A NATIONAL Trust estate in Northumberland is at the heart of research into climate change.

The 5,500 hectare Wallington Estate was chosen for its variety of land uses, including historic parkland, 15 tenant farms and woodland.

Now detailed analysis of how the different uses affect the amount of carbon stored in its soils could influence the way farmers and landowners are rewarded for the way they manage their land.

The three-year study by Durham University involved analysing more than 700 soil samples from across the estate to calculate the amount of stored carbon.

Madeleine Bell, a university PhD student, was shocked by the total – more than 1.265m tonnes, the equivalent of the combined annual CO2 emissions from the populations of Newcastle and Gateshead.

The findings have given scientists the most accurate picture to date of carbon levels.

It has highlighted the important role farmers and land managers play in preserving and enhancing soil carbon, and how different management techniques can preserve it while others may release it.

The National Trust is now working with Natural England and the University of Hertfordshire to develop a Land Carbon Management Plan for each farm.

This will provide a blueprint for the National Trust’s 250,000 ha of land in the UK.

Ms Bell said: “The study has shown there is a massive amount of carbon stored at Wallington and highlights how important it is to manage the land well.

“Soil is a living organism and we can make changes that could see significant amounts of CO2 being taken up by the soil rather than being released.”

The Wallington estate is 25 miles north-west of Newcastle.

Its tenant farmers raise sheep, cattle and arable crops.

The Trust manages 330 ha of woodland and leases 1,200 ha of conifer plantation to the Forestry Commission.

The farming sector is working to limit its impact on climate change, but while emissions from fossil fuels, livestock and fertilisers are important, scientists believe the role soil carbon can play in reducing carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has been underestimated.

They estimate 89pc of agriculture’s global potential to cut greenhouse gases lies in improving the soil’s ability to store carbon through planting the right crops, increasing organic fertilisers, creating permanent undisturbed pasture land, and reducing tilling.