Search

Grasslands play an important role in global food security. However, there are increasing pressures to improve the sustainability of ruminant farming. Precision nutrient management tools (e.g., proximal soil sensors for soil mapping) offer opportunities to improve nutrient use efficiency through spatially-variable nutrient application rate maps. Despite little research validating these technologies on grasslands, commercial companies promote these technologies to grassland farmers. In this study, the accuracy of commercial companies offering these services was evaluated by comparing soil pH, P, K, Mg and SOM measurements derived from conventional soil sampling and laboratory analyses to measurements derived from the commercial operators, across a range of soils that are typical found in UK grasslands. Results showed that soil mapping services utilising gamma-ray spectroscopy (GRS) were not sufficiently accurate to predict soil pH, P, K and Mg on grasslands, and subsequently inappropriate for nutrient management planning for variable rate lime and nutrient application. Conversely, both GRS and visible-near infrared spectroscopy (Vis–NIR) accurately predicted between-field SOM variations in grassland soils but not within-field variation. This study emphasises the need for further research to explore the limitations of, and opportunities for, the universal application of these technologies across different soil types and/or land uses before their commercial application. It is therefore highly recommended that commercially-available soil mapping services are subject to certification, similar to centralised soil testing laboratories, to ensure data are accurate for soil management interpretation. The lack of reliability of such systems risks farmers’ confidence in the value of soil mapping, which could severely hinder future adoption of potentially valuable technologies.

The distillery sector is among the biggest industrial water user in the United Kingdom (UK) and simultaneously delivers valuable by-products traditionally used for cattle feed, but in recent years increasingly for bioenergy generation. Our research provides new insight into these two aspects of alcohol production by 1) presenting the first water scarcity footprint of Scottish single malt whisky, and 2) comparing potential avoided water scarcity impacts through the use of by-products to replace different feeds and energy carriers. We applied Life Cycle Assessment, including a water scarcity footprint (AWARE methodology) and carbon footprint, using primary data from a Scottish whisky distillery. By-products used for feed were considered to replace imported soybean meal from the Americas or rapemeal from Europe combined with UK grown barley to balance protein and metabolisable energy substitution. Alternative by-product use for biogas production replaced conventional heat and electricity generation, or transport fuel with the digestate substituting mineral fertilisers. The water scarcity footprint of 1 litre of pure al?cohol is 0.79 m3 world eq., with the majority of water used for cooling, highlighting a hotspot for water conservation. The carbon footprint is 4.4 kg CO2 eq., predominantly caused by heating with gas oil. By-product use as animal feed, replacing soybean meal and barley, offsets up to 47% of the water scarcity footprint and 32% of the carbon footprint of alcohol production. Using by-products for bioenergy gen?erates smaller offsets. Water reuse and heat recovery measures should be investigated as priorities to reduce the environmental footprint of whisky. Feeding all cereal based by-products from UK potable alcohol production to cattle could save 370 M m3 world eq., or 37% of the UK’s water scarcity footprint attributable to imported soy feed.

The outbreak of COVID-19 led to restrictions on movements and activities, which presented a serious challenge to the resilience of the water sector. It is essential to understand how successfully water companies responded to this unprecedented event so effective plans can be built for future disruptive events. This study aimed to evaluate how the water sectors in the UK and Ireland were affected from a holistic sustainability and resilience-based perspective. Using pre-COVID data for 18 indicators of company performance and comparing them to the first year of the pandemic, the direction and magnitudes of change varied across companies. Financial indicators were significantly negatively affected, with interest cover ratio, post-tax return on regulated equity, and operating profit, exhibiting the greatest average declines of 21%, 21%, and 18%, respectively, a trend that would be dangerous to provisions and company operations if continued. Despite this, service and environmental indicators improved during the first year of the pandemic, exemplified by unplanned outage, risk of sewer storm flooding, and water quality compliance risk decreasing by a mean average of 37%, 32%, and 27%, respectively. Analysis using the Hicks-Moorsteen Productivity Index concluded that average productivity increased by 35%. The results suggest that the water sector was relatively resilient to the COVID-19 pandemic in terms of services, but adverse effects may have manifested in a deteriorated financial position that could exacerbate future challenges arising from exogenous pressures such as climate change. Specific advice for the UK water sector is to scrutinize non-critical spending, such as shareholder payments, during periods of economic downturn to ensure essential capital projects can be carried out. Although results are temporal and indicator selection sensitive, we recommend that policy, regulation, and corporate culture embrace frameworks that support long-term resilience to since the relative success in response to COVID-19 does not guarantee future success against differing challenges. This study generates a timely yet tentative insight into the diverse performance of the water sector during the pandemic, pertinent to the water industry, regulators, academia, and the public.

