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Showcasing our NERC research
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Evaluating the threat of road
run-off to aquatic environments
Fundamental science funded by NERC has resulted in more ecologically responsible management
of roads. The Highways Agency, responsible for England’s 4,300-mile-long strategic road network,
based its guidance on studies conducted by a research team led by Professor Lorraine Maltby.
The studies picked up on approaches, methods and insights developed in previous research.
Research explored the problem of toxic road run-off. Many of the pollutants produced by road transport are deposited
on road surfaces and then washed off into water courses. This contaminated material can smother aquatic habitats
and poison wildlife. The environmental costs of water pollution in England and Wales have been estimated
at up to £1.3 billion per year and roads are a major contributor to this, especially in urban areas.
An initial study, commissioned by oil company Castrol, investigated how road run-off affected the structure
and functioning of stream ecosystems alongside the M1 motorway. More intensive site-specific studies for
the Highways Agency built on this, providing the first extensive and robust demonstration of the ecological
impact of road run-off on freshwater organisms. “Findings from the research were used to develop the Highways Agency Water Risk Assessment Tool (HAWRAT), which
forms part of the guidance published in their Design Manual for Roads and Bridges
(DMRB). Its reach is global. DMRB has been adopted by countries across the globe.”
Phil ChatfiEldEnvironment agency
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Global awareness of arctic climate
changeStudies supported by NERC to investigate the
impacts of climate change and stratospheric ozone depletion on Arctic ecosystems have had profound
effects on policy discussions and the research agenda. Led by Professor Terry Callaghan and
Dr Gareth Phoenix, the research forms the basis of international policy on climate change.
Since the 1990s, simulations and field studies carried out by the research team have explored the effects of
increased atmospheric CO2 concentrations, increased UV-B irradiance (from ozone depletion), warming, nutrient
enrichment and increased precipitation. A number of the studies have been the first, or only, experiments of their
type in the Arctic.
Against expectations, the work found that Arctic vegetation is tolerant to increases in CO2 levels and ozone
depletion. In contrast, the loss of insulating snow cover – caused by extreme winter warming events – severely
damages vegetation. This damage is in stark contrast to the increase in plant biomass resulting from warmer
summers, known as the ‘greening of the Arctic’. Such changes could have severe consequences for
climate, hydrology, ecology and human activities.
The research has featured prominently in influential policy reports, awakening public awareness and shifting
the priorities of climate change politics and international research. More than ozone depletion or increased CO2,
understanding and tackling global warming, including the importance of winter warming, has become the focus.
The research findings also figure in key internationally agreed policy-focused documents on Arctic and global
climate change to feature the research are the 2005 Arctic Climate Impact Assessment, the fourth UN
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report in 2007, and 2012’s Climate Change and the
Cryosphere: Snow, Water, Ice, and Permafrost in the Arctic (SWIPA). Since their publication, global interest in
the Arctic has been dramatic: new research stations have been established, new research programmes funded and
world leaders have increased their involvement.
“Our work has significantly influenced policy and research priorities by demonstrating which drivers are most
damaging, and also demonstrating that some concerns were misplaced.”
dR GaREth PhoENix department of animal & Plant Sciences
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how plants changed Earth’s
historyFundamental science funded by NERC lies behind
The Emerald Planet, a popular science book by Professor David Beerling. Piecing together the
evolutionary puzzle of how plants shaped the Earth’s history and were affected by changes in
environment, the book inspired a BBC television programme and a new generation of earth
systems scientists.
Combining evidence from the fossil record with experiments and theoretical modelling, the research’s
unique approach has impacted the emerging field of earth systems science. Findings have challenged
some hypotheses and methods have contributed to fundamental scientific knowledge of the natural world.
The book and the How To Grow A Planet series, presented by Professor Iain Stewart, have inspired
potential scientists and increased public awareness, with over 15,000 books sold and the three TV episodes
receiving an average of 1.7m viewers each.
