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Modified Universal Soil Loss Equation; agricultural land; bunds; cost effectiveness; crops; fences; grants; grasslands; linear programming; nonpoint source pollution; phosphorus; profits and margins; pulp; risk; runoff; sediments; watersheds; wetlands; Scotland
Abstract:
... The cost-effectiveness of six edge-of-field measures for mitigating diffuse pollution from sediment bound phosphorus (P) runoff from temperate arable farmland is analysed at catchment/field scales. These measures were: buffer strips, permanent grassland in the lowest 7% of arable fields, dry detention bunds, wetlands, and temporary barriers such as sediment fences. Baseline field P export was esti ...
agricultural land; agricultural policy; biodiversity; carbon sequestration; coastal plains; coasts; crop insurance; crops; farmers; farming systems; forests; humans; income; land use; natural capital; subsidies; North Carolina; Scotland; South Carolina
Abstract:
... Marginal land now devoted to growing harvested crops may be better suited to other land uses such as biodiversity enhancement and carbon sequestration. However, farmers are not encouraged to explore the development of these opportunities due largely to subsidized federal crop insurance (FCI). This study examined FCI outcomes from 2013 to 2017 in 69 Coastal Plain counties of North Carolina and Sout ...
Sitophilus; agricultural land; biodiversity; birds; case studies; corn; farmers; farms; food availability; grasslands; issues and policy; monitoring; mowing; population growth; subsidies; Scotland
Abstract:
... 1. Agri-environment schemes (AES) are the main European policy response to biodiversity loss caused by agricultural intensification. Maximizing their effectiveness is a key policy challenge. Monitoring is essential to inform adaptation and improvement of schemes over time, and to understand how measures may need to vary across a species' range. 2. We measured changes in breeding abundance of a sev ...
... The diversity and abundance of the within-field seedbank and emerged weed flora, were measured in over 100 fields from conventional, integrated and organic farms across the arable east of Scotland. Both seedbank and emerged flora showed significant responses to a management intensity gradient from farms with high agrochemical inputs and winter cropping to those with no inorganic inputs, spring cro ...
... Farm nutrient budgets related to 1994 were calculated for seven farm types, accounting for approximately 90% of the agricultural land in the River Ythan catchment, NE Scotland. The magnitude of fluxes of nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) at the catchment scale in relation to these farm types was also assessed. Positive budgets were calculated for all farm types, with the largest surpluses estimated ...
... Bumblebees have suffered declines as a result of reduction in habitat availability associated with agricultural intensification. Although several conservation strategies for bumblebees address forage availability, other aspects of bumblebee ecology are often ignored. Availability of sufficient nest sites is a key requirement of bumblebee populations and since nesting habitat is likely to have beco ...
land use change; agroecosystems; agricultural land; landscapes; honors and awards; cost benefit analysis; environmental policy; woodlands; biodiversity; Scotland
Abstract:
... GIS-based spatial targeting is increasingly recognised as a potentially useful tool to design more efficient policy interventions. The use of this tool has also been advocated in the context of incentive-based agri-environmental schemes, but there has been little work to date to estimate the level of efficiency gains which it may help to achieve. This paper investigates the requirements to arrive ...
... Bumblebees (Bombus spp.) play a key role within agricultural systems as pollinators of crops and wild flowers. However, this taxon has suffered severe declines as a result of agricultural intensification. Conservation efforts largely focus on providing forage resources for bumblebees through the summer, but providing suitable habitat during the period of nest foundation in early spring could be a ...
abandoned land; agricultural land; farm size; farmers; farming systems; land management; large farms; surveys; Scotland
Abstract:
... In this paper we develop a typology of ‘non-commercial’ approaches to farming, based on a survey of a representative sample of farmers in Scotland, United Kingdom. In total, 395 (16.6% of the sample) farmers indicated that they do not seek to make a profit on their farms. We estimate that these non-commercial approaches to farming are utilised on at least 13% of agricultural land in Scotland. As s ...