The number of micro-scale spirit distilleries worldwide has grown considerably over the past decade. With an onus on the distillery sector to reduce its environmental impact, such as carbon emissions, opportunities for increasing energy efficiency need to be implemented. This study explores the potential environmental benefits and financial gains achievable through heat recovery from different process and by-product streams, exemplified for a Scotch whisky distillery, but transferrable to micro-distilleries worldwide. The eco-efficiency methodology is applied, taking into account both climate change and water scarcity impacts as well as economic performance of alcohol production with and without heat recovery. A Life Cycle Assessment, focusing on climate change and water scarcity, is combined with a financial assessment considering investment costs and the present value of the savings over the 20-year service life of the heat recovery system. The proposed heat recovery systems allow carbon emission reductions of 8–23% and water scarcity savings of 13–55% for energy and water provision for 1 L of pure alcohol (LPA). Financial savings are comparatively smaller, at 5–13%, due to discounting of the future savings – but offer a simple payback of the investment costs in under two years. The eco-efficiency of the distillery operations can be improved through all proposed heat recovery configurations, but best results are obtained when heat is recovered from mashing, distillations and by-products altogether. A sensitivity analysis confirmed that the methodology applied here delivers robust results and can help guide other micro-distilleries on whether to invest in heat recovery systems, and/or the heat recovery configuration. Uptake should be enhanced through increased information and planning support, and in cases where the distillery offers insufficient heat and water sinks to use all pre-warmed water, opportunities to link with a heat sink outside the distillery are encouraged. A 10% reduction in heating fuel use through heat recovery has the potential to save 47 kt of CO2 eq. or £7.4 M per annum in United Kingdom malt whisky production alone, based on current fuel types used and current prices (2021).

Background: mycobacterial cells contain complex mixtures of mycolic acid esters. These can be used as antigens recognised by antibodies in the serum of individuals with active tuberculosis, caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis. In high burden populations, a significant number of false positives are observed; possibly these antigens are also recognised by antibodies generated by other mycobacterial infections, particularly ubiquitous ‘environmental mycobacteria’. This suggests similar responses may be observed in a low burden TB population, particularly in groups regularly exposed to mycobacteria. Methods: ELISA using single synthetic trehalose mycolates corresponding to major classes in many mycobacteria was used to detect antibodies in serum of individuals with no known mycobacterial infection, comprising farmers, abattoir workers, and rural and urban populations. Results: serum from four Welsh or Scottish cohorts showed lower (with some antigens significantly lower) median responses than those reported for TB negatives from high-burden TB populations, and significantly lower responses than those with active TB. A small fraction, particularly older farmers, showed strong responses. A second study examined BCG vaccinated and non-vaccinated farmers and non-farmers. Farmers gave significantly higher median responses than non-farmers with three of five antigens, while there was no significant difference between vaccinated or non-vaccinated for either farmer or non-farmer groups. Conclusions: this initial study shows that serodiagnosis with mycobacterial lipid antigens can detect antibodies in a population sub-group that is significantly exposed to mycobacteria, in an assay that is not interfered with by vaccination. Given the links between mycobacterial exposure and a range of immune system diseases, further understanding such responses may provide a new opportunity for monitoring public health and directing treatment.

We recently launched a citizen science project on household water-energy efficiency as part of the cross-border, interdisciplinary Dŵr Uisce research project on improving the energy performance and long-term sustainability of the water sectors in Ireland and Wales. Citizen science is emerging as a critically important means of democratising science by engaging the public to contribute to the creation of solutions to some of the most important topical global challenges like climate change.The main aim of the citizen science project is to engage with and collaborate with the public to improve understanding of water-related energy use in Irish homes to help assess the most effective means of improving the efficiency and sustainability of household water-related energy use through water use efficiency.The project consists of two key parts: a cross-sectional survey that assessed the current public perception of household water and water-related energy use, followed by a longitudinal study where participants record water use at home to assess the actual current household micro-component water use and associated water-related energy use. The findings of the project will be used to quantify the potential of climate action through household water-energy use efficiency in reducing emissions and costs, and to develop up-to-date best practice guidelines for climate action from household water use efficiency.We will be presenting the results of the cross-sectional survey on current perception of household water and water-related energy use. The survey, open to all households in the Republic of Ireland, ran for 7 weeks in September and October 2021 and a prize draw was used to incentivise participation. We received a total of 265 responses of which 23 responses were partially completed responses (8.7%); however, data available for non-completed responses does not indicate any difference compared to completed responses, and it may well be possible some non-completed responders went on to restart the survey after it timed out. The survey consisted of 60 questions grouped by general questions on household water use (e.g., water provision, and water and energy metering) and household water use types (bathroom, kitchen, cleaning and laundry, and outdoor water use). Itwas designed to be disaggregated by the Irish Central Statistics Office (CSO) household demographic and socio-economic census as a segmentation framework: location, household type, household age, housing status, employment status, household income and household size (disaggregated by age). The responses are found to be generally representative compared with the most recent 2016 census data in terms of location, employment status, housing status, household income, household type, and household age.

peer-reviewed Straw is an important livestock bedding material facing increasing demand for alternative uses in Europe and is often transported long distances from arable to livestock regions. Alternative bedding materials cultivated directly on livestock farms could potentially avoid this transport and competition for use. For the first time, we applied consequential life cycle assessment (LCA) to account for the direct and indirect implications of miscanthus bedding production on livestock farms, considering displacement of fodder or livestock, and substitution of fossil fuels with straw in electricity generation. We modelled the effect of substituting straw with ‘home‐grown’ miscanthus bedding across seven beef and sheep farms. The consequences of displacing grass forage (or animal) production with homegrown miscanthus bedding cultivation were evaluated via three farmer decision scenarios: buy extra concentrate feed (D1), utilize remaining pasture areas more efficiently (D2) and buy grass silage (D3). Electricity generated from displaced straw (bedding) substituted either natural gas or coal electricity. Sensitivity analyses were undertaken using 34 scenario permutations to represent combinations of feed and electricity substitution, miscanthus fertilization rates and yields, and the quality of displaced pasture. Consequential LCA indicates that miscanthus bedding production could be environmentally beneficial, under scenarios involving D2 and D3. However, greenhouse gas emissions and wider environmental burdens may be increased under D1 scenarios, owing to the environmental cost of additional concentrate feed production, and possible indirect land use change, outweighing the benefits from: (a) fossil electricity substitution with straw bioelectricity; (b) reduced animal emissions via improved digestibility of concentrate feed; (c) avoided straw transport. The ratio of the yield of miscanthus to replaced grass was found to be a critical determinant of D1 environmental outcomes. We conclude that if grass forage production can be better managed, the use of miscanthus as a bedding material on livestock farms provides environmental benefits via diversion of straw to bioenergy use. PUBLISHED peer-reviewed

