Publications

Abstract The aim of this paper is to assess the greenhouse gas (GHG) mitigation potential of croplands and grasslands in Great Britain under different management practices. We consider the feasible land management options for grass and cropland using county level land‐use data with estimates of per‐area mitigation potential for individual and total GHGs, to identify the land management options with the greatest cost‐effective mitigation potential. We show that for grasslands, uncertainties still remain on the mitigation potential because of their climatic sensitivity and also their less intensive management. For croplands in Great Britain, the technical mean GHG mitigation potentials for all cropland management practices range from 17 Mt CO 2 ‐eq. per 20 yr to 39 Mt CO 2 ‐eq. per 20 yr. There are significant regional variation in all cases, with the greatest potentials in England, negligible potential in Wales and intermediate potential in Scotland, with country differences largely driven by the areas of cropland and grassland in each country. Practices such as agronomic improvement and nutrient management are the most promising options because of their impact on N 2 O emissions and also their larger potential at low cost. In terms of annual emissions from agriculture, calculated mitigation potentials are small, where the technical mitigation potential of agronomy and nutrient management strategies are ca. 4.5 and 3.8%, respectively (agricultural emissions account for ca. 9% or 47.7 Mt CO 2 ‐eq., of total Great Britain GHG emissions, Department of Energy and Climate Change, UK). However when compared with the land use, land‐use change and forestry sector (LULUCF) emissions, nutrient management would reduce further emission reductions by approximately half of the 2005 LULUCF sink (i.e. −1.6 Mt CO 2 ‐eq. per year).

Abstract The importance of soils to society has gained increasing recognition over the past decade, with the potential to contribute to most of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). With unprecedented and growing demands for food, water and energy, there is an urgent need for a global effort to address the challenges of climate change and land degradation, whilst protecting soil as a natural resource. In this paper, we identify the contribution of soil science over the past decade to addressing gaps in our knowledge regarding major environmental challenges: climate change, food security, water security, urban development, and ecosystem functioning and biodiversity. Continuing to address knowledge gaps in soil science is essential for the achievement of the SDGs. However, with limited time and budget, it is also pertinent to identify effective methods of working that ensure the research carried out leads to real‐world impact. Here, we suggest three strategies for the next decade of soil science, comprising a greater implementation of research into policy, interdisciplinary partnerships to evaluate function trade‐offs and synergies between soils and other environmental domains, and integrating monitoring and modelling methods to ensure soil‐based policies can withstand the uncertainties of the future. Highlights We highlight the contributions of soil science to five major environmental challenges since 2010. Researchers have contributed to recommendation reports, but work is rarely translated into policy. Interdisciplinary work should assess trade‐offs and synergies between soils and other domains. Integrating monitoring and modelling is key for robust and sustainable soils‐based policymaking.

There is a need to protect and enhance the vast stocks of carbon (>10 billion tonnes) stored in UK soils, both to mitigate climate change through increased carbon sequestration in soils and to prevent potential climate change impacts resulting from soil carbon loss. To do this we need to be able to quantify, verify and report the emissions and removals of greenhouse gases (GHG) from soils as a result of land management practices and land use change. The main tool used to (calculate and) report the greenhouse gas emissions and removals associated with changes in soil carbon is the Land Use, Land Use Change and Forestry (LULUCF) component of the UK GHG Inventory. The coverage of soil carbon fluxes in the inventory, particularly with respect to land management rather than land use change, is currently limited. The aim of the project is to determine the feasibility of populating the land use component of the LULUCF GHG inventory. The research needs for this project are divided into four tasks: 1. Scoping the feasibility of populating the land use/management component of the LULUCF inventory in order to capture soil carbon fluxes associated with land management and associated greenhouse gas emissions and removals. This is the main focus of the project. 2. Exploration of the methodology for calculating emissions from the management and use of peatlands. 3. Improving the robustness and transparency of the methodology for calculating emissions from the extraction of peat for horticultural use. 4. Exploration of how to improve the methodology for the Land Use Change component of the inventory to address policy questions

<p>Microbial carbon use efficiency (CUE), a key regulator of soil organic carbon (SOC) dynamics, reflects carbon allocation between microbial growth and respiration. Separate investigation of microbial growth and respiration helps to clarify the role of CUE in the carbon balance and consequently, in the carbon cycle in soil. First, in terms of microbial resource acquisition, the drivers of microbial growth and respiration differ: microbial growth is primarily regulated by synergistic availability of carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus, whereas respiration is more strongly influenced by substrate quality, such as the carbon-to-nitrogen ratio. Second, synchronized responses of microbial growth and respiration rates under climate change (e.g., warming, drought, elevated CO<sub>2</sub>) often mask underlying CUE regulatory mechanisms. Thus, we propose: (1) explicitly representing microbial growth and respiration in models to raise the precision of SOC dynamics predictions; and (2) applying approaches such as isotope probing and metagenomic functional annotation to resolve CUE mechanisms from the community to the single-species level. Overall, decoupling CUE into its growth and respiration components establishes a mechanistic framework that explicitly links CUE to microbially mediated SOC dynamics.</p>

Limited information on likely supply and spatial yield of bioenergy crops exists for the UK. Here, productivities are reported of poplar (Populus spp.) and willow (Salix spp.) grown as short-rotation coppice (SRC), using data from a large 49-site yield trial network. A partial least-squares regression technique was used to upscale actual field trial observations across England and Wales. Spatial productivity was then assessed under different land-use scenarios. Mean modelled yields ranged between 4.9 and 10.7 oven-dry tonnes (odt) ha(-1) yr(-1). Yields were generally higher in willow than in poplar, reflecting the susceptibility of older poplar genotypes to rust and their tendency for single stem dominance. Replacing 10% of arable land, 20% of improved grassland and 100% of set-aside grassland in England and Wales with the three most productive genotypes would yield 13 Modt of biomass annually (supplying 7% of UK electricity production or 48% of UK combined heat and power (CHP) production). Results show existing SRC genotypes have the immediate potential to be an important component of a mixed portfolio of renewables and that, in future, as new and improved genotypes become available, higher yields could extend this potential further.

This dataset represents long-term marginal abatement cost (MAC) curves of all major emission sources of non-CO₂ greenhouse gases (GHGs); methane (CH₄), nitrous oxide (N₂O) and fluorinated gases (HFCs, PFCs and SF₆). The work is based on existing short-term MAC curve datasets and recent literature on individual mitigation measures. The data represent a comprehensive set of MAC curves, covering all major non-CO₂ emission sources for 26 aggregated world regions. They are suitable for long-term global mitigation scenario development, as dynamical elements (technological progress, removal of implementation barriers) are included. The data is related to the research article: "<i>Long-term marginal abatement cost curves of non-CO</i> _<i>2</i> <i>greenhouse gases</i>" [1].

This IUCN UK Commission of Inquiry on Peatlands presents one of the most extensive assessments of peatlands undertaken in the UK to date. It identifies the state and value of peatland ecosystems and develops ways to safeguard and restore their natural capital. The assessment focuses on blanket bog and raised bog peatlands, because they represent over 95% of all UK peatland habitat and offer an opportunity to make early and substantial progress in delivering a combination of economic, social and biodiversity gains. It provides an authoritative assessment of the available evidence, based on peer-reviewed scientific consensus about the state of peatlands, the impacts of different activities on peatland ecosystems and the services they provide and the benefits of restoring and conserving them. The assessment explores mechanisms and processes for peatland conservation action, recognising the different social, economic and environmental drivers.