New project to benefit net zero targets, soil health, biodiversity and agriculture
By: Communications
Researchers at the University of East Anglia (UEA) have received a share of £14.5 million in funding to support projects that seek to revolutionise agricultural practices, land use change and soil health in the pursuit of a more sustainable future.
Five projects have received the funding from UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) and government partners, under phase two of the Transforming Land Use for Net Zero, Nature and People programme (LUNZ), which aims to boost the UK's efforts to achieve net zero emissions by 2050.
The three-year, £4 million UEA project – OpenLAND - will see researchers carry out an evaluation of climate-resilient interventions for land management and soil health that could benefit net zero targets, biodiversity and agriculture.
The work will be led by Professor Rachel Warren of the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change at UEA, and Professor Brian Reid from the School of Environmental Sciences. It will create a validated, UK-wide, spatially explicit integrated modelling framework to evaluate potential net zero pathways.
The project will extend the capability of the OpenCLIM modelling framework, which was developed with previous UKRI funding. This will be achieved by ground-truthing soil carbon and soil health using empirical data and by developing and trialling robotic monitoring for measuring and verifying soil carbon and health.
“OpenLAND will use computer models to look at how the way land is managed in the UK can contribute to net zero,” explained Prof Warren. “It will map out plans for land use management that combine carbon storage, restoration of biodiversity and sustainable agriculture.
“We will use the computer models to quantify and map the relative merits and effectiveness of alternative land management plans with stakeholders to assist them with their decision making. A unique aspect of the project is that we will calibrate the computer models with measurements of carbon stored in the soil at a number of field sites in Norfolk and beyond.”
Prof Reid added: "Using nature-based solutions to contribute to a net zero future has enormous potential. The funding will allow us to build a much better understanding of carbon storage, both above and below the ground, and to use eDNA approaches to link soil carbon properties to soil health.
“The project will trial sensor technologies, mounted on autonomous in-field robots, to streamline assessment of soil carbon stocks and soil health. We seek to evidence win-wins for climate change mitigation and a healthier more resilient environment."
The LUNZ programme is a £20.79 million transdisciplinary venture co-designed and co-funded by: UKRI; Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra); Department for Energy Security and Net Zero; Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs; Scottish Government; Welsh Government.
The LUNZ programme forms part of UKRI's building a green future strategic theme. The theme aims to accelerate the green economy by supporting research and innovation that unlocks solutions essential to achieving net zero in the UK by 2050.
Over the next three years, the five research projects will work in close collaboration with the LUNZ Hub to identify potential opportunities and drivers of change around land use.
Professor Gideon Henderson, Director General for Science and Analysis and Chief Scientific Adviser at Defra, said: “Decarbonising agriculture and land use sectors is extremely challenging, and UK emissions have remained stubbornly high.
“These new projects will address important land types, from grassland to peatland, and provide exciting modelling to assess optimal routes towards net zero while still using our land to produce the food on which we all depend.”
The LUNZ Hub was announced in January 2024 and is led by The James Hutton Institute and the University of Leicester. It is charged with equipping UK policymakers, industry, civil society and communities with the evidence needed to drive transformational change in land use.
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