Benchmarking can be a useful tool for utility companies to improve their efficiency, offering many potential positives such as assessing performance objectively, exposing areas where improvement is needed, and identifying best performing companies, ultimately illuminating possible strategies for poorer performers to implement. Despite these positives, the challenge remains of how to compare the performance of different organisations from different sectors. This research aimed to develop a methodology to effectively compare companies across sectors using UK utilities across the water and sewage, energy, and communications sectors as a case study. A meth?odology was constructed based on service, environmental, and financial metrics, and cross-sector benchmarking was undertaken, which generated performance scores based on company metrics relative to sector peers. This circumnavigated issues of indicators often being mismatched across sectors and the lack of relevance and context when sectors do use similar indicators. Results showed that the sample of 18 utilities had two distinct clusters, one of eight sector leaders and the other of ten lower performers. Sky had the highest overall score of 13.5 (maximum 15), suggesting it significantly outperformed the rest of the communications sector. Similarly, British Gas and SSE lead the energy sector, whilst Wessex, Severn Trent, and United Utilities lead the way for water and sewage companies. The two distinct groups of sector leaders and lower performers can be employed to identify other companies that may offer learning opportunities. Top performers can assess top performers in other sectors to identify how they might continue improving, rather than be potentially limited within their sectors. Conversely, lower-performing companies can look within and across sectors to identify best practices to improve their performance. The methodological development and UK utility sustainability results collectively provide novel insight into the water, energy, and communication sectors and contribute to the international academic literature on benchmarking by illustrating an alternative and unique solution to comparing diverse sectors in any region.

The collection, treatment and disposal of wastewater is estimated to consume more than 2% of the world's electrical energy, whilst some wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) can account for over 20% of electrical consumption within municipalities. To investigate areas to improve wastewater treatment, international benchmarking on energy (electrical) intensity was conducted with the indicator kWh/m3 and a quality control of secondary treatment or better for ≥95% of treated volume. The core sample included 321 companies from 31 countries, however, to analyse regional differences, 11 countries from an external sample made up of various studies of WWTPs was also used in places. The sample displayed a weak-negative size effect with energy intensity, although Kruskal-Wallace analyses showed there was a significant difference between the size of groups (p-value of 0.015), suggesting that as companies get larger; they consume less electricity per cubic metre of wastewater treated. This relationship was not completely linear, as mid to large companies (10,001–100,000 customers) had the largest average consumption of 0.99 kWh/m3. In the regional analysis, EU states had the largest average kWh/m3 with 1.18, which appeared a result of the higher wastewater effluent standards of the region. This was supported by Denmark being the second largest average consuming country (1.35 kWh/m3), since it has some of strictest effluent standards in the world. Along with energy intensity, the associated greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions were calculated enabling the targeting of regions for improvement in response to climate change. Poland had the highest carbon footprint (0.91 kgCO2e/m3) arising from an energy intensity of 0.89 kWh/m3; conversely, a clean electricity grid can affectively mitigate wastewater treatment inefficiencies, exemplified by Norway who emit just 0.013 kgCO2e per cubic meter treated, despite consuming 0.60 kWh/m3. Finally, limitations to available data and the analysis were highlighted from which, it is advised that influent vs. effluent and net energy, as opposed to gross, data be used in future analyses. The large international sample size, energy data with a quality control, GHG analysis, and specific benchmarking recommendations give this study a novelty which could be of use to water industry operators, benchmarking organisations, and regulators.

The environmental cycling of antibiotic-resistant blaCTX-M-15-producing E. coli following release from wastewater treatment plants is a major public health concern. This study aimed to (i) assess the impact of sediment concentrations on the rate of their inactivation following release from human wastewater into freshwater, and (ii) simulate their subsequent dispersal to the nearby coastline during a &ldquo, worst-case&rdquo, event where heavy rainfall coincided with high spring tide in the Conwy Estuary, North Wales. Freshwater microcosms of low, medium and high turbidity were inoculated with blaCTX-M-15 -producing E. coli, then exposed to ultraviolet (UV) radiation. Typical regional wintertime exposure to UV was found to be insufficient to eradicate E. coli, and in highly turbid water, many bacteria survived simulated typical regional summertime UV exposure. Modelling results revealed that blaCTX-M-15-producing E. coli concentrations reduced downstream from the discharge source, with ~ 30% of the source concentration capable of dispersing through the estuary to the coast, taking ~36 h. Offshore, the concentration simulated at key shellfisheries and bathing water sites ranged from 1.4% to 10% of the upstream input, depending on the distance offshore and tidal regime, persisting in the water column for over a week. Our work indicates that the survival of such organisms post-release into freshwater is extended under typical wintertime conditions, which could ultimately have implications for human health.

