Blogs

A first step in potentially restoring a degraded watercourse in Deeside has been given the green light thanks to an £84,000 funding boost from the Scottish Government’s Nature Restoration Fund, managed by NatureScot.

The Tarland Burn, which flows into the River Dee at Aboyne, is classified as having ecologically low status due to its water quality, shape of beds and banks, and disconnection from the surrounding floodplain.

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this blog post are the views of the author(s), and not an official position of the institute or funder.

A warm February has meant that this winter was the 9th warmest since our weather records began in 1954, despite also being the 13th coldest in that time, our latest air mean temperature data show.

The data, gathered at our Invergowrie site, close to Dundee, also showed that despite December being the 12th wettest on record, with 105.6 mm of rain recorded, only 168.9 mm of rain was recorded across the winter months (December to February).  

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this blog post are the views of the author(s), and not an official position of the institute or funder.

Over recent years, major flood events like Storm Frank have caused significant and long-lasting disruption to lives in north-east Scotland. It’s not a localized problem. Around the world there have been unprecedented flood events, for example the devastating flooding in Pakistan in October 2022, in which more than 1,700 people died. 

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this blog post are the views of the author(s), and not an official position of the institute or funder.

Uploaded on behalf of Donald Barrie, Farm Manager, Glensaugh

Pregnancy scanning of ewes, a key event in Glensaugh’s livestock calendar, took place in January. This allows us to separate singles, twins and triplets and feed according to nutritional need. Nutrition is key to successful livestock husbandry, but allied to this is disease control.

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this blog post are the views of the author(s), and not an official position of the institute or funder.

Researchers at The James Hutton Institute in Aberdeen are searching for conventional dairy farmers in Aberdeenshire, Moray, Angus and Stirlingshire to take part in a study of antimicrobial resistance on farms.

The Scottish Government funded work, in partnership with microbiologists at The Rowett Institute, hopes to better understand links between antimicrobial use and antimicrobial resistance on farms in Scotland.

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this blog post are the views of the author(s), and not an official position of the institute or funder.

Posted on behalf of Diana Valero, Rowan Ellis, Rebecca Gray

A year ago, Storm Arwen battered Scotland with gales of almost 100km. The northeast region was particularly badly hit. Thousands of households in Aberdeenshire lost their power and water supplies and, for some, this situation lasted for days.

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this blog post are the views of the author(s), and not an official position of the institute or funder.

"The goal was to promote the use of economic experiments in interdisciplinary research on land and resource use in rural Scotland"

By Peter Cock, James Gurd, Laure Kuhfuss and Simone Piras

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this blog post are the views of the author(s), and not an official position of the institute or funder.

"This change in human-nature relationships is a shift from passive enjoyment of the outdoors to becoming embedded in nature"

By Laura MacLean, Phoebe Somervail, Hannah Hasler, Anna Conniff and Kate Irvine

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this blog post are the views of the author(s), and not an official position of the institute or funder.