... Many migratory bird species are undergoing population declines as a result of potentially multiple, interacting mechanisms. Understanding the environmental associations of spatial variation in population change can help tease out the likely mechanisms involved. Common Cuckoo Cuculus canorus populations have declined by 69% in England but increased by 33% in Scotland. The declines have mainly occur ...
afforestation; agricultural land; carbon; carbon markets; carbon sequestration; case studies; certification; environmental policy; greenhouse gas emissions; greenhouse gases; land use change; organic soils; peatlands; socioeconomic factors; temporal variation; trees; woodlands; Scotland
Abstract:
... Climate change policy for the land sector is challenged by complex biophysical and socioeconomic contexts. A target approach utilising land-use change indicators is often used to quantify and communicate progress, based upon assumed greenhouse gas emission (GHG) reductions. This paper investigated areal targets for woodland expansion and peatland restoration, both of which can deliver substantial ...
... A suggested increase in the growth of macrophytic algae within the Ythan estuary (N.E. Scotland) over recent years has been linked to the increased amounts of nitrogen in the form of NO3-N entering the estuary from the river. The increased NO3 concentration in the river has been associated with recent changes in farming practices in this predominantly agricultural catchment. Terrestrially derived ...
Meles meles; agricultural land; altitude; badgers; camera trapping; climate change; climatic factors; emissions; highlands; human population; humans; land cover; models; planning; population growth; roads; temperature; weather; winter; Scotland
Abstract:
... AIM: In the light of human‐induced rapid environmental change (HIREC), populations are exposed to ever‐greater bioclimatic stress at the edge of a species’ historic range. The distribution dynamics of European badgers (Meles meles) at their southern edge are linked tightly to climatic variability. We contribute critical data on how climatic context and local factors determine site occupancy in a n ...
agricultural land; case studies; climate; climate change; climate models; drought; irrigation; land classification; land use; meteorological data; plant-water relations; risk; soil profiles; soil water deficit; water resources; Scotland
Abstract:
... Land capability classification systems define and communicate biophysical limitations on land use, including climate, soils and topography. They can therefore provide an accessible format for both scientists and decision-makers to share knowledge on climate change impacts and adaptation. Underlying such classifications are complex interactions that require dynamic spatial analysis, particularly be ...
afforestation; agricultural land; carbon; climate change; disturbed soils; environmental policy; greenhouse gas emissions; habitats; highlands; land use change; planting; viability; woodlands; Scotland
Abstract:
... Land use patterns are the consequence of dynamic processes that often include important legacy issues. Evaluation of past trends can be used to investigate the role of path dependence in influencing future land use through a reference “business as usual” (BAU) scenario. These issues are explored with regard to objectives for woodland expansion in Scotland as a major pillar of climate change policy ...
... Nitrous oxide (N2O) flux simulations by four models were compared with year-round field measurements from five temperate agricultural sites in three countries. The field sites included an unfertilized, semi-arid rangeland with low N2O fluxes in eastern Colorado, USA; two fertilizer treatments (urea and nitrate) on a fertilized grass ley cut for silage in Scotland; and two fertilized, cultivated cr ...
... Background: Intensive farming affects farmland biodiversity, and some arable plants in particular. Increasing crop genetic diversity can increase crop productivity or resilience and could also benefit rare arable plants. Aims: We examined whether barley presence, sowing density and genetic diversity impacted the rare plant Valerianella rimosa and explored possible underlying mechanisms. Methods: I ...
... Malus sylvestris (L.) Mill, the European wild apple, is a small tree native to Europe which reaches its north-western limit in Northern Britain. It has been identified as one of the main contributors to the domesticated apple M. domestica (Suckow) Borkh. There are concerns that wild populations of this rare tree are threatened by hybridization with M. domestica throughout Europe. We genotyped 332 ...
accounting; agricultural land; biodiversity; economic costs; ecosystem services; ecosystems; energy; funding; humans; issues and policy; labor; land use; longitudinal studies; modernization; natural capital; public services and goods; soil; time series analysis; Scotland
Abstract:
... CONTEXT: We address understanding of whole-system and landscape-based approaches to the ecosystem services framework by considering the supply of provisioning services and the dynamics of agricultural land use in Scotland between 1940 and 2016. OBJECTIVES: To characterise and understand the dynamics of change in provisioning services from agriculture in Scotland over the period 1940–2016. To ident ...