The provision of fundamental services by water and sewage companies (WaSCs) requires substantial energy and material inputs. A sustainability assessment of these companies requires a holistic evaluation of both performance and efficiency. The Hicks-Moorsteen productivity index was applied to 12 WaSCs in the United Kingdom (UK) over a 6-year period to benchmark their sustainability, based on eight approaches using different input and output variables for efficiency assessment. The choice of variables had a major influence on the ranking and perceived operational efficiency among WaSCs. Capital expenditure (utilised as part of total expenditure) for example, is an important input for tracking company operations however, potential associated efficiency benefits can lag investment, leading to apparent poor short-term performance following capital expenditure. Furthermore, water supplied and wastewater treated was deemed an unconstructive output from a sustainability perspective since it contradicts efforts to improve sustainability through reduced leakage and consumption per capita. Customer satisfaction and water quality measures are potential suitable alternatives. Despite these limitations, total expenditure and water supplied and wastewater treated were used alongside customer satisfaction and self-generated renewable energy for a holistic sustainability assessment within a small sample. They indicated the UK water sector has improved in productivity by 1.8% on average for 2014-18 and still had room for improvement, as a technical decline was evident for both the best and worst performers. Collectively the sample's production frontier was unchanged but on average companies moved 2.1% closer to it, and further decomposition of productivity revealed this was due to improvements in economies of scale and scope. Careful selection of appropriate input and output variables for efficiency benchmarking across water companies is critical to align with sustainability objectives and to target future investment and regulation within the water sector.

The environmental cycling of antibiotic-resistant blaCTX-M-15-producing E. coli following release from wastewater treatment plants is a major public health concern. This study aimed to (i) assess the impact of sediment concentrations on the rate of their inactivation following release from human wastewater into freshwater, and (ii) simulate their subsequent dispersal to the nearby coastline during a “worst-case” event where heavy rainfall coincided with high spring tide in the Conwy Estuary, North Wales. Freshwater microcosms of low, medium and high turbidity were inoculated with blaCTX-M-15-producing E. coli, then exposed to ultraviolet (UV) radiation. Typical regional wintertime exposure to UV was found to be insufficient to eradicate E. coli, and in highly turbid water, many bacteria survived simulated typical regional summertime UV exposure. Modelling results revealed that blaCTX-M-15-producing E. coli concentrations reduced downstream from the discharge source, with ~30% of the source concentration capable of dispersing through the estuary to the coast, taking ~36 h. Offshore, the concentration simulated at key shellfisheries and bathing water sites ranged from 1.4% to 10% of the upstream input, depending on the distance offshore and tidal regime, persisting in the water column for over a week. Our work indicates that the survival of such organisms post-release into freshwater is extended under typical wintertime conditions, which could ultimately have implications for human health.

peer-reviewed The full text of this article will not be available in ULIR until the embargo expires on the 26/06/2022 Although the food service sector is a major user of water, the potential for heat recovery from commercial kitchens’ drain water remains largely unexplored. For the first time, we compare the life cycle environmental burdens of producing and installing a heat recovery system with the environmental credits arising from energy savings for a restaurant case study, and for the entire UK food service sector. Life Cycle Assessment was applied to determine the impacts of heat recovery systems made from different materials and comprising a heat exchanger in the shape of a concentric double-walled pipe, pipework and fittings. The design option with the smallest environmental footprint combined a heat exchanger made out of polypropylene-graphite (PP-GR) with polyethylene pipework, exhibiting 80–99% less environmental impact compared with components made out of (35% recycled) copper. Contrasting the environmental impacts of two heat recovery set-ups with energy savings shows that a PP-GR based system pays back all burdens of the seven assessed environmental impact categories, within two years, while payback times for the copper-based system vary depending on the replaced energy source, and can exceed the 10 year operational lifetime of the system. When looking at typical flow-rates in UK food outlets, net environmental savings can be realised across all analysed impact categories above a threshold water consumption of 555 L/day, using current technology. Extrapolation to the UK food service sector indicates annual greenhouse gas emission mitigation potential of about 500 Gg CO2 equivalent.

Anthropogenic activities have significantly altered global biogeochemical nitrogen (N) cycling leading to major environmental problems such as freshwater eutrophication, biodiversity loss and enhanced greenhouse gas emissions. The soils in the riparian interface between terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems may prevent excess N from entering freshwaters (e.g. via plant uptake, microbial transformations and denitrification). Although these processes are well documented in intensively managed agroecosystems, our understanding of riparian N removal in semi-natural systems remains poor. Our aim was to assess the spatial zoning of soil microbial communities (PLFA), N cycling gene abundance (archaeal and bacterial amoA, nifH, nirK, nirS, nosZ), N processing rates and plant N uptake across an extensively sheep grazed riparian area. As expected, soil properties differed greatly across the riparian transect, with significant decreases in organic matter, NH4+, carbon (C) and N content closest to the river (10 m), while ammonia oxidising archaea (AOA) increased in abundance towards the river. N2O emissions rates were limited by C and to a lesser extent by N with greater emissions close to the river. Plant uptake of urea-derived 15N was high (ca. 55–70% of that added to the soil) but 30–65% of the N was potentially lost by denitrification or leaching. Percentage recovered also suggests that the spatial patterning of plant and microbial N removal processes are different across the riparian zone. Our study provides novel insights into the underlying mechanisms controlling the spatial variability of N cycling in semi-natural riparian ecosystems.

