Soil science and collaboration
In late September we hosted one of the regular visits by scientists collaborating with us. This time it was four soil scientists and ecologists associated with Oxford University’s Leverhulme Centre for Nature Recovery and Nature-based Solutions Initiative. Such visits are a core part of our work as we develop our programme of scientific research in-house and in collaboration with others.
On this occasion, we had planned to briefly visit each of our three estates; Beldorney, Bunloit, and Tayvallich. But Storm Agnes intervened after the party had travelled from Beldorney to Bunloit, and so there we remained, getting more intimately associated with soil than we might have bargained for, thanks to the rain.
For us, the purpose of the visit was to give an update on our ongoing restoration and research, to work together on soil sampling for planned experiments, and to get advice on future work. Soil science is crucial but can also be very resource-intensive, and working together is one important way of making it feasible.
Experiment set-up at Bunloit, during a brief respite from the rain.
At Beldorney, we looked at options for experimental management and monitoring of previous plantation sites that were recently felled, and which we plan to allow to recover into native woodland. We also discussed our planned grazing experiments, in which we will use experimental treatments of cattle and/or deer access, along with ungrazed controls. A potential addition to this experiment is the application of rock dust, which can enhance carbon capture by reacting with CO2 to form insoluble carbonates. It would be interesting to explore its carbon sequestration potential (accounting for overall energy balance including its production & transport) and effects on vegetation and soil characteristics. We also reviewed ongoing experiments associated with the Forest of Hope, for which we took soil samples in 2022, and potential heathland and wetland restoration elsewhere on the estate.
On Bunloit, our discussions focused on an experiment we’re conducting together on Mycorrhizal fungi and native woodland establishment. For this we’re planting a range of native tree species with and without pellets containing the soil fungi that those trees associate with. We plan to monitor tree growth and soil properties to assess the effects of such interventions. In preparation for this, some of us spent much of the week taking soil samples from two depths, at three locations within each of 30 plots across the site that is to be planted. This wet (and muddy!) work resulted in 180 samples that were then taken back to Oxford, where they’re being analysed for pH, particle size distribution, bulk density, Carbon & Nitrogen. We also discussed various aspects of our peatland restoration work, and further exclosure experiments to test the impacts of deer and boar disturbance.
Soil sampling at Bunloit.
Finally, although we could not go there, we discussed potential research on Tayvallich estate, particularly to do with restoration of temperate rainforests and extensively-grazed, species-rich grasslands. Perhaps most exciting are plans we’re developing for cross-domain studies that integrate terrestrial and marine systems, the combination of which is so characteristic of Tayvallich and so fascinating from a scientific perspective.
Our collaboration with these research groups is planned to be long-term, spanning natural and social sciences, and we hope will demonstrate the value of our sites as ‘open air laboratories’ for advancing the science of nature recovery.