Carbon transfer to soils

SCRI is a partner in the Scottish Alliance for Geosciences, Environment and Society consortium of Scottish Universities with significant environmental science research programmes in which it provides expertise in plant-mediated transfer of carbon to soils.

Contact: Professor David Hopkins

Figure 1: Carbon capture experiment showing effect of different slurry and municipal compost applications.

Carbon and nitrogen cycling in ecosystems

Work as part of RERAD commissioned workpackages are examining how carbon losses to the atmosphere and nitrogen losses to water courses can be minimised in ecosystems managed for crop production, and how soil management can increase C sequestration by soils.

Contact: Professor David Hopkins

Nutrient use efficiency

The management of plant mineral nutrition is the key to sustainable agriculture. Crop production requires high inputs of essential mineral elements, in particular nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and potassium (K). The Green Revolution was fuelled by the chemical synthesis of N-fertilisers from nitrogen in the air and the production of P-fertilisers from rock phosphates using sulphuric acid. However, the synthesis of N-fertilisers contributes significantly to the production of greenhouse gasses (GHGs), losses of N and P from agricultural land contribute to the processes of eutrophication, and it has been estimated that commercially viable sources of P and S will be exhausted this century.

Figure 2: Total P (TP) loads (t TP y-1), and contributions from agricultural, household, industrial and background sources to these loads, for the River Basin Districts (RBDs) of England, Wales, and Scotland. P.J. White and J.P. Hammond. 2009. Journal of Environmental Quality 38, 13-26.

For these reasons, SCRI is pursuing agronomic and genetic strategies to reduce inorganic-fertiliser inputs to agriculture and investigating the use of alternative fertilisers, such as composts from urban green wastes, animal manures and struvite (an abundant ammonium magnesium phosphate reclaimed from sewage) for crop production. This research contributes to the attainment of multiple policy objectives related to climate change, soil and water quality, waste recycling, and biodiversity.

Contact: Professor Philip White

Sustainable bioenergy production

Sugars locked up in cellulose in the non-food parts of crop plants are difficult to release for fermentation into alcohol for fuel, so current biofuels are produced from parts with accessible sugars, such as grain. However, a more sustainable option that would not compete with food supply would be to produce biofuel from agricultural wastes, such as the straw from cereal crops. As part of the BBSRC Sustainable Bioenergy Centre, SCRI and the University of Dundee are carrying out research to increase the feasibility of making biofuels from non-food plant biomass.

Contact: Professor Claire Halpin