The value of riparian areas has long been recognised due to their contribution in supporting wildlife diversity and their capacity to deliver a wide range of ecosystem services. Their multiple uses (e.g. flood prevention, biodiversity, pollutant attenuation) combined with an inconsistent use of terminology (e.g. river bank, floodplain, wetland, buffer strip), however, has led to the development of fragmented policies associated with riparian areas. This review brings together current EU and UK legislation alongside research publications focused on riparian areas. We critically evaluate the current legislative framework relating to riparian areas and identify key scientific knowledge gaps which need to be addressed to support future decision-making. Our findings revealed several major problems associated with riparian policy and management, including: (i) the fragmented nature of legislation concerning riparian areas; (ii) the presence of redundant policy instruments, (iii) a lack of practical objectives, (iv) contradictory measures, and (v) unachievable targets. Further, our results suggest that most research is focused on agricultural systems and single ecosystem attributes or functions, rather than supporting an ecosystem-service approach that is widely aspired to in policy statements. We recommend that future research could better support riparian protection policies by focusing less on what the different ecosystems ‘are’, and more on what they can ‘offer’ by way of multiple benefits.

Soil testing in agriculture is associated with many economic and environmental benefits. However, previous studies have shown that a significant proportion of beef and sheep farmers in the UK do not carry out standard soil index testing (pH, available Mg, P and K); with much fewer again carrying out more extensive soil tests (e.g., organic matter, micronutrients). This study identifies barriers and motivations to soil testing amongst the beef and sheep sector, using a combination of farmer surveys, expert interviews, and a 5-year soil testing dataset from the largest commercial UK soil testing laboratory. Evidence for differences in the adoption of soil tests by beef and sheep farmers compared to the arable and dairy sectors is explained in relation to: (1) the extent of soil pH and nutrient imbalances, linking to the intensity of management in the different sectors; and (2) the extent to which farmers perceive links between their soils and their outputs (profits, yield, livestock health). We show a greater likelihood for farmers to engage with soil testing when the links to declining outputs are clearer. Our results showed that beef and sheep farmers who did engage with soil testing showed greater levels of innovation and were more likely to seek advisory support, most often associated with larger farm sizes. Our data also highlights the importance of an output-driven approach to initiate an interest in soil analyses amongst less engaged farmers. We argue that this avenue offers greater potential for enhancement of farmers’ knowledge of the soil system than a primarily regulatory-driven approach, where soil testing becomes a compulsory action but does not lead to subsequent improvements in farm management.

Reducing fuel use for the heating of houses is key to meeting greenhouse gas emission reduction targets. This study constructs Marginal Abatement Cost Curves (MACC) of different technologies for space and water heating of houses in the county of Gwynedd in Wales, UK, and uses information provided by energy certificates to correctly assess the energy requirements of a house. This approach allows us to accurately predict energy consumption and identify potential ways to reduce demand. We then explore the costs and savings of a switch from systems using conventional heating fuel (e.g., gas, electricity, oil, LPG, and coal) to low-carbon technology such as PV, biomass boilers and heat pumps. Solar PV was the low-carbon heating technology found to be most cost-effective per tonne of emissions abated (£/t CO2). A reduction in capital costs of low-carbon technologies could potentially make technologies such as heat pumps be cost-effective. Without any policy intervention, low investment and fuel cost of gas would make replacement with any low-carbon technology uneconomical. Emission savings in Gwynedd over 30-year period could be between 3.494 and 5.289 Mt CO2 if appropriate measures which cater towards reducing capital costs and/or incentivising the uptake of technology are adopted.

Blended finance offers a way of increasing total expenditure on tackling the twin climate and biodiversity global emergencies. However, this requires effective methods for combining private and public funding. As an example of the barriers and opportunities facing practical implementation of a blended finance approach, this Viewpoint paper presents a case-study of the UK Peatland Code which will have relevance to other instances of blended finance initiatives elsewhere. Restoration of degraded peatlands reduces their carbon emissions and can provide emission reductions and other environmental gains in a socially cost-effective manner. However, many benefits are public goods arising as externalities which are difficult to convert into financial returns to private investors. To address this problem, the Peatland Code has been developed as a voluntary certification standard for UK peatland projects wishing to seek additional private funding via the voluntary carbon market. However, uptake of the Peatland Code has been slow. Despite growing demand in the voluntary carbon market, we observe six main barriers to supply-side uptake: lack of awareness amongst land managers; resistance to land use change, particularly when measures are seen to potentially compromise agricultural production; high upfront capital costs; limited equipment and skills; uncertainty over ongoing costs and support; and, administrative bureaucracy/inflexibility. We offer recommendations for how such barriers could be reduced to increase supply-side uptake, including: increased effort to promote sustainable land management and blended financing of it, and restoration activities and the Peatland Code in particular; continued public funding of upfront capital investments, with private funding directed more at ongoing payments; and, simplified and more flexible administrative arrangements, with public and private schemes designed in tandem to improve their practical complementarity.

