A fundamental review of how Scotland values one of its greatest assets - its land - was signalled today by Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and the Environment Richard Lochhead.

The review should inform how Scotland can best use its rural land resource to produce its food, create its energy and support its rural communities.

And it will look at the impact Scottish land use has in the global context of climate change and rising food prices.

An initial meeting of 70 invited experts in land use, academics and policy makers will be held this autumn to agree a wide-ranging programme of research.

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This will be taken forward through a series of work streams, each overseen by an expert group comprising academics, land managers and representatives of land use organisations.

A wider group of experts is expected to attend a land-use summit to be held in the latter half of 2009.

Mr Lochhead said: "Scotland's rural land is one of our greatest assets. We depend upon it for the food on our table and the energy we consume. It dictates where and how we live. It is home to our unique flora and fauna.

"To date, however, little has been done to examine how best these competing pressures can be managed as a whole. With new local and global pressures emerging it is time to take a look at how we use our rural land to everyone's benefit.

"The rural land use study and summit will help us look at how better to support our rural and urban communities, to reduce our local and global environmental impact and to create sustainable places for us all to live."

(GK/JM)