Glencorse Woodland Experiment Platform

The purpose of the Glencorse Platform is to enable woodland research. It has been used to study: different tree phenotypes (birch, alder, oak, poplar); the impacts of acid rain on trees (birch, sitka); and biofuel production (willow, aspen and Japanese knotweed). The site is now equipped to study the impacts of nitrogen pollution on lichens, mosses and woodland species. Reactive nitrogen is produced in various forms, for example from car engine exhausts, animal and plant waste, and synthetic nitrogen fertilisers. Nitrogen compounds form potent greenhouse gases and pollutants, with adverse impacts on the climate, environment, economy and health. Results from the Glencorse Woodland Experiment Platform will inform sustainable management of nitrogen for environmental health as well as climate mitigation and adaptation.