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Exploring Scotland

The relationship between the Soil and Scottish landscape, is at times simple, in others exceedingly complex.

March 3, 2023
Scotland’s water sector leaders, from academia to industry and government, will gather in Edinburgh tomorrow [22nd March ] to discuss how Scottish innovation and cooperation can safeguard global water sustainability and resilience. The...
February 2, 2023
Faithful+Gould has been selected by The James Hutton Institute as the project manager for its new Just Transition Hub in Aberdeen, following the award of £7.2 million for the project from the Scottish Government late last year. As project...
February 2, 2023
A shift to hybrid working practices following the coronavirus pandemic has led to some people swapping city living for country life. Now an international project will explore the scale, and pros and cons, of urban migration into rural, island and...
February 2, 2023
The James Hutton institute’s head of forensic science, principal scientist Professor Lorna Dawson, has been appointed as a commissioner on the UK’s Food, Farming and Countryside Commission (FFCC). The FFCC, which delivered the...
November 11, 2022
Researchers from the James Hutton Institute will form a partnership with a project team aiming to develop a framework for an eco-directed formulary that will incorporate environmental data on medicines into the prescribing process, alongside...
November 11, 2022
The UK’s Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council has awarded £609K to a collaborative partnership led by the James Hutton Institute to understand how a tree’s microbiomes (the bacteria, fungi and viruses that...
October 10, 2022
Scientists at James Hutton Institute, the independent research organisation, have been awarded over £13million from the Scottish Government’s Just Transition fund to establish two pioneering action-based research science projects in...
October 10, 2021
Over the next four years the James Hutton Institute, NatureScot, the UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (UKCEH) and the University of Stirling will work in partnership to restore habitats across the Forth catchment area.
October 10, 2021
Until July 2022, the James Hutton Institute’s Aberdeen site will host Compass, a sculpture by Scottish artist Annie Cattrell that draws inspiration from Scottish geology and James Hutton’s Theory of the Earth, specifically Siccar...
July 7, 2021
Would you like to climb a mountain in the Cairngorms this summer in the name of science? The James Hutton Institute have partnered with Plantlifeto discover more about the fungi that lie beneath the surface of the 58 Munros of the Cairngorms...
April 4, 2021
Researchers from the James Hutton Institute are deploying aerial mapping technology to collect data on the natural restoration of peatland at the Queen’s Balmoral Estate in Scotland. A survey aircraft equipped with advanced laser scanners...
January 1, 2021
Small mammals, such as mice and shrews, can occur in large numbers and play a crucial role in ecosystem functioning. They can drive predator populations and generate cascading effects on many prey species. They are also difficult to survey due to...
December 12, 2020
Many of Scotland’s iconic landscapes and natural habitats have intolerable nitrogen levels according to a report released by Plantlife Scotland today. Endorsed by the James Hutton Institute and produced using some of its data, the report...
April 4, 2020
Social science at the James Hutton Institute may provide an insight into how rural Scotland can and will likely respond to the COVID-19 outbreak. These research findings bring into focus the importance of community resilience, discuss the impact...
October 10, 2019
A blog created in celebration of Deeside’s wildlife, and Inspired by the BBC’s ‘Watches’ series has been launched by the Dee Catchment Partnership. “DeeWatch”, aims to encourage locals to explore Deeside by...
October 10, 2019
Social scientists based at the James Hutton Institute have pioneered the use of video as a participatory research technique in Scotland, in the context of a project aiming to understand the way the people of Cumbernauld connect with the green...
August 8, 2019
Rewilding in the Scottish uplands could take decades without the intervention of land managers, a new long-term grazing experiment at Glen Finglas has shown. The experiment, the first of its kind in Scotland, was set up in 2002 to explore how...
July 7, 2019
The North East Scotland Biodiversity Partnership (NESBiP) is delighted to announce the appointment of Alex Stuart as their new coordinator. Previously employed by Aberdeen City Council Ranger Service in Duthie Park, Alex will bring experience of...
July 7, 2019
Two projects aimed at restoring biodiversity in the River Dee catchment will receive more than £350,000 from a new competitive national fund from Scottish Natural Heritage. The Aberdeenshire projects were selected alongside 12 others across...
December 12, 2018
  What is the story with woodlands in the Cairngorms National Park? Or should we say, what are the stories, as there are many threads of stories of actual, former or speculative woodlands weaving in and out that make this area what it...
June 6, 2018
The UK Alpine Ecology Network was formed in 2018 as a means of bringing together scientists, conservationists and land managers with an interest in the ecology of alpine ecosystems across the UK. Membership is open to anyone with an interest in...
March 3, 2018
Orla Shortall of the James Hutton Institute’s Social, Economic and Geographical Sciences group has been awarded a British Academy Postdoctoral Fellowship. The Fellowship enables early-career academics in the humanities and social sciences...
March 3, 2018
Come and spend a fun family day at Glensaugh Farm! The Institute will be taking part in Open Farm Sunday 2018 on 10 June.
September 9, 2016

Podzols (Research Page)

