Easter Bush Farm Platform

Purpose

The purpose of the Easter Bush Farm Platform is to study the impacts of agricultural practices on atmospheric composition and greenhouse gas emissions.  Agriculture can produce large volumes of pollutants and greenhouse gases in the form of nitrogen and carbon compounds, which have adverse effects on climate, environment, economy and health.  The Farm Platform enables scientists to monitor the effects of agricultural practices such as ploughing, silage production, fertiliser use and sheep production.

Capabilities

The Easter Bush Farm Platform has a large air conditioned cabin equipped to monitor atmospheric composition and meteorology. The site is positioned along the boundary of two fields (referred to as the North and South fields) consisting of intensively managed grassland (~10 hectares). The local wind direction is channelled by the Pentland Hills, so that NE winds fall within the North field, while the South field is governed by the SW winds, which are the prevalent winds at this site.  Through close ties with the tenant farmer, the effects of various land management practices on emissions can be monitored (ploughing, sheep, silage production, fertilisers etc.) and the two fields compared.  The site is also used for other research purposes, including: testbed for inter-comparison of instruments (eg ammonia monitoring equipment); COSMOS-UK soil moisture monitoring network. 

Lifecycle

The Easter Bush Farm Platform was established in the 1990s, and has no fixed end date with continuing long-term research on emissions from farmland.

Uniqueness

Easter Bush is one of the best studied farmland sites in the UK (since 1990s).  It provides important evidence for the impacts of farming on the air quality and composition, showing how changes in farming practices affect emissions.

Partners

UKCEH's partners for the Easter Bush Farm Platform over the last 10 years have included: the tenant farmer; Edinburgh University and SRUC (Scotland's Rural Colleg); COSMOS-UK (a UKCEH Environmental Observatory - see separate catalogue entry).

Location(s)

The Easter Bush Farm Platform is located 10km south of Edinburgh, Scotland (3◦120 W, 55◦520 N; 190 m above sea level), near the UKCEH Edinburgh station.

User(s)

Users of the Easter Bush Farm Platform include: UKCEH Scientists; Edinburgh Univeristy and SRUC.

Access

The Easter Bush Farm Platform may be available for use by other research organisations, usually in collaboration with UKCEH: initial enquiries via UKCEH Edinburgh.  Data from the Farm Platform will be available via the Centre for Environmental Data Analysis (CEDA); meanwhile much is available in scientific publications or contact UKCEH Edinburgh.

Funding Sources

The Farm Platform is funded by: UKRI-NERC National Capability (LTSS): UK-SCaPE programme; COSMOS-UK (UK-SCaPE); and research project grants.