Biogeochemistry Programme

What will the Biogeochemistry Programme do?

This Centre for Ecology and Hydrology (CEH) programme measures, analyses and models biogeochemical cycles at local, regional and global scales to understand their role in environmental change.

See related story on LWEC website.

What are biogeochemical cycles?

Biogeochemical cycles include greenhouse gases (such as water vapour, carbon, nitrogen, methane, ozone and aerosols) and pollutants such as phosphorus, heavy metals, nanoparticles and radio-nuclides.

The programme aims to

• quantify stores in the atmosphere, soil and freshwaters and understand the interactions between these.
• understand links between biogeochemical cycles and water and with biodiversity.
• quantify possible effects of human intervention on the cycles and on ecosystem services.

Topics:

1. Monitoring and interpretation of biogeochemical and climate change - provides long-term measurements, ensures the secure storage of data, operates and develops long-term field manipulation facilities and develops new and novel techniques for flux and concentration assessment.
2. Biogeochemistry and climate system processes -  focuses on assessment and understanding the interactions between the biogeochemical cycles and the global climate system.
3. Managing threats to the environment and human health develops risk assessment tools tools and advice to UK and European governments.

Who will benefit?

Although independent, the programme works with stakeholders to help develop, produce and deliver projects that provide evidence to policymakers, businesses and the third sector to help determine and validate solutions for environmental problems. The programme encompasses national, European and international partnerships.

Examples:

Predatory Bird Monitoring Scheme /Wildcoms network

This is supported by government bodies including Natural England, the Environment Agency and the Campaign for Responsible Rodenticide Use.

Recently the scheme held a stakeholder meeting across all major UK monitoring and surveillance schemes for disease and contaminants in wild vertebrates. The result was a programme of work and collaboration across the organisations and coordinated reports for the main end user – Defra.

Bioenergy Research

A project, developed with the Energy Technology Institute, takes outputs from the two LWEC-accredited land based renewables programmes and makes them available as a software tool to the user community, for example Defra, DECC, farmers and energy companies.

NitroEurope

NitroEurope IP is a large-scale project of 65 UK and international partners, which contributes to understanding the nitrogen cycle, concentrating on interactions between nitrogen in ecosystems and greenhouse gas emissions.

Expected outcomes and impacts

Climate Change

A scientist from the programme was one of a small team selected by the Department of Energy and Climae Change to provide emissions profiles for government ministers to take to the 2009 Copenhagen Climate Summit. Their remit was to determine what emissions profiles ensure the threshold of two degrees of global warming is not crossed with a 50% probability or higher.

Agri-environment schemes

Research outcomes from Pontbren (a multi-scale experimental programme on upland land management and flood risk) have been used in the development of the £89m Wales agri-environment scheme (Glastir).

Bob Vaughan, from the Environment Agency Wales says‘the work at Pontbren has been extremely influential in the development of Glastir and… would not have been possible without the sound scientific evidence that the Centre of Ecology and Hydrology has supplied’.

Influenza Pandemic

The programme provides scientific advice to the Department of Health on the use of pharmaceuticals during influenza pandemics and their impact on the environment and risk to wastewater infrastructure.

Additives in Shipping Fuel

The programme modelled policy options for Defra regarding sulphur content of shipping fuel, comparing policy to critical loads (i.e. a measure of how much pollution the ecosystem can tolerate).

Using this as evidence, Defra supported a change in legislation as the NPV was determined to be £245m-£576m for a £1m implementation cost. The new policy was adopted by the International Marine Organisation in 2010.

PROGRAMME FACTS AND FIGURES

Start date: April 2007