About CÆR
		"reconciling agriculture with the conservation of biodiversity" The Centre for Agri-Environmental Research was established by The University of Reading in 2000, to build on and integrate the University's strengths in agricultural and environmental research. The Centre is based in the School of Agriculture, Policy and Development. This has provided a unique opportunity to bring together the wide range of disciplines necessary to address issues related to sustainable agriculture in the 21st Century. OUR AIMS To carry out high quality scientific research that aims to reconcile the often-conflicting demands of agricultural production and environmental protection. To develop partnerships with researchers, funding agencies, industry, policy makers, users and stakeholders to apply our knowledge and expertise to the design of sustainable agricultural landscapes. Meeting increasing food demands whilst protecting the wider environment is arguably one of the greatest challenges facing humanity in the 21st Century. The only way to meet this challenge is to bring research disciplines together. Our expertise is primarily in plant and animal ecology, but all of our research is developed collaboratively within this wider multi-disciplinary context. Within the University we are acting as the focal point to promote greater integration across disciplines via the Ecosystem Sciences (EcoSci) research theme, and externally we work with a wide range of organisations and individuals within the UK and Overseas. OUR RESEARCH FOCUS The inter-relationships between agricultural land-use and biodiversity. Our research concentrates on agro-ecosystems. These include agricultural habitats themselves, as well as natural and semi-natural habitats affected by agricultural land-use. Our research interests are global, ranging from intensively managed production systems typical of NW Europe to tropical agriculture and its associated ecosystems. A major emphasis of our work is to understand the mechanisms linking agricultural land-use and biodiversity, and use this understanding to conserve biodiversity and its associated services more effectively in agricultural landscapes. Part of our project work is focused on very specific agri-environmental issues, while other parts address more general ecological principles that are crucial if we are to understand how biodiversity responds to land-use change driven by agriculture. OUR FACILITIES CÆR is located in the new £11 million Agriculture building. This provides office accommodation and new state-of-the-art laboratories as well as teaching facilities for undergraduate and postgraduate students. The University farms and farm-based research sites occupy some 850ha at Arborfield, Shinfield and Sonning, offering a wide range of opportunities to link agricultural production and environmental research. The School’s Analytical Laboratory provides facilities for a wide range of analyses of soil, plant and animal materials. Within the University we have a number of links with other Schools/Departments including Meteorology, Biological Sciences, Geography and Soil Science, which provide additional expertise and facilities to our research. Outside the University, CAER carries out research on a large number of commercial farms, and within a range of nature reserves and protected areas. CAER is affiliated to:
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