Data and research from our sites

The Forest and Peatland Programme provides opportunities to collect data over extended time periods, to aid research into the impacts of peatland restoration and woodland creation. On this page you'll find information about the data collected on our our sites, the research projects conducted onsite, and a map to inform about site features and activities.

Existing data

Drone sitting on a drone pad in a field of grass with a line of trees in the background, and a blue sky with some clouds.

Creating woodland on our sites provides a unique opportunity to tell the story of how landscapes change as a result of woodland creation, using data. In the first couple of years of the programme, focus has been on designing and planting natural woodlands that can meet multiple needs and objectives. Baseline data has been collected to aid the design process and for use in maps both for operations and communications. This includes:

  • habitat data collected in surveys
  • bird species data collected in surveys
  • archaeological data collated from existing Historic Environment Scotland (HES) data, and walkover surveys
  • detailed Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) and photogrammetry data collected using drones.

Some of the data collected by the Forest and Peatland Programme can be viewed and downloaded via our data portal (linked below).

For any queries relating to data, please contact FPPDataManager@ed.ac.uk.

Other research related to our sites is outlined in the Existing research section.

Collecting data on our sites

We also use our sites for research purposes. For more information on how to request site access and the procedure for this, please check the sections at the bottom of the Education and Research page.

Forest and Peatland Education and Research Opportunities

We are currently developing a Data Strategy to support researchers to obtain accurate, good quality data, and to enable the Programme to keep track of valuable research outputs.

A screenshot with text on the left and a list with images on the right of the screen, with a map in the centre of the screen.

Site features and activities

Explore this interactive map to find out more about research opportunities on our sites.

Using UAV-borne remote sensing to develop a classification method for footpath degradation from path extraction and degradation characterisation. This was an MSc GIS Dissertation by Joseph C. Owen-Pinkney. This study featured the Drumbrae site and data was collected in May 2024. Baseline remote sensing LiDAR and Photogrammetry datasets collected for the Forest and Peatland Programme, were drawn upon. This paper is in the process of being published and will be linked here once available.

Baseline soil sampling at Drumbrae was commissioned by the Forest and Peatland Programme. Soil samples were collected by soil scientists from the University of Edinburgh in May 2024. The report provides an overview of the sampling design and methods.

Baseline soil sampling at Drumbrae.

Baseline data and ongoing monitoring of the peatland at Ardtornish Estate, was commissioned by the Forest and Peatland Programme with contributions from Ardtornish Estate. Peatland monitoring equipment was installed in August 2024. Environmental DNA (eDNA) was also collected. Samples are awaiting analysis.
Environmental DNA (eDNA) and soil samples were collected at Barvick Burn in June 2025. This data was commissioned by the University of Edinburgh and three Forest and Peatland PhD students were heavily involved in the sampling. Samples are awaiting analysis.

CircHive is a five-year, €11.5 million project with 15 research and 10 case-study partners that kicked off in 2023. The Forest and Peatland Programme is a case study in the European Horizon project CircHive, which aims to develop biodiversity footprinting and natural capital approaches. For FPP, the project will co-develop indicators to understand the programme’s impacts on biodiversity and natural capital, contributing to FPP’s Monitoring, Reporting, and Verification (MRV) activities. The project is currently ongoing and outputs will be posted here once available.

About CircHive Project.

In Spring 2025, as part of the Edinburgh Future Institute's (EFI) Interdisciplinary Futures undergraduate programme, the Department for Social Responsibility and Sustainability and set six student groups a challenge question: “How might we ensure that biodiversity interventions are equitable and effective for all, both now and in the future?”.
You can read their reports below:
 

Digital Research Ambassadors is a fully funded internship scheme benefiting postgraduate research students and research groups/professional staff across the University. It is developed and supported by the Digital Research Service. In 2025 a PhD student Nishant Gaur was accepted onto the scheme as an ambassador and was hosted by Dr Zak Campbell-Lochrie from the School of Engineering.

The proposed project specified development of a robust protocol and a suitable database for fire science experimental data. Sample data was collected from three Forest and Peatland sites: Drumbrae, Rullion Green, and Barvick Burn.

Fire Engineering and Physics-informed Machine Learning

Forest Research was commissioned to develop an internal report featuring a literature review on the climate benefits of afforestation with recommendations. The report was submitted in August 2025. A summary report that will be made publicly available is in progress.

A suitability study into saltmarsh and seagrass habitats was commissioned by the University of Edinburgh, published in July 2024 and authored by Chiara Bertelli.

Habitat suitability modelling saltmarsh and seagrass in Scotland

Since 2023, the Forest and Peatland Programme has hosted a number of taught MSc dissertations through the Living Lab (SRS) in connection with the placement-based dissertation programme in the School of Social and Political Science. Some of the outputs will be shared here.

  • A large group of people in a field with a view of hills in the background.
  • People sitting at a long table with notebooks listening to a speaker.
  • A group of people standing in a field listening to a speaker and taking notes.
  • Two groups each with three people gathered round a quadrat placed on grass.
  • Groups of people sitting around quadrats which have been placed in a grassy field.
  • Hands holding a small plant specimen with a yellow flower.
  • Two people sitting next to a quadrat which has been placed on the grass, looking at a book.
  • A soil sample being put into a bag.
  • A real time kinematic base station set up in a grassy field with trees in the background.
  • Three people standing in a field with a soil corer.

Opportunities for education and research

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