News

For decades, nature conservation in the UK and around the world has focused on protecting named species and habitats. These efforts work for the species they target, but biodiversity is still declining at alarming rates, both inside protected areas and beyond them.A new paper by Lynn Dicks, Clare Fitzsimmons and Sallie Bailey argues that this appro…

The following article was written by PhD student, Madison Fail, working with Prof Sasha Turchyn in the Cairngorms.

The Fens are crossed by thousands of kilometres of drainage ditches that keep land farmable and help protect homes and fields from flooding. They are also wetland habitats, rich in water and bankside plants. That creates a balancing act for those who manage them: plants slow the water down and can reduce a ditch's capacity to carry floodwater, but …

New research from the Centre for Landscape Regeneration has mapped millions of trees across the Cairngorms, revealing extensive natural woodland regeneration following landscape-scale changes in deer management.A new study led by researchers at the University of Cambridge has used airborne laser scanning and AI-supported analysis to map more than s…

A new study led by CLR researchers Prof Adam Pellegrini and Dr Katy Faulkner has found that clay and silt in drained lowland peat soils can help slow the loss of carbon to the atmosphere. CLR colleagues Prof David Coomes, Dr Ross Morrison and Prof Chris Evans are also co-authors.Published in Global Change Biology, the study investigates how centuri…

Last month I had the pleasure of travelling to Harrogate for the 2026 conference of the Association of Research Managers and Administrators (ARMA) — the UK's flagship gathering for research development, grant management, impact and knowledge exchange professionals. With over 750 delegates from across the UK and beyond, and a packed programme spanni…

I attended the IUCN UK Peatland Programme Conference 2026, Peatlands Under Pressure, held at Swansea University’s Bay Campus. Bringing together researchers, policymakers, restoration practitioners, and land managers from across the UK and Europe, the conference provided an excellent opportunity to explore the challenges and opportunities facing pea…

Workshop explores how advances in AI and Earth Observation could support restoration, monitoring and environmental policy.Led by the CLR's Barbara Net-Bradley and Jessica Williams, this cutting-edge workshop brought together researchers, statutory agencies and restoration practitioners in Cambridge on 23–24 March 2026. It explored the latest techno…

The following article was written by the CLRs Lillian Bixler who attended day 2 of the conference.  The way we use land in the UK is not a future problem — it’s a now problem. From food security to climate adaptation, biodiversity to housing and energy, we’re asking more of our land than ever before. And that tension is clearly seen in the Fens. At…

New research shows novel wetland agriculture can support nature recovery New CLR research led by Dr Joshua Copping (RSPB) and Dr Catherine Waite (University of Cambridge) shows that farming wetland-adapted crops on wetter peat (known as paludiculture) can support bird communities that are richer and more diverse than those found on drained grasslan…

New research involving CLR researchers Cicely Marshall, Hannah Porcher and David Coomes and others examines whether emerging biodiversity credit markets could help finance large-scale nature recovery in England.A new study published in Conservation Biology explores the potential for voluntary biodiversity credits to support the long-term financing …

Restoring degraded ecosystems is rightly a global priority. But ensuring that restoration genuinely delivers long-term climate benefits requires deeper thinking about carbon integrity in practice.A PhD student at the CLR, Evie Huhtala is helping to push that conversation forward.Evie recently secured funding from the Endangered Landscapes & Seascap…

Professor Lynn Dicks recently joined a leading agriculture and sustainability podcast to discuss the science behind regenerative farming and share insights from University of Cambridge team in the H3 Programme (Healthy Soil, Healthy Food, Healthy People), lead by the University of Sheffield.The conversation explores what robust, real-world evidence…

Mapping Forest Carbon: CLR Research at the Forefront of Climate SolutionsForests are powerful allies in the fight against climate change. They capture and store carbon, support biodiversity, and regulate water cycles. Understanding exactly how forests store carbon at a landscape scale is key to developing effective conservation and climate strategi…

The CLRs Dr Laurie Friday will be one of eight expert speakers at the Association of Drainage Authorities (ADA) Environment Day 2026 for lowland water managers. This annual event provides a valuable opportunity for those involved in managing, maintaining, and governing lowland watercourses and freshwater environments. The day will feature talks cov…