詹姆斯·亨特研究所

Peatlands are globally important habitats, covering an estimated 4.23 million km2 worldwide. The significance of peatlands to climate change, and across ecosystem services, makes their protection a key policy area across Europe. The large areas and long timescales needed for peatland management means that both private and public funding is required. Additionally, links with society, development, and culture mean that stakeholder involvement in decision making is central to the success of peatland policy. To ensure that peatland policy and management is legitimate and able to persist in the long-term, understanding individual preferences for outcomes is therefore vital. To this end we carried out a choice experiment in Scotland, UK, supported by a literature review and expert workshop. We build on previous choice experiments to investigate preferences for outcomes of management, including: climate change, impacts on drought and flood risk, timber restocking and wind farms. Final analysis included 762 valid responses, which showed no significant difference to the characteristics to the Scottish population for all demographic variables measured with the exception of education. Our sample under-represented those with education below secondary level, and above bachelors level. All choice experiment attributes were significant, with the exception of community owned timber. A positive willingness to pay for management in general was estimated. Value was not impacted by familiarity with peatlands, but higher willingness to pay was associated with more positive environmental attitudes. Overall, our results support the Scottish and global policy agenda on peatland management to combat climate change. However, preferences are also shown for both wind farms and timber restocking, which may run counter to this.

Aim European grasslands rank among the most species-rich ecosystems at small spatial scales, yet their biodiversity and functioning face significant threats from climate change and land-use intensification. Functional traits more effectively explain ecosystem functions (EFs) than species identity or diversity. This study examines how future climate and land cover changes will shape grassland functional composition, addressing gaps in trait-environment relationships and large-scale functional predictions.Location Europe.Time Period 1971-2000 and 2081-2100.Major Taxa Studied 4406 distinct grassland plant species.Methods We used Boosted Regression Trees to model trait-environment relationships based on vegetation plot data from sPlotOpen, GrassPlot, and the Nordic-Baltic Grassland Vegetation Database (NBGVD). We mapped the 17 trait community-weighted means (CWMs) and three functional richness (FRic) metrics under historical conditions and two future climate scenarios to assess temporal and spatial changes in grassland functional composition.Results The trait-environment relationships are highly trait-dependent: structural and size-related traits such as plant height, leaf area and seed number were consistently well-predicted, whereas other traits were less well predicted. Mean annual temperature emerged as the strongest predictor of grassland functional composition. Climate and land cover change were predicted to drive significant spatial shifts in trait CWMs and FRic. Specifically, leaf area was predicted to decline in the Baltic Sea region and Pannonian Basin, while plant height was expected to increase across Europe. Seed number was predicted to rise at higher latitudes and in mountainous regions. Moreover, FRic was expected to decrease in temperate grasslands but increase at high latitudes and mountainous regions.Main Conclusions Our findings reveal distinct spatial patterns in functional shifts, reflecting plant adaptation to future environmental conditions. The increase in FRic at high latitudes and mountainous regions also signals ecosystem transitions that may pose additional threats to further complicate grassland conservation efforts.

Arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi connect plant roots and soil bacteria, forming a cross-kingdom holobiont driven by plant-derived carbon flux and soil-derived nutrient flux. This holobiont encompasses not only roots and rhizosphere but also interfaces expanded by slender AM fungal hyphae. Our understanding of the microbiomes across these interconnected interfaces remains limited and fragmented. We used a split-root microcosm to inoculate the same maize root system with three AM fungal species, establishing a simplified holobiont. Amplicon sequencing, Biolog-ECO plates, and 13CO₂ labelling revealed the bacterial diversity and community-level physiological profiles (CLPPs). Bacterial communities colonizing non-mycorrhizal roots, mycorrhizal roots, and hyphae exhibited distinct structures and CLPPs. AM fungal species significantly influenced these bacterial communities, particularly in the mycorrhizosphere and hyphosphere, where notable changes occurred in key nutrient-cycling groups, such as phosphate solubilizers and nitrogen fixers. The diversity of the hyphosphere microbiome was closely aligned with fungal phylogeny. Additionally, a stable core microbiome persisted across all interfaces within the plant-AM fungi-bacterial holobiont, with key taxa such as Pseudomonas and Bacillus harboring the P-mobilizing genes encoding quinoprotein glucose dehydrogenase (gcd) and β-propeller phytase (bpp), highlighting their functional importance in nutrient cycling. Our study provides a comprehensive and precise hyphal-scale characterization of microbial communities across key interfaces, offering detailed insights into plant-microbial dynamics driving nutrient cycling and ecosystem functioning.

ABSTRACT Biochar has been widely investigated for its potential to improve substrate properties and plant performance, offering a potential partial replacement for peat in soilless cultivation amid declining peat availability. However, information on its short‐term physiological and molecular effects during the early establishment of container‐grown blueberry plants remains limited. This study evaluated the short‐term effects of biochar incorporation (0% (BC0), 5% (BC5), and 10% (BC10)), as a partial replacement of a peat‐based substrate, on growth, photosynthetic traits, and gene expression in potted highbush blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum L.), cv. “Sierra”, at the establishment stage (25–40 cm in height). A non‐fertilized commercial biochar was incorporated into the substrate in April 2024, and plant responses were evaluated in September 2024. Plant height was not affected by BC5, while BC10 reduced it by 10%. Leaf chlorophyll content (SPAD) decreased following both biochar treatments, while maximum PSII efficiency (Fv/Fm) remained unaffected. Gas‐exchange analyses indicated that BC10 plants exhibited altered light‐response traits, including lower dark respiration and a reduced light‐compensation point, although no significant changes were observed in Vcmax or Jmax. Gene expression analysis showed consistent upregulation of growth‐related genes (SAUR49, STP, TCH4, DRM1) in biochar‐treated plants, whereas defence‐related genes (AOS, CHIB, JAS5, NPR1) displayed heterogeneous responses. Overall, biochar application modulated physiological and transcriptional processes in young blueberry plants, highlighting early responses occurring during establishment rather than direct improvements in growth. Within the tested range, results suggest that partial substitution of the substrate with biochar (5–10% v/v) does not enhance short‐term growth and may induce dose‐dependent effects. These findings should be interpreted as preliminary and hypothesis‐generating, supporting the need for further studies integrating substrate chemistry, plant physiology, and long‐term performance across multiple growing seasons under northern European climate conditions.

Studies about the transition to a circular economy (CE) often focus on high-level questions of resource use and consumption, addressing questions of technical innovation and industrial production. Yet a transition to a circular economy is a societal issue. In this study, we respond to criticisms that the CE often portrays individuals as passive user-consumers, and investigate how smaller-scale actors - people working in the CE at the local level - are engaging in the transition. We present findings from empirical data gathered through thirty semi-structured interviews with professional CE practitioners working in public (local government), private (SMEs – small-medium sized enterprises) and third sector (charity/social enterprise) organisations in Scotland. Drawing on insights from sustainability transitions and intermediary actors, we find that CE practitioners working within organisations and small businesses in our study take on behaviours and practices in their everyday roles and responsibilities often attributed to intermediary actors. We show how CE practitioners in Scotland are actively linking actors, resources and skills across the CE, and translating the behaviours and practices necessary for a successful transition to CE to the everyday context. Adding to theory on intermediary actors, we call these actors everyday intermediaries emphasising that while their professional everyday roles and responsibilities are not intermediary roles, these small-scale CE take on roles mediating the CE to wider society. We add to the growing body of literature about the contributions of social science in understanding the transition to the CE and empirically demonstrate the active and engaged role of smaller-scale actors in bringing change through processes of intermediation.