Scottish Government Strategic Research Programme:2016-21
The Scottish Government is investing around £48m a year over 2016-2021 into a portfolio of Strategic Research to ensure that Scotland maintains its position at the very cutting edge of advances in agriculture, food and the environment. This will continue to build an evidence base to support policy needs in the rural affairs, food and environment portfolio and contribute to the delivery of National Outcomes and the Scottish Government's Purpose.
July 7, 2021
A new website which brings together thousands of research publications, dating back centuries to the present day, has been launched by six Scottish Government funded partners.
July 7, 2021
New social research conducted by the James Hutton Institute for the Scottish Government’s National Islands Plan paints a mixed picture of life in Scotland’s islands: while most respondents rate their local environment very highly and...
May 5, 2021
The historical ‘forest gardens’ of Guadeloupe, an overseas region of France, have provided the inspiration for a research group studying the feasibility of small-scale production systems in the area. The region is one of the world...
May 5, 2021
A new research project involving 39 partners from 19 countries and including James Hutton Institute scientists has received €10 million from the European Union. The Horizon 2020 funded project FireEUrisk, launching this month, aims to shift...
April 4, 2021
Assessing the impacts of lime application to pastures on soils, biodiversity, and forage quality (Project)
In the UK the addition of lime to agricultural land was strongly encouraged by Government subsidy payments to farmers, but since subsidies ceased in the late 1970’s the application of lime has declined with subsequent acidification of many...
February 2, 2021
To mark the International Day of Women and Girls in Science, the James Hutton Institute is highlighting its ‘Women in Science’ booklet, which spotlights the roles of 21 of its 204 female scientists. The collection illustrates some of...
February 2, 2021
Professor Lorna Dawson, Head of Soil Forensics at the James Hutton Institute, has been recognised as Soil Forensic Expert Witness of the Year in the Corporate INTL 2021 Global Awards.
The awards are the result of an extensive review,...
October 10, 2020
The James Hutton Institute has today announced the appointment of a new Chair for the Institute Board.
September 9, 2020
Social scientists at the James Hutton Institute have developed a novel method to estimate future demographic change in Scotland’s sparsely populated areas, by considering geographical differences in employment structures and regional...
July 7, 2020
Professor Lorna Dawson of the James Hutton Institute has been recognised as Soil Forensic Expert Witness of the Year at Global Law Experts (GLE) Awards. Professor Dawson has more than 30 years’ experience in managing and conducting research...
October 10, 2019
Wading birds are an important part of Scotland’s natural and cultural heritage but, like many species of birds, waders are in decline. Since 1994 curlews have declined by 60%, and lapwings numbers have halved over the same time period. The...
October 10, 2019
Enhancing food security (Project)
The Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act 2015 requires every local authority to prepare a food growing strategy for its region to identify areas that could be used to grow food, and to describe how community growing, especially in areas which...
June 6, 2019
Summary
This project aimed to establish a robust approach for adapting the Canadian Fire Weather Index (a forest fire danger rating system) to Scottish moorland vegetation types. This involved determining the suitability of existing system...
May 5, 2019
Fruit for the Future 2019 (Event)
Fruit for the Future is one of the James Hutton Institute’s most successful and long-running industry events and is aimed at farmers, agronomists, representatives of the food and drink industries, researchers and others interested in soft...
May 5, 2019
The James Hutton Institute is teaming up with Soil Association Scotland and Scotland's Rural College for a special crofting meeting of the Plant Teams Field Lab event series on the Isle of Lismore, looking at how intercropping can help...
April 4, 2019
Urban Greenspace provides many benefits to urban residents, including access to areas for recreation and socialising, as well as providing areas for biodiversity, carbon sequestration, or flood regulation. As populations become more urbanised the...
March 3, 2019
As part of Scotland’s continued efforts to become the world’s first Hydro Nation – one that manages its water environment to the best advantage and uses its expertise at home and internationally - the James Hutton Institute has...
January 1, 2019
Potato tuber skin and flesh colours are attractive traits for consumers and frequently influence purchase choices. In a new study, scientists of the James Hutton Institute have identified a genetic molecule that regulates the production of ...
November 11, 2018
The James Hutton Institute has won a VIBES – Scottish Environment Business award in the Adaptation to Climate Change category, on account of the work of Hutton researchers in farm innovations to protect the environment, renewable energy...
October 10, 2018
Delineating critical zones of riparian processes and setting effective buffer areas using spatial data (Research Page)
Introduction
The riparian zone occupies the critical interface between land and watercourses where processes have great potential to influence stream and river biogeochemical and ecological conditions and is a key management location. Riparian...
September 9, 2018
Hutton scientist Peter Orrell and his product MycoNourish have been announced as runners-up in the 2018 Converge Challenge, Scotland's leading higher education company creation programme, at a ceremony held yesterday in Edinburgh’s...
September 9, 2018
The transformational power of the first-ever dedicated design museum in Scotland and the only other V&A museum anywhere in the world outside London was beyond doubt, even before it opened. The James Hutton Institute would like to commend and...
September 9, 2018
Over 300 members of the conservation community will meet at the Nature of Scotland Awards 2018 ceremony to celebrate the people and projects that are going the extra mile to support Scottish nature conservation, with the James Hutton Institute...
September 9, 2018
The James Hutton Institute is teaming with Soil Association Scotland and Scotland's Rural College to work with farmers in a Field Lab to trial crop mixtures or ‘plant teams’. Field Labs are free to attend and open to all land...