... Current restoration of stream and lotic freshwater systems to ‘good ecological status’ has focused on the creation of vegetated riparian buffer strips. Yet, despite this constituting a major land‐use change, surprisingly little is known about the effects of these strips on riparian organisms. We investigated the effect that widespread adoption of buffer strips may have on activity density, species ...
agricultural land; bioenergy; biomass; data collection; demographic statistics; energy; energy policy; farms; forestry; geographical distribution; geophysics; surveys; tourism; wind; Scotland
Abstract:
... This paper uses large-scale micro data to identify key factors affecting the decision to adopt renewable energy generation (wind, solar and biomass) on farms in Scotland. We construct an integrated dataset that includes the compulsory agricultural census and farm structural survey that cover almost all farms in Scotland. In addition to farm owner demographics and farm business structures, we also ...
... This paper explores farming landscapes in Orkney, Scotland, focusing particularly on local responses to the rise of the environmental movement and agri-environmental schemes. It argues that where institutional designations of ‘nature’ tended to invoke a generalised temporal stasis, local and regional understandings of ‘landscape’ emphasise specific histories, transience, and movement. Seeking thes ...
... To date, agri-environment schemes (AES) have had limited success in reversing biodiversity loss over greater spatial extents than fields and farms, and vary widely in their cost-effectiveness. Here, over nine years, we make use of the management initiative of a farmer in an upland livestock farming landscape in Scotland, undertaken wholly outside AES, to examine its effect on breeding densities of ...
... Increasing forest cover has been the policy of various countries in recent decades. The Scottish government aims to increase national forest cover from 18% to 25% by 2050. Mid-altitude upland areas above farmland and below the natural tree line will be targeted for planting, which could impact black grouse Tetrao tetrix, a species of conservation concern which is most abundant in this zone. We use ...
... The European Union is committed to increasing the renewable energy produced and consumed within its territory, creating an opportunity and demand for renewable energy production on agricultural land. In this paper, Ajzen's theory of planned behaviour (TPB) is utilised to structure qualitative research on the role of renewable energy production in farm business decision-making, through a case study ...
... With climate change, coastal areas are faced with unprecedented sea level rise and flooding, raising questions as to how societies will choose to adapt. One option is to strengthen existing sea walls to maintain current land uses; however, scientists, policy-makers and conservationists increasingly see the benefits of managed realignment, which is a nature-based coastal adaptation that involves th ...
agricultural land; agronomy; climate change; forestry; grasses; grasslands; greenhouse gas emissions; greenhouse gases; land use; nitrous oxide; nutrient management; plant cultural practices; England; Scotland; Wales
Abstract:
... The aim of this paper is to assess the greenhouse gas (GHG) mitigation potential of croplands and grasslands in Great Britain under different management practices. We consider the feasible land management options for grass and cropland using county level land‐use data with estimates of per‐area mitigation potential for individual and total GHGs, to identify the land management options with the gre ...
... This article reviews historical changes in the total phosphorus (TP) inputs to Loch Leven, Scotland, UK. Data derived from palaeolimnological records suggest that inputs in the early 1900s were about 6 t TP yearâ1 (0.45 g TP mâ2 yearâ1). By 1985, this had risen to about 20 t TP yearâ1 (1.5 g TP mâ2 yearâ1) due to increases in runoff from agricultural land and discharges f ...
... The use of livestock manure as an organic fertiliser on agricultural land is an attractive alternative to synthetic fertiliser. The type of manure and the timing and method of application can however be crucial factors in reducing the extent of nitrogen lost from the system. This is important not only to enhance crop production, but in controlling gaseous emissions, including nitrous oxide (N2O) a ...