The name Podzol is derived from the Russian words pod = under and zola = ash. Podzols are widespread throughout Scotland, generally associated with acid parent material and semi-natural heath or coarse grassland vegetation and coniferous...
September 9, 2016

Peaty Podzols (Research Page)

September 9, 2016

Peaty Gleys (Research Page)

September 9, 2016

Organic Soils (Research Page)

September 9, 2016

Humus-Iron Podzols (Research Page)

September 9, 2016

Gleys (Research Page)

Gley soil with very poor drainage and significant peat development on surface often referred to as a peaty gley. The name gley is derived from the Russian words glei = compact bluish-grey.
September 9, 2016

Noncalcareous Gleys (Research Page)

Gley soil with very poor drainage and significant peat development on surface often referred to as a peaty gley.
September 9, 2016

Brown Forest Soils (Research Page)

September 9, 2016

Brown Earths (Research Page)

Doune Series: Brown forest soil developed on acidic, fluvioglacial deposits
September 9, 2016

Blanket Peats (Research Page)

September 9, 2016

Alpine Soils (Research Page)

Wind-blasted vegetation on Cairngorm plateau
September 9, 2016

Rendzinas (Research Page)

Characteristics of Rendzinas Shallow soils with solid or fragmented calcareous rock at depth Soils of limited extent in Scotland, confined to areas of limestone rock Soils have a mineral surface horizon with prominent crumb structure...
September 9, 2016

Rankers (Research Page)

Resting on bedrock within 30cms depth.
September 9, 2016

Links Soils (Research Page)

Links soil developed under forestry (Culbin Forest, Morayshire) showing weakly developed prodzol under vegetation. Note - buried profile with weak horizon differentiation.
September 9, 2016

Immature Soils (Research Page)

Such soils are represented by a broad class of shallow or weakly developed soils including alluvial soils, soils developed on coastal dunes and in relatively flat areas of blown sand, called links or machair ion Scotland and shallow soils resting...
September 9, 2016

Alluvial Soils (Research Page)

Imperfectly draining, fine-textured alluvial soil with weak horizon differentiation.
September 9, 2016

Soil Distribution (Research Page)

September 9, 2016

Torridon (Research Page)

DERIVATION: Pre-Cambrian rocks of the Torridonian Formation.
September 9, 2016

Thurso (Research Page)

DERIVATION: Sandstones and flagstones of Middle Old Red Sandstone age (Caithness Flagstones in Caithness, Rousay Flags and Stromness Flags in Orkney).
September 9, 2016

Tarves (Research Page)

DERIVATION: Mixed acid and basic metamorphic and igneous rocks, locally from intermediate metamorphic and igneous rocks e.g.hornblende-schist, biotite-gneiss and diorite.
September 9, 2016

Strichen (Research Page)

DERIVATION: Acid rocks; mainly acid schists, schistose grits and granulites of the Dalradian.
September 9, 2016

Sourhope (Research Page)

DERIVATION: Lavas of andesitic composition associated with sediments of Lower Old Red Sandstone age (also associated with granitic masses at Cheviot and in Argyll).
September 9, 2016

Rowanhill (Research Page)

DERIVATION: Sandstones and shales with some limestones and coals, all rocks of Carboniferous age.
September 9, 2016

Lochinver (Research Page)

DERIVATION: Gneisses and schists of Lewisian age, acid, basic and intermediate composition.
September 9, 2016

Foundland (Research Page)

DERIVATION: Slates, phyllites and other weakly metamorphosed argillaceous rocks, including andalusite-schists, fine-grained mica schists and block schists of the Dalradian series.
September 9, 2016

Ettrick (Research Page)

DERIVATION: Ordovician and Silurian greywackes and shales.
September 9, 2016

Durnhill (Research Page)

DERIVATION: Quartzites and quartzose grits.
September 9, 2016

Darleith (Research Page)

DERIVATION: Basaltic lavas and various igneous rocks e.g. dolerites, agglomerates.
September 9, 2016

Corby (Research Page)

DERIVATION: Acid rocks, mainly schists and granites. TYPES OF PARENT MATERIALS MAPPED: Fluvioglacial sands and gravels, raised beach terraces
September 9, 2016

Countesswells (Research Page)

DERIVATION: Granite or granitic gneiss rock
September 9, 2016

Balrownie (Research Page)

DERIVATION: Old Red Sandstone rocks, principally sandstone with some erratics of Dalradian schist
September 9, 2016

Arkaig (Research Page)

Derivation: Schists, gneisses, granulites and quartzites, principally of the Moine Assemblage.
September 9, 2016

Soil Texture (Research Page)

Soil Particles and Texture Soils are generally a mixture of Sand / Silt and Clay Texture refers to the overall feel of the soil, which reflects the proportion of sand, silt and clay particles, and often the amount of organic matter mixed...
September 9, 2016

Soil and Time (Research Page)

September 9, 2016

Topography (Research Page)

Block diagram of soil depth within Highland environment. A hydrologic soil sequence in permeable parent material The configuration of the land influences the drainage and the subsequent formation of the soil:
September 9, 2016