The environmental impacts of increasing pasture productivity in the United Kingdom’s (UK) uplands is under-researched. A field trial on a representative upland farm investigated the effect of implementing pasture improvement options on unimproved land between 2017 and 2019. The options were cultivation (ploughing and rotovating) and reseeding in combination with lime and fertiliser inputs. Soil pH, grass growth, pasture quality and nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions from soil were measured throughout the growing seasons. Carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions were also measured from cultivation until pasture establishment in 2017. In the year of establishment, reseeding and increased nitrogen (N) fertiliser application led to greater daily grass growth, with the mean over two times greater from the ploughed and reseeded treatment (20.0 kg DM ha−1 day−1) as opposed to the control (8.2 kg DM ha−1 day−1) during the growing season (p

Study region Wales, United Kingdom. Study focus Climate change is predicted to have a large impact on the hydrological regimes of Welsh rivers. However, its influence on the abstraction capability of key sectors, such as public water supply (PWS) and hydroelectric power (HEP), is not yet fully understood. We use the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) to generate future (2021–2079) streamflows under a worst-case scenario of greenhouse gas emissions (Representative Concentration Pathway 8.5) at two catchments in Wales, the Conwy and Tywi. SWAT streamflow output is used to estimate total unmet demand for PWS and changes in generation characteristics for HEP. PWS unmet demand is assessed using the Water Evaluation And Planning (WEAP) system under increasing, static, and declining demand scenarios. Mann-Kendall analysis is performed to detect and characterise trends. New hydrological insights for the region Under all future demand scenarios, there is increased occurrence of insufficient streamflow to satisfy PWS demand. For HEP, decrease in annual abstraction volume results in a loss of generation potential, despite an increasing number of days that maximum abstraction is reached. Changes in HEP generation and PWS availability are most pronounced in the medium-term (2021–2054), with rate of change slowing after 2060. We provide a novel perspective on future water resource availability in Wales, giving context to management planning to ensure future PWS sustainability and HEP generation efficiency.

Sustainable intensification is a process by which agricultural productivity is enhanced whilst also creating environmental and social benefits. We aimed to identify practices likely to deliver sustainable intensification, currently available for UK farms but not yet widely adopted. We compiled a list of 18 farm management practices with the greatest potential to deliver sustainable intensification in the UK, following a well-developed stepwise methodology for identifying priority solutions, using a group decision-making technique with key agricultural experts. The list of priority management practices can provide the focal point of efforts to achieve sustainable intensification of agriculture, as the UK develops post-Brexit agricultural policy, and pursues the second Sustainable Development Goal, which aims to end hunger and promote sustainable agriculture. The practices largely reflect a technological, production-focused view of sustainable intensification, including for example, precision farming and animal health diagnostics, with less emphasis on the social and environmental aspects of sustainability. However, they do reflect an integrated approach to farming, covering many different aspects, from business organization and planning, to soil and crop management, to landscape and nature conservation. For a subset of ten of the priority practices, we gathered data on the level of existing uptake in English and Welsh farms through a stratified survey in seven focal regions. We find substantial existing uptake of most of the priority practices, indicating that UK farming is an innovative sector. The data identify two specific practices for which uptake is relatively low, but which some UK farmers find appealing and would consider adopting. These practices are: prediction of pest and disease outbreaks, especially for livestock farms; staff training on environmental issues, especially on arable farms.

For water companies, benchmarking their performance relative to other companies can be an effective way to identify the scope for efficiency gains to be made through infrastructure investment and operational improvements. However, a key limitation to benchmarking is the confounding effect of exogenous factors, which may not be factored in to benchmarking methodologies. The purpose of this study was to provide an unbiased comparison of efficiency across a sample of water and sewage companies, accounting for important exogenous factors. Bias-corrected economic and environmental efficiency estimates with explanatory factors were evaluated for a sample of 13 water and sewage companies in the UK and Ireland, using a double-bootstrap data envelopment analysis (DEA) approach. Bias correction for economic and environmental efficiency changed the rankings of nine and eight companies, respectively. On average, companies could reduce economic inputs by 19% and carbon outputs by 16% if they performed at the efficiency frontier. Variables explaining efficiency were: source of water, leakage rate, per capita consumption and population density. Population density showed statistical significance with both economic (p-value 0.002) and environmental (p-value 0.001) efficiency. Consequently, a rurality factor was defined for each company's operational area, which was then regressed against normalised water company performance data. More rural water companies spend more per property (R2 of 0.633), in part reflecting a larger number of smaller sewage treatment works serving rural populations (R2 of 0.823). These findings provide new insight into methods for benchmarking, and factors affecting, water company efficiency, pertinent for both regulators and water companies.

Renewable energy systems reduce the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions associated with energy generation. However, we live in a world with depleting reserves of natural resources, and significant quantities of raw materials are often embodied within renewable energy infrastructure. This paper examines the potential for ecodesign measures to improve the GHG and resource balance of five small-scale hydropower case studies (50–650 kW). A life cycle assessment (LCA) approach compares two specific environmental impact categories: global warming potential (GWP) and abiotic resource depletion potential (ARDP). A number of ecodesign measures were examined for each installation: powerhouse structure, concrete selection, roofing materials, excavation work and transportation. Ecodesign led to cumulative savings of between 2.1% and 10.4% for GWP, and ARDP savings of between 0.1% and 2.6%, for the hydropower installations. Small savings were made with each ecodesign measure applied in all case studies. Furthermore, applying a 1% materiality threshold as outlined by LCA standards was shown to under-estimate the total project burdens, and to neglect opportunities for burden savings through ecodesign. Ecodesign can promote the use of locally sourced materials and some measures can lead to time savings during the construction process. The findings demonstrate the potential for ecodesign to modestly improve the carbon and resource efficiency of hydropower projects.

