Scottish researchers are playing a key role in a UK-wide project aimed at transforming grasslands for net zero.
SRUC scientists based in the Highlands and Aberdeen will measure greenhouse gas emissions from grazing livestock, as well as analyse soil health and carbon storage in lowland and upland grass.
At SRUC’s Hill & Mountain Research Centre near Loch Lomond, scientists will assess effects of different grazing strategies in upland lamb production on soil, greenhouse gas emissions, productivity and efficiency.
Self-selection of where to graze by individuals within the flock of 600 hill sheep will be monitored via animal locational recording and GPS tracking. Methane emissions will be measured from individual sheep using the portable GreenSheep facility, alongside growth, body conditions, maternal traits, and welfare.
On SRUC’s farm in Aberdeen, the project will utilise a long-term experiment to investigate the carbon storage potential of short-term leys in arable rotations. This experiment offers a unique opportunity to follow grazed mixed herbal leys through their lifetime and subsequent incorporation for arable production. Gaseous losses of carbon and nitrogen will be measured throughout the entire rotation.
‘This a really exciting project where we are able to contribute a considerable range of expertise, across grasslands, ecology, animal science and modelling, in helping to truly understand the climate change mitigation potential of UK grassland,’ said Professor Christine Watson, who is leading the SRUC research.
SRUC will also lead one of six UK Land Use Clusters for Agroecology (LUCAs), each designed to engage with a range of farmers and land managers.
The Scottish cluster will address the use of rotational grazing and agri-tech for improved grassland management and understanding the role of vegetation type in soil carbon storage.
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