Soil Climate (Research Page)

Climate affects soil formation through local differences in precipitation (snowfall and rainfall) and temperature. It also indirectly influences the soil by determining the mass and distribution of plant communities, the soil water balance over...
September 9, 2016

Soil Parent Material (Research Page)

September 9, 2016
DUNELANDS Areas of windblown sand, generally near coasts and having distinctive, though varied dune landforms are characteristic of this category. Vegetation cover may be incomplete so that bare sand is exposed, in other instances dunes are...
September 9, 2016

Land Cover Surveys (Research Page)

Land cover describes the principal features and characteristics of the countryside. Data on land cover, both in map and statistical format, is essential to assess the stock and distribution of landscape features as well as the determination of...
September 9, 2016

Woodland (Research Page)

In general terms there are two dominant woodland types, broadleaved and coniferous.
September 9, 2016

Wetland (Research Page)

September 9, 2016

Smooth Grassland (Research Page)

September 9, 2016

Montane Vegetation (Research Page)

September 9, 2016

LCS88 Dataset (Research Page)

The LCS dataset was completed after three distinct work phases:
September 9, 2016

Miscellaneous Categories (Research Page)

September 9, 2016

Heather Moorland (Research Page)

September 9, 2016

Coarse Grassland (Research Page)

Flying bent (Molinia caerulea) or white bent (Nardus stricta) predominate and plant communities include these plant species with some bog myrtle (Myrica gale) present in western areas. 
September 9, 2016

Bracken (Research Page)

September 9, 2016

Blanket Bog and Peatland (Research Page)

September 9, 2016
An extensive feature, agricultural land comprises land formed in a rotation of arable crops and short-ley grassland. Crops include cereals, potatoes, root crops, field vegetables, oil seed rape, field soft fruits and fodder crops.
August 8, 2016

Mixed Agriculture (Research Page)

Land capable of supporting Mixed Agriculture (Class 3.2 to Class 4.2) Distribution of land capable of supporting mixed agriculture in Scotland which covers 1,541,100 hectares or 20 per cent of Scotland's land area.
August 8, 2016

Improved Grassland (Research Page)

Land capable of supporting Improved Grassland (Class 5.1 to Class 5.3)
August 8, 2016

Arable Agriculture (Research Page)

Land capable of supporting Arable Agriculture (Class 1 to Class 3.1) The distribution of land capable of supporting arable agriculture in Scotland which covers 625,800 hectares or 8 per cent of Scotland's land area
August 8, 2016

Rough Grazing (Research Page)

Land capable of supporting only Rough Grazing (Class 6.1 to Class 7) Distribution of land capable of supporting only rough grazing in Scotland which covers 4.035,800 hectares or 51 per cent of Scotland's land area.
August 8, 2016

Waste Utilisation (Research Page)

Changes in the EU and UK regulatory framework mean that alternatives to landfill and dumping at sea must be found for a range of organic wastes. Recycling to land is a favoured option, but there are both associated benefits and risks,...
August 8, 2016

Nitrate Vulnerable Zones (Research Page)

The leaching of nitrate to both ground and surface waters is a natural consequence of agricultural activity but excessive levels of nitrates can alter the natural ecology of rivers and pollute drinking waters. 
August 8, 2016
This classification groups land according to the degree of limitation imposed by biophysical factors on agriculture. It is used by Scottish Goverment and planning authorities when development or other changes to agricultural land are proposed.
August 8, 2016
There is a wide range of pressures on the environment that may restrict or confine our use of the land in the future. Using this as a guide on the meaning of sustainable use we can start to identify and minimise the risk of any pressure adversely...
August 8, 2016

Increasing Biodiversity (Research Page)

August 8, 2016

Forestry Potential (Research Page)

This classification classifies land according to the degree of limitation imposed by biophysical factors on economic forestry activities.
August 8, 2016

Climate Change (Research Page)

Climate change and carbon emissions
August 8, 2016

Acid Rain (Research Page)

August 8, 2016

Southern Uplands (Research Page)

August 8, 2016

The Islands (Research Page)

August 8, 2016

Eastern Coastal Lowlands (Research Page)

August 8, 2016

Highlands (Research Page)

August 8, 2016

Central Lowlands (Research Page)

Rolling hills within Glen Devon, south of Gleneagles
July 7, 2016
July 7, 2016

Soils and Sustainability (Research Page)

Soils fulfil a number of ecological and other functions more directly related to human activity most soils support more than one function at a time. These functions can be grouped into 6 categories:
July 7, 2016
July 7, 2016
July 7, 2016

Soils – Introduction (Research Page)

February 2, 2014
The relationship between the Soil and Scottish landscape, is at times simple, in others exceedingly complex.

Printed from /category/tags/exploring-scotland on 19/03/24 05:24:35 AM

The James Hutton Research Institute is the result of the merger in April 2011 of MLURI and SCRI. This merger formed a new powerhouse for research into food, land use, and climate change.