This paper explores the potential to simplify the life cycle assessment (LCA) process for a hydropower (HP) system, without significantly compromising the accurate representation of environmental burdens. Taking five HP case studies, two questions were addressed: (i) Does a 1 % materiality threshold capture at least 95 % of the key environmental burdens from cradle-to-operation? (ii) What is the effect of applying a materiality threshold based on the global warming potential (GWP) indicator for capturing other environmental impacts? A comprehensively detailed inventory database was developed for five modern small- and micro-HP case studies (50–650 kW), representing run-of-river and water supply infrastructure installations from the UK and Ireland. Following ISO 14040 standards, the environmental burdens were quantified for these HP projects. Normalised results were compared against a natural gas combined cycle power plant (NG-CCP) reference system for marginal grid electricity generation. The adoption of a 1 % materiality threshold as advised by some guidelines led to cumulative omissions of up to 7.5 % of the total project burdens for some HP installations, contravening the 95 % inclusion target. The number of project components differed between the two types of HP projects and target exceedances were more likely for projects with more components. Using a lower materiality threshold of 0.2 or 0.5 % ensured that the 95 % target was achieved for all HP projects. Considering GWP as an indicator burden for assessing materiality thresholds led to significant omissions for other environmental burdens, e.g. abiotic resource depletion potential (ARDP). Omitting a number of small components with low-carbon contributions (e.g. copper wiring) led to a 19 % underestimation for contributors to the resource-based (GWP) impact categories. A simplified methodology may not capture all environmental burdens for a hydropower system or fossil fuel-based power plant. Basing a 1 % materiality threshold on contribution to a single burden, such as GWP, can lead to omissions of significant contributory components for that burden, and larger omissions for other burdens. ARDP is a particularly important impact category for renewable energy systems and appears to be particularly sensitive to materiality thresholds. It is important that practitioners take care with materiality thresholds when evaluating the environmental performance of all types of renewable energy systems through LCA. Including a materiality threshold to draw practicable system boundaries is necessary; however, reducing the threshold contribution to 0.5 % would be more likely to ensure that at least 95 % of environmental burdens are accounted for.

peer-reviewed The full text of this article will not be available in ULIR until the embargo expires on the 29/05/2022 Water companies consume up to 8% of global energy demand, at billions of dollars’ cost. Benchmarking of performance between utilities can facilitate improvements in efficiency; however, inconsistencies in benchmarking practices may obscure pathways to improvement. The aspiration was to conduct an unbiased efficiency comparison within a sample of 17 water only companies and water and sewerage companies in England and Wales, accounting for exogenous factors, whilst evaluating the accuracy of common proxies. Proxies were tested, and bias-corrected energy and economic efficiency scores with explanatory factors were analysed using a double-bootstrap data envelopment method. Bias correction altered the rankings of two companies for energy efficiency only. Results imply that on average, companies could reduce energy inputs by 91.7%, and economic inputs by 92.3%, which was symptomatic of the companies specialising in drinking water supply considerably out-performing combined water and sewerage companies. As exogenous influences were likely to be a factor in the disparity between the companies, five indicators were evaluated. The results varied but of note were average pumping head height, which displayed a significant negative effect for energy efficiency, and proportion of water passing through the largest four treatment works, that exhibited a significant negative effect on economic efficiency. Within proxy performance, population served for drinking water was an adequate replacement for volume of water produced, with results matching the core variable apart from two companies changing rank in the economic analysis. Conversely, length of water mains performed poorly when replacing capital expenditure, implying companies were on average 12.6% more efficient, resulting in ten companies changing their rank and causing explanatory variables to contradict direction of influence and significance. The findings contribute new insights for benchmarking, including how different types of water companies perform under bias-correcting methods, the degree to which factors affect efficiency and how appropriate some proxies are. peer-reviewed

Riparian buffers, the interface between terrestrial and freshwater ecosystems, have the potential to protect water bodies from land-based pollution, and also for enhancing the delivery of a range of ecosystem services. The UK currently has no defined optimal width or maximum extent of riparian buffers for specific ecosystem services. Here, we present the first study, which attempts to (a) compare and critique different riparian buffer delineation methods and (b) investigate how ecological processes, for example, pollutant removal, nutrient cycling, and water temperature regulation, are affected spatially by proximity to the river and also within a riparian buffer zone. Our results have led to the development of new concepts for riparian delineation based on ecosystem service-specific scenarios. Results from our study suggest that choice of delineation method will influence not only the total area of potential riparian buffers but also the proportion of land cover types included, which in turn will determine their main ecosystem provision. Thus, for some ecological processes (e.g., pollutant removal), a fixed-distance approach will preserve and protect its ecosystem function, whereas for processes such as denitrification, a variable-width buffer will reflect better riparian spatial variability maximizing its ecological value. In summary, riparian delineation within UK habitats should be specific to the particular ecosystem service(s) of interest (e.g., uptake of nutrients and shading), and the effectiveness of the buffer should be ground-truthed to ensure the greatest level of protection.

