Engineering sciences - Agronomy & Food Science

Cattle grazing at a nature reserve in the Yorkshire Dales has increased plant diversity by over 40% according to research by the University of Leeds. Allowing native cattle breeds to roam large areas of the landscape at Ingleborough has also led to a five-fold increase in the number of butterflies.

New research from the Royal Veterinary College has uncovered how the way chickens are produced, traded and transported in northern Viet Nam can contribute to the spread of avian influenza viruses.

Removing sheep and other livestock entirely from upland grasslands - a strategy often promoted as a way to boost carbon storage and tackle climate change - may actually reduce the most stable forms of soil carbon, according to new research.

Tropical forests help to generate vast amounts of rainfall each year, adding weight to arguments for protecting them as water and climate pressures increase, say researchers. A new study led by the University of Leeds has put a monetary value on one of forests' least recognised services as a source of rainfall to surrounding regions, finding that each hectare generates 2.4 million litres of rain each year - enough to fill an Olympic-sized swimming pool.

Ambitious plans to reduce the environmental impacts of farming and increase food security have been revealed as part of a collaboration between the University of Leeds and McCain Foods. The McCain Farm of the Future UK will be established on the University's farm, which is on the border of West and North Yorkshire near Tadcaster.

Researchers at Leeds are developing a new tool to reduce food waste and improve global food security, in partnership with a team at the CSIRO, Australia's national science agency, using AI.