Studying plant fossils and simulating past climates can tell us about ancient environmental events and
the impact they had on the planet’s ecosystem. Understanding this knowledge can then be applied
to current climate change issues. In geoengineering, for instance, the recently developing models allow
assessment of the effects of adding rocks to soil to promote CO2 drawdown, an important technique to
combat current rises in greenhouse gases.
To find out more scan the QR code:
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“The research has contributed to training the next generation of
researchers in the UK and in the US. The effects have been far-reaching; our work is influencing
other research and helping build collaborations with colleagues in
the UK and around the world.”PRofESSoR david BEERliNG
department of animal & Plant Sciences
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Mapping global forest Biomass
from spaceNERC-funded science underpins the development
of a €200 million satellite that will provide the first accurate global maps of forest biomass from
space. The Biomass mission, led by Professor Shaun Quegan; was chosen by the European
Space Agency (ESA) to be its seventh mission to help better understand and manage the
Earth and its environment.
Biomass was up against 25 initial competing bids and a rigorous eight-year selection process before it was
successfully chosen in May 2013. Through its National Centre of Earth Observation (NCEO), NERC supported
feasibility studies underpinning the science case for the mission.
As well as being the first P-band synthetic aperture radar (SAR) in space, the mission embodies two highly
innovative technologies: polarimetric interferometry for forest height, and SAR tomography to image forest
layers. P-band has not been used before in space because of prohibitive international regulation lifted
in 2004. Only this wavelength provides sufficient sensitivity to woody biomass underneath the forest
canopy, as well as the stability needed for height and tomographic measurements.
This technology will help determine the amount of carbon stored in the world’s forests with greater
accuracy than ever before; measurements will show how this changes over the five-year lifetime of the
mission. Information will also be gathered on ice-sheet motion and internal structures in cold regions,
subsurface geology in arid regions, soil moisture, permafrost and the ionosphere.
To find out more scan the QR code:
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“When the technology is in space, the potential market could be worth billions of pounds: the data generated will be useful for
carbon trading, forest resource management and prospecting for water in arid regions.”
PRofESSoR ShaUN QUEGaNSchool of Mathematics & Statistics
“It is important for our company to work through ESA and alongside
NERC scientists in order to make space missions scientifically valuable while
also being economically affordable and technically feasible.”
Matt o’doNNEll Business development Manager, Earth observation,
airbus defence and Space
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Protecting endangered
Caribbean parrots
Off the coast of Venezuela, the tiny Dutch Caribbean island of Bonaire is home to a small
population of Amazona barbadensis: the Yellow-shouldered Amazon Parrot, an IUCN-listed
threatened species. Since 2005, NERC has funded three Open CASE PhD Studentships that
are making an impact on the conservation of these birds and their habitat.
The research focused on building predictive models of the likelihood of extinction by studying the parrot’s
lifecycle, its reproduction and mortality. The research found that the population is stable and has the potential
to grow if the habitat can be properly managed. A major goal of the current PhD studentship is to use more
sophisticated tracking methods to map the adult phase of the parrot’s life, the final piece of data necessary to
make reliable and effective management decisions.
By working closely with the World Parrot Trust (WPT) – a conservation NGO that brings together
parrot enthusiasts, researchers, local communities and government leaders to protect parrots – a strong
conservation focus was brought to the process of gathering data about the birds.
This research led to Echo being established – a dedicated NGO to the protection of Amazona
barbadensis. Together with the World Parrot Trust, Echo works with other local and regional NGOs in the
Caribbean and the Bonaire/Dutch government to secure the future of the parrots.
“With the NERC funding we could determine the limiting
factors for this threatened bird population. This meant we could
establish Echo to tackle those problems using solid science
as a basis for our work.”dR SaM WilliaMS
Echo
To find out more scan the QR code:
“This partnership not only multiplied our support of
conservation and research on endangered bird species,
it also brings a great deal of legitimacy to this work
which is crucial for long-term success.”
dR JaMES GilaRdiExecutive director, World Parrot trust
“With the NERC funding we could determine the limiting
factors for this threatened bird population. This meant we could
establish Echo to tackle those problems using solid science
as a basis for our work.”dR SaM WilliaMS
Echo
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Radiocarbon dating with
accuracy: intCal13IntCal13 is a new, internationally agreed
radiocarbon calibration curve. It provides improved accuracy to archaeologists,
environmental scientists and climate researchers who use radiocarbon dating to put their findings
on to a reliable timescale. The work to develop the curve was funded by NERC and undertaken
by Professor Paula Reimer at Queen’s University Belfast and Professor Caitlin Buck at the
University of Sheffield.
