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As research projects go, Pounds 60,000 from the Leverhulme Trust seems somewhat generous for a three-year investigation of what rabbits do in long grass.

But the Scottish Agricultural College believes that studying the influence of rabbits on set-aside land may throw light on the critical issue of the consequences of leaving large areas of former agricultural land uncropped.

Guthrie Paterson, dean of SAC's Aberdeen centre of studies, said the project was tackling an issue of great importance both to the farming community and to conservationists.

"This project isn't just about rabbits, it's about people's hopes that we can revert to natural countryside," said Martin Ford of SAC's land resources department, who will head the project.

"An optimist might think that set-aside will allow us to get back to an idyllic prewar landscape with lots of different plants. But land set aside from intensive agriculture isn't like that, and it will have to be carefully managed if it is to return to the conservationists' ideal.

"Meanwhile, we suspect that one of the most dominant influences on this post-agricultural vegetation is grazing by rabbits. If we are going to get our own conservation techniques right, we have to find out what the rabbits are up to."