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An advanced toolkit of statistical methods enables quantification of hidden spread of pests and diseases in Scotland making best use of limited data. It estimates costly-to-measure characteristics and produces risk assessments to target control efforts. Insights support non-academic partners, including advice to Scottish Forestry on great spruce bark beetle spread related to changes to the West of Scotland Pest Free Area. Through EPIC, findings are informing Scottish Government policy colleagues on threats from African swine fever to livestock and the highly pathogenic avian influenza outbreak
Virus infection in seed potato crops has surged across Europe over the last five years, threatening Scotland’s global reputation for producing high-quality seed. A multi-pronged approach was developed: mapping changing aphid and virus populations and their traits, using AI to create national early warning systems for forecasting risk, and field-testing integrated pest management (IPM) strategies—combining monitoring with companion crops and pesticide alternatives. This real-world approach guides best practice, helping growers time interventions and improve crop protection. This research
Growing crop mixtures can increase yields, reduce input costs and support biodiversity. We have identified species/variety combinations, management conditions, and machinery adaptations that optimise these benefits from crop mixtures. This work has direct impact on farming practice and uptake by Scottish farmers through >50 collaborative trials to grow mixtures on farms across Scotland. By working with farmers to design and monitor trials, we are quantifying mixture performance relative to monocrops and demonstrating the technical feasibility of mixture cropping. Trial results and technical
SEFARI Gateway and NatureScot are seeking an individual researcher, or small team of researchers, to explore how Scotland’s Agriculture and Knowledge Information System can better support a just transition to sustainable and regenerative agriculture, so that Scotland can achieve its vision of becoming a world leader in this area. We are providing support for a new Fellowship in collaboration with NatureScot. Background Scottish Government’s vision for agriculture includes an ambition for Scotland ‘to become a global leader in sustainable and regenerative agriculture.’ The ‘adoption and use of
Thomas (Tom) is an ecologist specialising in the study of carbon cycling in upland and far northern ecosytems. Much of this research centres on roots and the 'rhizosphere'- the volume of soil directly influenced by root activity- and how root and rhizosphere processes control the capacity of an ecosystem to store carbon. Tom's expertise is in understanding ecological processes, how they connect within an ecosystem and how they are influenced by climate and vegetation change. Tom works in the Biodiversity and Ecosystems Group with a focus on the ecosystem responses to land management and green
An exciting opportunity for an individual researcher, or small team of researchers, is available in the form of a new Fellowship. With funding from SEFARI Gateway , and working in collaboration with Scottish Government , Scottish Environment Protection Agency and others within the Co-ordinated Agenda for Marine, Environment and Rural Affairs Science, this Fellowship will produce a strategic route map to enable use of DNA and other biomolecules to monitor, assess and understand the environment. Background SEFARI (Scottish Environment Food & Agriculture Institutions) Gateway (“the Gateway”) is
Digital or data-driven farming has the potential to transform agriculture, helping it become more sustainable. By combining real-time data from sensors, satellites, and molecular tools with advances in computing and scientific knowledge, farmers can better manage crops and livestock at different scales. But turning this potential into reality requires major research and development. The Sustainable Agricultural Tools project, funded by the Scottish Government’s RESAS programme, is addressing this challenge. The project is creating new bioinformatics, modelling, and statistical tools to convert
Introduction The event organisers, the RSE and CoDeL (Community Development Lens), invited a dynamic and diverse group to attend this event. The RSE moto of ‘Making Knowledge Useful’ was certainly brought to bear at this gathering of a wide range of discipline knowledge displayed. CoDeL, who also helped organise the event, is rooted in over a decade of work on the seven islands in the Outer Hebrides in Scotland that make up ”Uist”. The islands include from north to south, Berneray, North Uist (and Baleshare), Grimsay, Benbecula, South Uist and Eriskay, and stretch for 60 miles, linked by an
Edinburgh: 5 - 7th November, 2025. Attendance by invite only.
The Scottish Government is committed to tackling climate change with an ambitious target of 2045 for Scotland to reach net zero emissions for all greenhouse gases. As part of this transition new uses need to be found for sites such as the Grangemouth refinery to secure a just transition for the local and wider Scottish population. Project Willow: Grangemouth investment opportunities has identified a set of preferred projects including a proposed biorefinery project for aviation fuel. The aviation sector is currently a significant greenhouse gas emitter through its use of fossil fuels (Okolie