While alive, plants, animals and humans absorb tiny amounts of radioactive carbon-14 from the atmosphere.
When they die, absorption stops and the amount of carbon-14 begins to decrease in a predictable way,
as described by the law of radioactive decay. Had the level of carbon-14 in the atmosphere been constant
throughout history, estimating the age of an object based on the decay would be simple.
IntCal13 provides an internationally recognised timescale that enables accurate dating of objects up
to 50,000 years old. At Queen’s, the team collate and manage a database of radiocarbon dated samples that
already have established calendar ages. The team at Sheffield then use this information to create the curve.
They have developed novel statistical models, methods and algorithms that account for uncertainty in the ages
and radiocarbon measurements of the samples.
IntCal13 is vital for dating archaeological sites and past environmental change around the world. This makes
it an indispensable resource for the entire radiocarbon dating sector, a market that is estimated to be worth
around £17.5m per year.
IntCal13 and its predecessor IntCal09 are supplied to professional and academic users. IntCal09 has been
cited over 2,000 times and used for several high-profile archaeological projects, such as helping to identify the
remains of Richard III, found in Leicester in 2012.
“IntCal09 allows the dating of historic buildings to an equivalent level of
precision and accuracy as routinely provided by dendrochronology.
This curve has extended the range of radiocarbon calibration to the limit
of the technique.”
alEx BayliSS Scientific dating Coordinator, English heritage
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“The work was instrumental in getting the Environment Agency buy-in to the idea of natural
attenuation as a serious component of site management. The outputs from that work and the
subsequent network [the EPSRC-funded NNAGS] led to a range of Agency guidance and policy
documents, and influenced our strategic Policy and Practice for the Protection of Groundwater that sets
out Agency thinking on groundwater protection. Both of these documents are widely used within the
Agency on a daily basis and by our customers in industry to understand our regulatory needs.”
ENviRoNMENt aGENCy
Changing policy and practice for
contaminated land and groundwater
NERC funding has contributed to influential research that has revolutionised the management of polluted
land and groundwater. Led by Professor Steve Banwart and Professor David Lerner, the Groundwater
Protection and Restoration Group (GRPG) conducted the UK’s largest research programme on the natural
processes that reduce concentrations of pollutants. Its findings have changed government policy
and saved millions of pounds.
In the UK alone, over 100,000 sites polluted by organic chemicals pose environmental and health risks. To address
the practical problems of managing this pollution, the GPRG investigated the physical, chemical and biological
processes that combine to reduce pollutant concentrations in groundwater pollution plumes, known as natural attenuation.
By exploring how natural attenuation happens, the GPRG was able to develop a conceptual model and theoretical
frameworks that could define and quantify the processes involved. The research found that natural attenuation is often
sufficient to reduce pollutant concentrations to safe levels.
The models generated by the work enable reliable prediction, leading to the development of simple quantitative
tools suitable for analysing any contaminated site. Being able to predict the process reduces risk and avoids the
need for active clean-ups.
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Novel technology to improve green
roofsExpertise in basic plant and soil science, funded
and fostered by NERC, underpins a unique systematic approach to designing a range of
growing media tailored for use on green roofs. The research has developed a novel product:
a cutting-edge technological improvement that solves a neglected engineering challenge.
Using their soils science and plant nutrition knowledge, plant biologists Dr Gareth Phoenix and Dr Duncan
Cameron investigated whether they could engineer a range of substrates that were good for plant growth,
but that also had a range of nutrient-supply and water-holding capacities. They collaborated with industrial
partner Boningale Ltd, an SME that supplies plants to the UK landscape industry.