... Capsule: Herring Gull Larus argentatus colonies located along coastlines that are relatively sheltered from wave impact, associated with high intertidal prey availability, and with extensive farmland habitat in the vicinity, have increased in size over the last three decades. Aims: To investigate potential habitat drivers, associated with local food availability, of variation in Herring Gull colon ...
... The Permian sandstone and breccia aquifer of Dumfries has an important role in supplying water to the principal town in southwest Scotland. The area comprises mainly pastoral farmland with some industry and fish farming. Ongoing development of the aquifer has revealed the existence of complex groundwater flow through fractures and increasing nitrate concentrations. To further investigate these iss ...
... The influence of predators on the distribution, density and dynamics of their prey species has long been of interest to ecologists and wildlife managers. Where the prey population is also utilized by humans, conflicts may arise through competition for a limited resource. Because gamebird shooting in the UK provides employment, recreation and income, the impact of birds of prey on gamebird populati ...
Josie Geris; Lucile Verrot; Lei Gao; Xinhua Peng; Joseph Oyesiku-Blakemore; Jo U. Smith; Mark E. Hodson; Blair M. McKenzie; Ganlin Zhang; Paul D. Hallett
... Soil properties are often assumed to be static over time in hydrological studies, especially in hydrological modelling. Although it is well appreciated that soil structure and its impact on hydraulic properties are time-variable, particularly on cultivated land, very few studies have focused on quantifying the influence of such changes on soil hydrology, especially at the short term (i.e. seasonal ...
... Buffer strips alongside watercourses are a widely accepted method of reducing nutrient and sediment run-off from agricultural land thereby improving water quality. Little attention, however, has been paid to the ecological status of these areas despite the fact that riparian habitats in good condition can provide multiple benefits. We investigated vegetation patterns and plant–environment relation ...
... The Bronze Age in Britain was a time of major social and cultural changes, reflected in the division of the landscape into field systems and the establishment of new belief systems and ritual practices. Several hypotheses have been advanced to explain these changes, and assessment of many of them is dependent on the availability of detailed palaeoenvironmental data from the sites concerned. This p ...
... Extensification of grassland management has been put forward as a method of redressing the biodiversity losses seen in agricultural landscapes as a result of increases in production. However, there is little evidence for its success, particularly in upland areas. Two long-term (16 year) experiments at different sites compared extensive grazing, abandonment and continued intensive grazing, assessin ...
afforestation; agricultural land; biodiversity; case studies; developed countries; farms; landscapes; planting; public policy; recreation; socioeconomics; stakeholders; woodlands; Scotland
Abstract:
... Many conservation and restoration efforts in developed countries are increasingly based on the premise of recognising and stimulating more 'multi-functionality' in agricultural landscapes. Public policy making is often a pragmatic process that involves efforts to negotiate trade-offs between the potentially conflicting demands of various stakeholders. Conservationists' efforts to influence policy ...
... Multi-species indicators are often used to assess biodiversity trends. By combining population trends across several species they summarise trends across a community. Composite indicators such as these are useful for examining general temporal patterns and may suggest important drivers of biodiversity change. However, they may also mask substantial spatial variation in population trends, particula ...
afforestation; agricultural land; climate; climate change; flood control; floods; hydrologic models; land use change; risk; watershed management; watersheds; woodlands; Scotland
Abstract:
... A distributed hydrological model (WaSiM-ETH) was applied to a mesoscale catchment to investigate natural flood management as a nonstructural approach to tackle flood risks from climate change. Peak flows were modelled using climate projections (UKCP09) combined with afforestation-based land-use change options. A significant increase in peak flows was modelled from climate change. Afforestation cou ...
... The ability of wild indigenous legumes to form root nodules capable of biological nitrogen (N2) fixation has rarely been demonstrated for species in natural ecosystems in large parts of Europe. In order to understand and manage these ecosystems, it is important to demonstrate nodulation across a diverse range of environments, sites and climates. This study surveyed nodulation at a number of sites ...
