Managing Scotland's Uplands
Projects
In collaboration with SRUC, Random Forest, the Community Woodlands Association and the Development Trusts Association Scotland, this project was commissioned by the Scottish Land Commission to assess the effectiveness of community ownership mechanisms in Scotland.
A project commissioned by the Scottish Land Commission to research international experience of imposing limits on who can own land and/or how much land any single individual or entity can own. The project was completed in collaboration with the University of Aberdeen.
In collaboration with SRUC this research was commissioned jointly by Scottish Natural Heritage, Forestry Commission and the Scottish Government to analyse existing wild deer research to help identify specific research and evidence gaps related to sustainable deer management in Scotland.
The impact of diversity of ownership on social, economic and environmental outcomes (2015-2016)
In collaboration with SRUC, James Hutton Institute, Andy Wightman and Pareto Consulting, this research was commissioned by Scottish Government to investigate the local impacts of differing forms and scales of rural land ownership in Scotland.
A review of the social, economic and environmental benefits of wild land in Scotland (2015-2016)
A project commissioned by Scottish Natural Heritage to review the social, economic and environmental benefits of wild land in Scotland. The project was completed in collaboration with SRUC and the Wild Land Research Institute at the University of Leeds.
Grouse shooting, moorland management and local communities (2014-2015)
In collaboration with SRUC, this project investigated local and regional socio-economic impacts of grouse shooting and associated moorland management in two sites in the Scottish Highlands.
Mapping historic hydropower infrastructure in Scotland (2014)
A partnership between the renewables industry, four local authorities and academics at the University of the Highland and Islands (UHI) to map the presence of historic small scale hydro infrastructure across four local authority areas; Aberdeenshire, Perth & Kinross, Fife and Angus.
Study of NGO landownership in Scotland (2012-2013)
This was a review of the socio-economic contributions made by NGO landownership in Scotland. The work was commissioned by a collective of NGOs (John Muir Trust, National Trust for Scotland, Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, Scottish Wildlife Trust, Woodland Trust Scotland).
Sustainable Estates for the 21st Century (2007-2013)
Three PhD projects and one postdoctoral study that explored a range of research questions related to upland estate management in Scotland.
Wild land and wildness in Scotland (2008-2011)
The Centre for Mountain Studies has been involved the development of a methodology for mapping wild land in Scotland. Research has also been undertaken to explore values and concepts associated with the terms 'wild land' and 'wildness'.
A context for forestry in Caithness and Sutherland (2007-2009)
The Centre for Mountain Studies was commissioned by Forestry Commission Scotland to carry out a scoping study with the aim of providing a context for forestry in Caithness and Sutherland.
Benefits and impacts of grouse shooting (2008)
This report, funded by the Scottish Countryside Alliance Educational Trust, focussed on the benefits and impacts of grouse shooting in the linked communities of Tomintoul and Strathdon in the north east of Scotland.
SpatialNorth: Large-scale regional planning (2005-2007)
A 30-month project funded primarily by the European Commission's Northern Periphery Programme (Interreg IIIB) to assess current levels of policy coordination across the four partner countries. CMS carried out an evaluation of the Atlantic Coast (Wester Ross) project as part of SpatialNorth.
Multi-functional forestry in the Cairngorms (completed 2007)
PhD research on multifunctional forestry in the Cairngorms region, funded through a studentship from Highlands and Islands Enterprise.
Monitoring deer impacts in the 'wider countryside' (2004)
This was a scoping study, conducted for the Deer Commission for Scotland. The project focussed on the definition of public interest objectives linked to deer management, particularly those relating to biodiversity management, and on the potential of existing datasets for assessing deer impacts, in order to propose priorities in defining future approaches to monitoring diffuse impacts.