Soil Health
Read the full reportUK soils hold around 9.8 billion tonnes of carbon, only half of their potential, but soil degradation is leading to increased carbon emissions and costing the economy £1.2 billion annually. The report calls for immediate action to establish soil health indicators by 2024 and a comprehensive soil health map by 2028, with a focus on using data to guide policy development and measure progress.
UK soils currently hold around 9.8 billion tonnes of carbon, only around half of soil’s carbon-storing potential.
Soil degradation is leading to increased carbon emissions, increased flooding risks, and is threatening biodiversity, water resources, and soil fertility, costing the economy £1.2 billion per year.
Immediate action is needed to establish agreed soil health indicators and enhance data on soil management and health. The Government aims to establish soil health indicators by 2024 and produce a soil health map by 2028.
The report emphasises the need for comprehensive data collection and the use of existing soil data to inform policy development and measure progress.
The Government’s commitment to developing soil health indicators and a soil health baseline is supported by various stakeholders and experts.
Recommendations for policy implementation
- Develop and finalise soil health indicators by December 2024 to enable all stakeholders to work towards common goals.
- Ensure the funding for the soil health monitoring programme is secured for the long term, comparable to the funding levels for water and air quality monitoring.
- Adapt Environmental Land Management (ELM) schemes to fund comprehensive soil testing and assessment by 2025, supporting the collection of robust and comparable data.
- Implement clear and measurable targets for improving soil health, integrating these into statutory targets for environmental improvement.