... Predators will often respond to reductions in preferred prey by switching to alternative prey resources. However, this may not apply to all alternative prey groups in patchy landscapes. We investigated the demographic and aggregative numerical and functional responses of Common Buzzards Buteo buteo in relation to variations in prey abundance on a moor managed for Red Grouse Lagopus lagopus scotica ...
... Optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating of sand has been used to identify periods of enhanced aeolian activity at two coastal archaeological sites in Orkney that coincide with periods of Holocene climatic deterioration recorded elsewhere in both Scotland and W Europe. Areas of Tofts Ness, Sanday were settled from the Neolithic, abandoned in the late Neolithic/early Bronze Age, reoccupied an ...
... Capsule Population response of breeding waders to agri-environment management varied between management options and species; implementation has been on too small a scale to reverse national population declines.Aims To test whether numbers of five breeding wader species have shown a more positive response between 1992 and 2005, at sites with appropriate agri-environment management, than at sites th ...
... The decline of farmland birds across Europe is a well‐documented case of biodiversity loss, and despite land stewardship supported by funding from agri‐environment schemes (AES), the negative trends have not yet been reversed. To investigate the contribution of AES towards farmland bird conservation, we compared abundance of five farmland bird species across 13 years and 53 farms (158 farm years = ...
... Field-scale predictions of nitrate (NO₃) leaching from farmland are needed to enable zones vulnerable to ground or surface water pollution with NO₃ to be identified. Use of simple water, solute transport, and N dynamics models is one way of making these predictions. In this paper, linked water and solute transport models (WATBAL/TRANSOL) are calibrated for two important arable soil types in Scotla ...
Bryopsida; agricultural land; arable soils; environmental factors; grasslands; highlands; information management; land use change; linear models; livestock; multivariate analysis; prediction; species diversity; surveys; sward; vascular plants; weeds; Scotland
Abstract:
... Surveys of 87 sites within nine locations on Scottish agricultural land, during 1995-1997, recorded 335 species of vascular plants and 95 bryophyte species, within 31 recognisable plant communities. Multivariate analysis placed the vegetation into five main vegetation types, with differing plant species richness (S: number of species per 100 m2). These were upland grassland (mean S=37); mesotrophi ...
... The Corncrake Crex crex breeds mainly in managed grasslands in Europe. Agri-environment schemes (AES) were introduced in many European countries to protect broods from earlier and more frequent mowing. In order to assess the efficacy of these AES on the scale of regional populations, we obtained information on current AES options for Corncrakes in 33 countries and administrative regions within the ...
... 1. Riparian field margins (i.e. fenced off areas adjacent to watercourses) are becoming widespread in the UK as a means of mitigating diffuse pollution in intensive grasslands. By providing additional habitats for wildlife, they can potentially enhance farmland biodiversity. This study examined a range of riparian margins to determine their impact on invertebrates. 2. Over a 4‐year period, key inv ...
agricultural land; case studies; climate; climate change; computer software; decision making; food security; globalization; issues and policy; land classification; land use change; landscapes; socioeconomic factors; soil; space and time; topography; Scotland
Abstract:
... Land-use patterns are influenced by both top-down and bottom-up (local) factors, with their interactions varying in both space and time. This provides a major challenge to decision-making for sustainable multifunctional landscapes. A cross-scale scenario structure has been developed to integrate top-down and bottom-up context based upon the familiar IPCC Special Report on Emission Scenarios framew ...
agricultural land; sewage sludge; land application; heavy metals; groundwater contamination; soil pH; buffering capacity; risk; Scotland
Abstract:
... The projected increase in sewage sludge used on land within many countries in the European Community will provide a major source of entry for several heavy metals into the soil. Although the application rate of sewage sludge to agricultural land is constrained by maximum annual additions of heavy metals, there is a need to know the sensitivity of those soils to heavy metal inputs which are physica ...
agricultural land; watersheds; phosphorus; losses from soil; land use; soil types; streams; eutrophication; Scotland
Abstract:
... Phosphorus concentrations and outputs have been compared and contrasted in six small agricultural catchments in the west and northeast of Scotland. The loss of P from soils to stream waters was more from catchments with intensive dairy cattle farming in the west than from the less intensively stocked/arable catchments in the northeast, with striking differences being seen between the two regions. ...