Riparian areas, the interface between land and freshwater ecosystems, are considered to play a pivotal role in the supply of regulating, provisioning, cultural and supporting services. Most previous studies, however, have tended to focus on intensive agricultural systems and only on a single ecosystem function. Here, we present the first study which attempts to assess a wide range of ecological processes involved in the provision of the ecosystem service of water quality regulation across a diverse range of riparian typologies. Specifically, we focus on 1) evaluating the spatial variation in riparian soils properties with respect to distance with the river and soil depth in contrasting habitat types; 2) gaining further insights into the underlying mechanisms of pollutant removal (i.e. pesticide sorption/degradation, denitrification, etc.) by riparian soils; and 3) quantify and evaluate how riparian vegetation across different habitat types contribute to the provision of watercourse shading. All the habitats were present within a single large catchment and included: (i) improved grassland, (ii) unimproved (semi-natural) grassland, (iii) broadleaf woodland, (iv) coniferous woodland, and (iv) mountain, heath and bog. Taking all the data together, the riparian soils could be statistically separated by habitat type, providing evidence that they deliver ecosystem services to differing extents. Overall, however, our findings seem to contradict the general assumption that soils in riparian area are different from neighbouring (non-riparian) areas and that they possess extra functionality in terms of ecosystem service provision. Watercourse shading was highly habitat specific and was maximal in forests (ca. 52% shade cover) in comparison to the other habitat types (7-17%). Our data suggest that the functioning of riparian areas in less intensive agricultural areas, such as those studied here, may be broadly predicted from the surrounding land use, however, further research is required to critically test this across a wider range of ecosystems.

Micro-hydropower (MHP) presents new opportunities to generate electricity from within existing water infrastructure. This paper quantifies the environmental impacts of electricity generation from three MHP case studies (15–140 kW) in the water industry, using a life cycle assessment approach. Environmental burdens were calculated per kWh electricity generated over nominal turbine operational lifespans. Compared with marginal UK grid electricity generation in combined cycle turbine natural gas power plants, normalised life cycle environmental burdens for MHP electricity were reduced by: >99% for global warming potential (GWP); >98% for fossil resource depletion potential; >93% for acidification potential; 50–62% for human toxicity potential. However, the burden for abiotic resource depletion potential was 251–353% higher for MHP than marginal grid-electricity. Different quantities of raw materials and installation practices led to a range in GWP burdens from 2.14 to 4.36 g CO2 eq./kWh. One case benefitted from very low site preparation requirements while others required substantial excavation works and material quantities. Carbon payback times ranged from 0.16 to 0.31 years, extending to 0.19–0.40 years for worst-case scenarios examined as part of a sensitivity analysis. The carbon payback period for future MHP installations was estimated to increase by 1% annually, as the carbon intensity of marginal grid electricity is predicted to decline. This study demonstrates that MHP installations in the water industry have a strongly positive environmental balance.

Ambitious targets to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from agriculture have been set by both national governments and their respective livestock sectors. We hypothesize that farmer self-identity influences their assessment of climate change and their willingness to implement measures which address the issue. Perceptions of climate change were determined from 286 beef/sheep farmers and evaluated using principal component analysis (PCA). The analysis elicits two components which evaluate identity (productivism and environmental responsibility), and two components which evaluate behavioral capacity to adopt mitigation and adaptation measures (awareness and risk perception). Subsequent Cluster Analyses reveal four farmer types based on the PCA scores. ‘The Productivist’ and ‘The Countryside Steward’ portray low levels of awareness of climate change, but differ in their motivation to adopt pro-environmental behavior. Conversely, both ‘The Environmentalist’ and ‘The Dejected’ score higher in their awareness of the issue. In addition, ‘The Dejected’ holds a high sense of perceived risk; however, their awareness is not conflated with an explicit understanding of agricultural GHG sources. With the exception of ‘The Environmentalist’, there is an evident disconnect between perceptions of agricultural emission sources and their contribution towards GHG emissions amongst all types. If such linkages are not conceptualized, it is unlikely that behavioral capacities will be realized. Effective communication channels which encourage action should target farmers based on the groupings depicted. Therefore, understanding farmer types through the constructs used in this study can facilitate effective and tailored policy development and implementation.

Pollution from agriculture has environmental consequences at local and global scales. Managing this pollution is challenging because of diffuse sources and complex relationships between aquatic and atmospheric emissions. We illustrate this for a UK county that has suffered outbreaks of microbial pollution and eutrophication. We surveyed 49 livestock farms covering 12% of total agricultural grazed land. Soil nutrient status and whole-farm nutrient balances were determined, and the environmental impact of alleviating sub-optimal soil pH by liming was estimated at the county level. Only 37% of fields contained more P than was required for satisfactory grass growth, and soil acidity and available K were often limiting production. The mean farm N, P and K balances were similar to a modelled farm in England & Wales and EU indicators for the majority of North West Europe. This suggests that local eutrophication events linked to agriculture are more likely to relate to improper timing of nutrient application rather than over-application. None of the surveyed farmers used nutrient decision support tools, largely due to a lack of awareness and competing sources of information. Liming soils to pH 6.0 was estimated to both reduce N-leaching and N2O emissions; however, the net climate-change impact would be negative as the direct CO2 emissions would exceed CO2 equivalent emissions of not liming by 394% (95% CI 201–21,232). Although liming currently presents a net cost to farmers, a sensitivity analysis suggests that reduced lime cost could lead to economic benefit to farmers but still increased greenhouse gas emissions. The results are applicable to all pasture-based agricultural systems where there is a drive to maintain or increase production through optimal soil and nutrient management. The findings demonstrate an important trade-off between reducing aquatic and atmospheric pollution and agricultural productivity, and the need to improve communication of this trade-off to farmers.