Projects

To successfully address climate change, we must minimise greenhouse gas emissions and sequester carbon (C). Scottish policy aims to reach net zero emissions by 2045 and the Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change (IPCC) suggests soil carbon sequestration as an avenue for land management to mitigate potential emissions.

Grass can store considerable levels of C and managed grasslands, or turf, sequester more carbon than unmanaged. Historical data has been used to estimate the total C sequestration amount in fairways and putting greens in the first 25-30 years since creation. Significant scope for estimating soil C sequestration in Scottish golf courses exists where some courses have been in existence since the 1500s.

Peat and coastal habitats have been the area of focus on C sequestration in Scotland to date. Little research is available on the soil sequestration status and potential in the golf land area of Scotland. The aim of this research is to determine the best method to measure the stability, age and chemical nature of C in golf course systems using SRUC Elmwood as an initial test site. The purpose of this research is to establish a working methodology for application in a national golf soil C inventory that is time efficient and affordable as a routine analysis which provides labile and recalcitrant fraction information.

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Funded by: Scotland’s Rural College (SRUC)

First published: 13 October 2023