Budiman Minasny; Brendan P. Malone; Alex B. McBratney; Denis A. Angers; Dominique Arrouays; Adam Chambers; Vincent Chaplot; Zueng-Sang Chen; Kun Cheng; Bhabani S. Das; Damien J. Field; Alessandro Gimona; Carolyn B. Hedley; Suk Young Hong; Biswapati Mandal; Ben P. Marchant; Manuel Martin; Brian G. McConkey; Vera Leatitia Mulder; Sharon O'Rourke; Anne C. Richer-de-Forges; Inakwu Odeh; José Padarian; Keith Paustian; Genxing Pan; Laura Poggio; Igor Savin; Vladimir Stolbovoy; Uta Stockmann; Yiyi Sulaeman; Chun-Chih Tsui; Tor-Gunnar Vågen; Bas van Wesemael; Leigh Winowiecki
agricultural soils; soil organic carbon; carbon sequestration; food security; anthropogenic activities; greenhouse gas emissions; issues and policy; climate; agricultural land; soil quality; best management practices; climate change; farmers; topsoil; soil profiles; United States; Australia; India; England; South Africa; Tanzania; New Zealand; Chile; France; Indonesia; Belgium; Ireland; Russia; South Korea; Scotland; Canada; China; Nigeria; Kenya
Abstract:
... The ‘4 per mille Soils for Food Security and Climate’ was launched at the COP21 with an aspiration to increase global soil organic matter stocks by 4 per 1000 (or 0.4 %) per year as a compensation for the global emissions of greenhouse gases by anthropogenic sources. This paper surveyed the soil organic carbon (SOC) stock estimates and sequestration potentials from 20 regions in the world (New Zea ...
... Habitat associations of farmland birds are well studied, yet few have considered relationships between species distribution and soil properties. Charadriiform waders (shorebirds) depend upon penetrable soils, rich in invertebrate prey. Many species, such as the Northern Lapwing Vanellus vanellus, have undergone severe declines across Europe, despite being targeted by agri‐environment measures. Thi ...
... Results are presented for a study of spatial distributions and temporal trends in concentrations of lead (Pb) from different sources in soil and vegetation of an arable farm in central Scotland in the decade since the use of leaded petrol was terminated. Isotopic analyses revealed that in all of the samples analysed, the Pb conformed to a binary mixture of petrol Pb and Pb from industrial or indig ...
Anser albifrons; adults; agricultural land; census data; extinction; flocks; geese; latitude; laws and regulations; multivariate analysis; nestlings; population growth; spring; surveys; survival rate; wintering grounds; Greenland; Ireland; Scotland
Abstract:
... After protection from hunting on the wintering range in 1982/83, complete surveys of Greenland white‐fronted geese at all known Irish and British wintering resorts have been carried out annually. These showed that this population increased by 5.0% per annum from 16,541 in spring 1983 to 30,459 in spring 1995, characterised by a 6.6% annual increase during 1982/83–1991/92, followed by a less rapid ...
... Biodiverse areas of traditional low-intensity agriculture in Europe, or ‘High Nature Value’ (HNV) farmland, are supported by European policy and government subsidies. However, HNV areas have declined in extent, contributing to biodiversity decline. If some traditional practices in HNV farmland could be modernised without reducing natural values, this could improve the economic viability of HNV far ...