The result is a new range of substrates that are tailored to provide good plant growth and water-holding
capabilities under different climatic and rainfall conditions in different areas of the UK.
To find out more scan the QR code:
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“This project is exciting for Boningale because it will provide reliable, scientific answers to questions that
are very important to green roof designers and clients. It will enable us to establish our reputation as a leader
by guiding the industry towards green roofs with much higher environmental performance, putting the
expertise at the University into the hands of practitioners.”
MaGGiE fENNEll Green Roof Project Manager, Boningale
“Green roofs that are more effective, cheaper and easier to apply lead to economic savings for business.
Companies are more likely to adopt green roof technology, which in turn brings environmental
benefits to cities.”
dR dUNCaN CaMERoN department of animal & Plant Sciences
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Conserving an endangered
speciesSupport from NERC is improving the lives of
around 4,000 semi-captive elephants working in the timber industry in Burma, and developing
knowledge that will contribute to the conservation of this endangered species.
Information on the elephants’ up to 80-year lifespan – when it is born, its reproduction, illnesses, working
hours, cause of death – has already been recorded for five generations, resulting in a unique longitudinal
dataset of around 9,000 individuals. Grants from NERC, a supportive and cooperative government and links with
local experts have enabled academics to access and build on this valuable data.
A project by Hannah Mumby, a NERC-supported PhD student supervised by Dr Virpi Lummaa, uses the data
to study the elephants’ mortality and reproduction. The research explores how complex environmental
interactions affect stress and reproductive hormones.
Practical outcomes from the project have an impact on the productivity of the local economy and the
working lives of the elephants themselves. As half of Burmese timber is extracted by elephants, their welfare
is crucial to the logging industry. Recommendations to the Burmese government on elephant population
management include ideal training age, weaning age and how to reduce stress to encourage higher breeding
rates.
The research programme has also enabled unique training sessions for the local vets assigned to the
elephants. They lack funds for advanced medicine and equipment, as well as access to the latest literature
and expertise. Two workshops since 2012 have brought in experts from the UK and US to teach locals new skills
and knowledge, who have then in turn learned from these elephant specialists.
“This project is excellent because it makes life better for the elephants
as well as having an impact scientifically and practically – for
example, my results have led to the authorities considering changing
training methods. As our work depends on this endangered species
I have a responsibility to be an advocate for them, and this project
means I can unite conservation biology with practical improvements
for industry.”haNNah MUMBy
department of animal & Plant Sciences
To find out more scan the QR code:
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“This project is excellent because it makes life better for the elephants
as well as having an impact scientifically and practically – for
example, my results have led to the authorities considering changing
training methods. As our work depends on this endangered species
I have a responsibility to be an advocate for them, and this project
means I can unite conservation biology with practical improvements
for industry.”haNNah MUMBy
department of animal & Plant Sciences
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Maintaining biodiversity in
urban gardensBiodiversity in Urban Gardens (BUGS), a novel
three-year project run by Professor Phil Warren, revealed the importance of the role of domestic
gardens in maintaining urban biodiversity. The research addressed a fundamental knowledge
gap in urban ecology, providing data on garden habitats for the first time.
BUGS used traditional ecology in an urban environment. Generally, ecological studies investigate wild ecosystems
or managed urban green spaces like parks; the patterns and determinants of plant and invertebrate biodiversity
in private gardens was largely unknown.
Data were collected from a carefully chosen sample of over 60 gardens of varying types and sizes across
Sheffield. Garden owners gathered information, recorded activity, and gave the researchers access. Telephone
interviews and mapping complemented the fieldwork to give a broader picture of the range of urban gardens and
how people managed them. After the first project was complete, a second three-year phase of BUGS followed,
extending the study to five more UK cities.
Analysis showed that plant diversity was much higher within gardens and across gardens than in any
other UK habitat. Gardens make up about 25% of a typical UK city and native species of plants are more
widespread in gardens than was previously thought.
