

Nature-based Solutions – how should we plan and evaluate them?

Nature-based Solutions (NbS) have been defined many times, but these definitions can be summarised as “solutions to societal challenges that are inspired and supported by nature”.

10 May 2021

Ecosystem resilience – woodland establishment on heather moorland and carbon budgets

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

18 May 2020

The Islands (Scotland) Act 2018: Evidence needs for improving outcomes for Scotland’s island communities

The Islands (Scotland) Act 2018 introduced several measures to ensure that there is a sustained focus across the Scottish Government and the public sector to meet the needs of island communities, now and in future.

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Blog

30 Sep 2024 - 14:12

Involving Communities in Decision-Making on Natural Capital and Land Use

The Scottish Government has a Net Zero target date of 2045, and all areas of society are expected to play their part in reaching that goal.

12 Sep 2024 - 14:27

The Three A’s of innovation - Agritech, Animal Health and Aquaculture

SEFARI Gateway are a silver sponsor at this year’s A3 Scotland conference - a not-for-profit two-day conference for the Animal Health, Agritech and Aquaculture (AAA) sectors, attracting attendees from all over the world to Inverness, to participate in plenaries, breakouts, inves