... 1. Agricultural intensification and expansion are regarded as major causes of worldwide declines in biodiversity during the last century. Agri-environment schemes (AES) have been introduced in many countries as an attempt to counteract the negative effects of intensive agriculture by providing financial incentives for farmers to adopt environmentally-sensitive agricultural practices. 2. We surveye ...
agricultural land; biogeochemistry; data collection; databases; feeds; fertilizers; food waste; land use; landfills; phosphorus; river water; rivers; sewage; sewage sludge; soil; urban areas; wastewater; wastewater treatment; water quality; watersheds; England; Scotland; Wales
Abstract:
... A national river water quality database of total reactive phosphorus (TRP) and total phosphorus (TP) and flow was used, together with catchment characteristic datasets (soils, land use and hydroclimatic properties), to derive national fluvial phosphorus (P) flux estimates for Great Britain (England, Wales and Scotland) from 1974 to 2012. These fluvial P fluxes were compared with P imports and expo ...
agricultural land; agroecosystems; ponds; drainage channels; streams; rivers; lakes; species diversity; aquatic invertebrates; macrophytes; geographical variation; water flow; pesticides; spatial variation; acid soils; agrochemicals; England; Scotland; Wales
Abstract:
... This study analysed information from national and regional datasets gathered in Great Britain describing the occurrence of aquatic macroinvertebrates and macrophytes in ponds, ditches, streams, rivers and lakes, across 12 agricultural landscape classes and a 13th class comprising non-agricultural land. The study found major differences in the composition of the invertebrate faunas of running and s ...
... Questions: Can seed addition enhance the success of establishing species-rich grassland on former arable land? Are sowing date and cutting regime important in determining success?Location: Aberdeen and Elgin, northeast Scotland, United Kingdom. Methods: A field experiment was conducted at two sites to assess the effect of seed addition, sowing date and cutting regime on the vegetation developing o ...
agricultural land; decision making; ecosystem services; farm income; farming systems; farms; food production; issues and policy; land use; landscape management; managers; planting; public services and goods; woodlands; Scotland
Abstract:
... The growing demand for a wide range of private and public goods and services from a finite land resource is increasingly challenging for planners at local, regional, national and international scales. The Scottish Government's development of a Land Use Strategy has given salience to resolving conflicts and enhancing synergies in land use. In Scotland, the poorest quality farmland is often designat ...
aesthetics; agricultural land; capital; cross cultural studies; farmers; farming systems; landscapes; social capital; Germany; Scotland
Abstract:
... Studies of landscape aesthetics based on photographic assessment indicate that farmers have a unique perspective—seeing beauty in the same ordered and controlled arable agricultural landscapes that almost all other publics find monotonous and boring. This paper uses Bourdieu's theory of capital to explore why farmers hold this perspective. Interpretations farmers place on ‘tidy’ features such as s ...
... Agroforestry has a potentially important role in helping agriculture address both the climate and biodiversity crises. It provides a means of producing additional marketable goods from agricultural land and enhancing biodiversity at the same time as increasing carbon sequestration and, in silvo-pastural systems, reducing carbon emissions if livestock stocking rates are reduced. However, the uptake ...
agricultural land; biosolids; cadmium; decision making; food production; human food chain; land use; prototypes; spatial data; stakeholders; wastes; Scotland
Abstract:
... There is a complex relationship between land-use, the environment, food production and quality. Regulatory and non-regulatory interventions, such as application of biosolids to agricultural land, are often undertaken at a field- or farm- level and the aggregated effects across farms and regions are difficult to understand, predict, and communicate to others both spatially and temporally. The aim o ...
land use change; planning; forests; species dispersal; land policy; agricultural land; landscapes; niches; soil properties; climate change; forest habitats; woodlands; land values; risk reduction; climate; food prices; Scotland
Abstract:
... Landscape adaptation to climate change requires policies that facilitate species dispersal, to counteract the effects of fragmentation and allow tracking of a species’ ‘climatic niche’. Expanding existing ecological networks is often proposed as a measure to maintain functional connectivity for forest species in multi-functional landscapes. In the next decades, however, such networks will be threa ...