This timely project revealed the importance of gardens in supporting urban biodiversity and sustainability.
It has influenced government and public policy, from Local Authorities’ Local Biodiversity Action Plans to the
Royal Horticultural Society’s activities and planting of the London 2012 Olympic Park.
BUGS was the first large-scale systematic scientific study that looked at the extent and nature of the
habitat offered by urban gardens.
“The work of the Biodiversity in Urban Gardens studies has revolutionised the
ecological understanding of what we now recognise as a key urban habitat.”
dR StEvE hEad Coordinator & Chief Executive,
Natural England’s Wildlife Gardening forum
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Under representation
of women speakers at academic
conferencesTwo NERC-funded evolutionary biologists have
analysed why female speakers appear less often at a leading academic conference. Dr Hannah
Dugdale and Dr Julia Schroeder (Max Planck Institute for Ornithology in Germany) were struck
by how the gender balance of the speakers at the prestigious European Society for Evolutionary
Biology (ESEB) Congress in 2011 did not reflect the gender distribution in the research field.
Due to women not sticking with science-based academic careers – what is known as the ‘leaky pipeline’ – more
men occupy senior scientific academic roles. But still it was clear that women were under-represented as
invited speakers at conferences.
The researchers found that just 15% of the invited speakers to the 2011 ESEB Congress were women; the
average figure for the previous six congresses was 16%.20 female invited speakers could be expected, yet
there were only 10. There was no gender bias in the invitations, but 50% of women declined, compared
to just 26% of men. “We are very grateful to Hannah, Julia and others for raising the specific issue of representation of
women at our conferences and for the broader discussion that they initiated at the 2011 Lisbon
Congress. It is particularly valuable to have carefully collected and analysed data available
to support these discussions. I am sure that the Society’s practices will be improved as a result.”
PRofESSoR RoGER BUtliNESEB President
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Shell partnership for microfossil analysis
A NERC Open CASE Studentship on the theme of energy has brought together palynology PhD student Stephanie
Wood and leading petrochemical company Shell. Together they are investigating the rock strata under
the Gulf of Mexico.
When Shell drill in technically challenging deep water environments like the Gulf of Mexico, it helps to know as much
as possible about the rock and where oil or gas is likely to be found. Stephanie is analysing rock fragments from deep sea
exploratory boreholes to recover assemblages of the microfossils present. Analysis of these microfossils, known as biostratigraphy,
is gradually composing a picture of the rock strata.
The microfossils include dinoflagellates – microscopic phytoplankton – that reveal what the marine environment was
like when they died, whether it was shallow, had high salinity, warm water and so on. When compared and correlated with
data from nearby oil wells and similar findings in the fossil record, the microfossils reveal how old the rock is and if it
produced or contains oil or gas.
Despite the massive costs involved, deep water exploration for oil and gas is economically viable and socially necessary. With
global energy demands increasing, fossil fuels are still the most effective way to meet the need for power. Through the analysis
of the abundant dinoflagellates in the rock record, a map of the rock underneath the Gulf will systematically identify where to
drill, leading to safer and more efficient oil extraction.
To find out more scan the QR code:
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“A better understanding of the geology will always result
in more precise prediction with respect to hydrocarbon
exploration. In a business where drilling operation costs
can be easily over $1 million per day, this can have a huge
impact. Our industry has a shortage of micropaleontology
specialists, with many contractors close to retirement
and not enough young people educated to fill in. Therefore a
NERC studentship enables us to sponsor and educate new
talent to keep the global skill pool vital.”
dR KatRiN RUCKWiEd Stratigrapher/Palynologist, Shell
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Partnering with heineken to
investigate soil microbial diversity
and food securityNERC funding has enabled an industrial partnership
to investigate how microbial diversity in soil affects apple production. It is an important collaboration
between Heineken, partner trade body the National Association of Cider Makers, and Dr Duncan
Cameron and Dr Karl Evans.
