"This important research provides more evidence that climate change is having a growing impact on our natural environment and resources – and on our everyday lives" The latest UK climate projections show a trend towards drier and warmer summers, with the west of Scotland set to become wetter and the east drier, plus more frequent instances of heavy rainfall. New research by the James Hutton Institute shows that these changing weather patterns are likely to make private water supplies across Scotland more vulnerable to droughts, a major issue considering that private supplies provide drinking
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"The #BiofilmAware campaign will illustrate the issues and benefits that different biofilms impart on society and how research in the area presents new opportunities to manage detrimental or better utilise beneficial biofilms." The James Hutton Institute is pleased to support the National Biofilms Innovation Centre's #BiofilmAware campaign, which aims to raise awareness of biofilms and their importance for our everyday lives. More information from: Bernardo Rodriguez-Salcedo, Media Manager, Tel: +44 (0)1224 395089 (direct line), +44 (0)344 928 5428 (switchboard) or +44 (0)7791 193918 (mobile)
"Having a good work life balance was seen as a choice farmers make and involves skills in time management that they can develop, but there are also factors outside farmers’ control that can make a good work-life balance difficult to achieve" The Irish dairy sector has undergone a period of growth since milk quotas were removed in 2015. However, while dairy farmers have favourable views about expansion and grass-based systems, some farmers felt that volatile milk prices and increasing costs meant they have little choice but to expand. More information from: Bernardo Rodriguez-Salcedo, Media
“Currently there is a knowledge gap in the management of blackleg, and we wish to address it by characterising the identity and distribution of free-living nematodes but also microbial communities, and the ways in which they associate and interact with the blackleg pathogen through changes in factors such as irrigation and use of cover crops” Scientists at the James Hutton Institute and partner organisations are working to understand the interactions between pathogen Pectobacterium atrosepticum and an array of soil-microbe-crop interactions in the development of blackleg, one of the most
When lockdown was announced across the UK back in March, and the seriousness of the pandemic began to hit home with daily bulletins from the UK and Scottish government on the news and the alarming spread of COVID-19 cases, many scientists, including those at SEFARI, looked to see what they could do to help with the national effort. On Thursday 25 th June the first samples arrived for SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) testing within the labs at Moredun and SRUC Veterinary Services (VS) and this was the culmination of many weeks of work behind the scenes to set up a new “testing node” to support our
I am a molecular microbiologist. I have worked across a broad range of fields investigating the relationships between biogeochemical cycling and microbial processes; covering microbial ecology in intertidal sand-flats to molecular ecology of ammonia and nitrite oxidising bacteria in soils and sediments and regulation of methane fluxes in peat soils by methanogen and methanotroph activity.
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. However, there is currently limited available information on the (monetary) costs and benefits of peatland restoration, which is important to inform project appraisals and policy development. In this project, we characterized and analyzed peatland restoration activities and costs, using data collected as part of the grant application and reporting process for the Peatland Action Programme (PAP) in Scotland. The most