February
2013
Integrated scientific solutions
to support water issues
Water shortages and drought are the greatest
threats facing global food security. At the Institute
we combine plant and soil sciences to identify crop
traits and production systems that can maintain crop
yield and quality under decreased water availability.
We also investigate the complex issues surrounding
freshwater. For example, experts from the Centre of
Expertise for Waters (CREW), which we manage on
behalf of the Scottish Government, produced “The
Value of Scotland’s Water Resources” in February 2013
to help inform the stage three debate of the Water
Resources (Scotland) Bill in the Scottish Parliament.
It summarised current academic thinking and evidence
on the value of water resources and resulted in an
amendment recognising its broader economic, social
and environmental values.
First steps to evaluate the potential impact
of Ash Dieback in the UK
The country’s woodlands are facing the major new
threat of Ash Dieback, which destroyed 60–90% of
all ash trees in Denmark. We were commissioned
to conduct vital research on its potential impact on
biodiversity in a project funded by the Joint Nature
Conservation Committee, Forestry Commission, SNH,
Natural England, Natural Resources Wales and the
Northern Ireland Environment Agency. An important
wider context is that some Danish ash trees appear to
have survived attack, raising hopes that these could
populate future woodlands. Other UK scientists have
sequenced the genome of a resistant Danish ash
tree, a native English ash and samples of fungus from
infected trees. Further research is absolutely vital to
ensure the future of ash tree populations in the UK.
Boy from Orkney wins Water Works
photography competition
Schools around the country were engaged in the
complex issues of water use and management
thanks to a photography competition run by CREW.
The competition raised awareness of how much
humans rely on water and consequent environmental,
monetary and social impacts; it was appropriate
that the winning photograph featured a flooded
pumping station, by Orkney boy John Smith, in a year
characterised by severely wet weather.
New grants for the Isle of Lewis
The Lewis Endowment Fund is a benefaction left by
TB Macaulay and is managed by the Institute due to
our partial origins in the Macaulay Institute. It makes
annual grant awards to projects that will benefit
the Isle of Lewis, particularly the development of
agriculture and other land-based enterprises. This
year, the Lewis and Harris Auction Mart received
funding for additional secure penning space for 1,000
sheep and up to 50 cattle, and Macaulay College
received a grant to start a new project – Back to Roots
– to grow fruit and vegetables as a complement to
other activities.
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scientific papers were
published 2012/13 at our Institute
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