September 9, 2018
Work by James Hutton Institute water researchers has been reflected in the latest Scotland: The Hydro Nation Annual Report, which provides an outline of activities carried out by the Scottish Government and partners under the Hydro Nation agenda...
September 9, 2018
Modelling of phosphorus pollution risk to watercourses in Scotland using Bayesian Belief Networks (Research Page)
PhosphoRisk model
Phosphorus (P) pollution is a major cause of surface water quality failures in Scotland. However, process-based modelling of P pollution is often hampered by lack of available data that would allow plausible representation of...
September 9, 2018
Modelling the hydrological effects of in-channel leaky barriers for flood risk and natural flood management (Research Page)
Background
In-stream ‘leaky barrier’ placement (e.g. log jams, flow restrictors) for reducing flood risk downstream has become more common. Accurate numerical modelling of their effects on water flow, is useful for predicting...
September 9, 2018
Shandong Academy of Agricultural Sciences and James Hutton Institute establish collaborative links (News)
A Memorandum of Understanding has been signed between the Shandong Academy of Agricultural Sciences, China, and the James Hutton Institute, during the 2018 UK-China Potato Science and Technology Innovation Cooperation Conference, held in Shandong...
September 9, 2018
MycoNourish, a product designed by Hutton scientist Peter Orrell, has been announced as finalist of the Converge Challenge 2018, Scotland's leading higher education company creation programme.
September 9, 2018
Scientists from the James Hutton Institute have found that waters in Scottish rivers are reaching record-breaking warm temperatures, which may have implications for rural economies across the country.
By comparing historical records kept by the...
September 9, 2018
The James Hutton Institute and its commercial subsidiary, James Hutton Limited, have welcomed a deal which will allow the UK to export seed potato to China.
The agreement, signed by International Trade Secretary Dr Liam Fox during a recent...
July 7, 2018
Farmers and land managers can improve agricultural productivity by using crop mixtures and taking into consideration the role of evolution in shaping the plants they grow, new research by James Hutton Institute scientists and partners at ETH...
March 3, 2018
New research commissioned by the Scottish Government and conducted by the James Hutton Institute estimates that Scotland’s sparsely populated areas are at risk of losing more than a quarter of their population by 2046 if current demographic...
March 3, 2018
June 6, 2017
To help reverse the widespread declines in biodiversity seen over the last century, a range of agri-environmental schemes have been run in Scotland; currently efforts fall under the Agri-Environment and Climate Scheme (AECS) that forms part of...
June 6, 2017
Managing the uplands for biodiversity (Project)
Management of the uplands is largely carried out through manipulating the numbers of livestock and of wild herbivores such as red deer. Changes in livestock numbers over recent years have been driven through changing methods and rates of...
June 6, 2017
Monitoring & Evaluation (M&E) is an essential part of the process of adaptive management, the process of learning from our actions in order to update and improve future ecosystem management. Across Europe we have a number of...
May 5, 2017
RD 1.1.4 Soil management (Project)
Soils provide a range of benefits for society including growing crops and timber, regulating water flow, and storing carbon. However, these functions face threats from soil erosion, compaction, contamination, and losses to urban...
May 5, 2017
May 5, 2017
Managing ecosystems to avoid exceeding national, and ultimately planetary, boundaries will inevitably involve trade-offs and synergies between different ecosystem services. Maximising one benefit (e.g. provision of food) may be traded-off against...
April 4, 2017
What makes a system resilient, and how can we manage for resilience?
April 4, 2017
RD 1.3.2 Ecosystem services provision (Project)
Using a range of innovative tools and techniques, our research explores the impact of management interventions on ecosystem services. We focus on the ecosystem services provided by woodland and semi-natural (upland) habitats. Our work on...
March 3, 2017
Businesses, charities, communities and policy-makers will benefit from easier access to environmental and agricultural research carried out in Scotland, thanks to a collective launched today.
The collective – called Scottish Environment,...
March 3, 2017
This Work Package addresses the challenge of protecting and restoring our natural capital – our biodiversity and ecosystems - by combining information on ecosystem function, delivery of benefits, resilience, and management practices.
March 3, 2017
Work Package 1.2: Water (Project)
The work package combines evidence from catchment sites and experimental studies, catchment-scale modelling (assessing current water quantity and quality responses to pressures and predictions of future change), case studies of water issues...
March 3, 2017
Work Package 1.1: Soils (Project)
Our soils provide many services or functions, for example soils are essential for crop production but they also play an unseen role in limiting diffuse pollution to waters, storing organic carbon and reducing Green House Gas emissions to...
March 3, 2017
Our natural resources benefit society in many ways. Therefore, to achieve economic, social and environmental sustainability, management of natural resources must connect and consider multiple goals and issues. However, many existing...
February 2, 2017
Behaviours in relation to rural diffuse pollution (Research Page)
Significant efforts and resources have been deployed to mitigate rural diffuse pollution through regulatory, guidance and voluntary measures. Despite these ongoing efforts, rural diffuse pollution remains a persisten problem. In Scotland, the...
December 12, 2016
Objectives
To work with a range of regional to national level stakeholder involved in the management of land and water resources in Scotland to understand what is needed to aid landscape scale outcome-based approaches.
October 10, 2016
Payments for Ecosystem Services: Lessons (Project)
Payment for Ecosystem Services (PESS) schemes are based on voluntary payment arrangements between individual beneficiaries and service providers to establish or increase the supply of an ecosystem service.
August 8, 2016
There have been decades of calls for more joined up approaches to water and catchment management, i.e. approaches that integrate multiple interests and objectives. However, integration is a word that can be interpreted in many ways, and...
