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Latest Briefing in Ecosystems and biodiversity

Future Land Use Change - Working locally, thinking globally

This research briefing summarises the main findings from research done in two Local Focus Areas (Ballater and Huntly) as part of the Aberdeenshire Land Use Strategy Pilot. These findings have been used by Aberdeenshire Council to provide their overall lessons learnt regarding the pilot to Scottish Government. In turn, the Scottish Government has used the results from the Aberdeenshire and Borders Pilots to help develop the Land Use Strategy 2016-2021. In addition to the named authors, Carol Kyle, Rachel Creaney, Andrea Baggio, Laura Poggio and Marie Castellazzi are also co-authors of this briefing.

Published on 25 February 2016 in Sustainability and Communities , Ecosystems and biodiversity

Recent Briefings in Ecosystems and biodiversity

Identifying ecosystem services provided by freshwater insects

Biodiversity conservation is increasingly framed within the ecosystem services concept. Consideration of insect-related ecosystem services has largely focussed on terrestrial taxa while those inhabiting freshwater have been neglected. Read more

Published on 8 February 2016 in Ecosystems and biodiversity

Changing Farm Biosecurity Practices

The Scottish Government policy on disease control is that prevention is better than cure, however in practice this can be difficult to achieve. Read more

Published on 10 February 2015 in Sustainability and Communities , Ecosystems and biodiversity , Food, health and wellbeing

Integrated Disease Management in Spring Barley

Intergrated Disease Management (IDM) could help greatly reduce the volume of crops lost to disease in Scotland, contributing to our future food security. Read more

Published on 16 December 2014 in Climate, water and energy , Ecosystems and biodiversity , Food, health and wellbeing

Eco-what?! The need for Clarity and Consistency in Communication Using Ecosystem Terminology

Within the natural resource management sector multiple ecosystem terms are presently in use. This briefing highlights key meanings underlying these terms, and suggests that better recognition of these concepts, together with consistency in use of terminology, will benefit both communication and practice. Read more

Published on 6 August 2014 in Ecosystems and biodiversity

Implementing an Ecosystem Approach in Aberdeenshire

This research briefing summarises the results of a governance and policy analysis for Aberdeenshire. It was undertaken using funding from the Ecosystem Services Theme of the Scottish Government Environmental Change Programme 2011-2016 to support Aberdeenshire Council with the first stage of the Regional Land Use Pilot project. Read more

Published on 11 June 2014 in Sustainability and Communities , Ecosystems and biodiversity

Plant Traits, Functional Diversity, and Ecosystem Services

The protection of biodiversity is seen increasingly within the context of ecosystem service delivery, but understanding how biodiversity controls the delivery of ecosystem functions and processes, and hence final ecosystem services, is not straightforward. Read more

Published on 13 May 2014 in Sustainability and Communities , Ecosystems and biodiversity

Linkages between Functional Traits can Predict Ecosystem Services

Research at the James Hutton Institute has addressed how traits can be used to link different trophic levels and to understand how management impacts cascade through functional pathways in ecosystems. Read more

Published on 3 April 2014 in Sustainability and Communities , Ecosystems and biodiversity

How Increasing Red Deer Density is Affecting their Selection of Habitats

Scotland has a red deer population of approximately 300,000. In the last five decades there has been increasing concern that heavy grazing pressure, especially by sheep and deer, imposes a threat to the biodiversity of the Scottish upland habitats. Read more

Published on 2 April 2014 in Ecosystems and biodiversity