The partnership builds on a previous project exploring wheat and its ability to form mycorrhiza. Eighty per cent of plants
have mycorrhiza, where carbon from the plant is transferred to a network of fungus in soil, which in turn captures
nutrients and gives them to the plant.
Most crop plants have this type of relationship, including cereals and apples. But agriculture has negatively impacted
mycorrhiza, sterilising soil by breaking up the substrate and removing any fungi. All the nutrients a plant needs
are provided by the farmer, so plants no longer need to waste carbon maintaining the fungus. However, as the raw
ingredients for fertilisers run out and the use of pesticides is restricted, this dependence has big implications for
future food production.
Heineken is particularly interested in sustainable production, exploring how the management of soil, including irrigation
and pesticide use, influences mycorrhiza in apple production. As the demand for food crops soars, responsible
agriculture and sourcing have never been more important, necessitating greater productivity using less fertiliser
and fewer pesticides.
To find out more scan the QR code:
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“We don’t need to expand agriculture in terms of area, we
need to be smart about integrating technologies and this is an
integrative approach to sustainably produce food: genetic modification,
classic breeding, management of ecosystems and the application of
targeted agrochemicals will all be needed to ensure sufficient levels
of food production.”Dr Duncan cameron
Department of animal & Plant Sciences
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Simulating the effects of future
climates on plants and ecosystems
In 1989, NERC funding established a research programme to develop and evaluate techniques
for the outdoor climate manipulation of vegetation ecosystems. Twenty-five years later, the resulting
Buxton Climate Change Impacts Laboratory (BCCIL) – which built on the existing expertise of
the Unit of Comparative Plant Ecology (UCPE) – is still a key contributor to plant
ecology research.
The experiments extend a model for classifying vegetation that was developed by project leader Emeritus
Professor J Philip Grime in the mid-1970s. This model describes the dynamic interaction between a plant’s
competitive ability, adaptation to severe stress and adaptation to disturbance. It shows how plants relate to
the ecosystem they are in, enabling prediction of which will survive in a particular habitat. The theory has been
applied to data from satellites to analyse ecosystems by remote sensing.
The work at BCCIL is the second longest-running experiment of this type in the world. It uses a
revolutionary approach to ecology that records patterns in the wider system, rather than focusing on individual
species. Support over the years has come from organisations including the Peak Park Planning Authority
and the USA’s National Science Foundation, and scientists from as far afield as Syracuse and Milan
have collaborated in the research.
In 2013, Professor Grime’s research featured in the British Ecological Society’s
100 most influential ecological papers printed in its journal in the past century.
Grime’s Triangle has already been used in countryside management policy to monitor
the effects of changing land use and climate on plants.
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Understanding the impact of
nitrogen depositionLong-running experiments headed by Dr Gareth
Phoenix have helped the UK become the world leader in understanding nitrogen pollution
impacts, leading to policy changes and reducing atmospheric levels.
Nitrogen (N) pollution is one of the top three threats to global biodiversity. High nitrogen emissions to the atmosphere,
caused by agriculture and the combustion of fossil fuels, lead to high levels of nitrogen deposition on the land. This changes
ecosystems and threatens biodiversity, as nitrogen-loving plants flourish and soil is acidified.
Dr Phoenix’s team use a site in the Peak District National Park to simulate and measure the impact of nitrogen deposition
on acidic and limestone grassland. These are the UK’s most important grasslands and have significant conservation and
amenity value. New research is investigating if the ecosystem recovers when nitrogen deposition is reduced. Results suggest
that soils recover quite rapidly but the recovery of the plants is much slower.
These ongoing studies – including the longest running nitrogen deposition experiments on any grassland worldwide – provide
important information to the international scientific research community on how grasslands respond to nitrogen deposition.
They have shown how changes in biodiversity arise, which plant species are sensitive and which not, and aided
grasslands conservation.
“This work is a globally important resource for understanding N deposition impacts on grasslands.
Our research has helped the UK be at the forefront of instigating policy to reduce nitrogen emissions,
mitigating the impact on ecosystems.”
dR GaREth PhoENix department of animal & Plant Sciences
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