Seven ways to save our soils
How we can protect and restore soils in the UK
The Soil Association’s founding principles put a healthy soil at the heart of what we do. We have always recognised the link
between soil health and human health, and were at the forefront of the movement that developed a radical, yet practical
and workable method of farming that protects those soils – organic farming. Below are seven ways in which we could
recover our tired soils – examples of innovative organic farming methods that all farmers could use to improve soil health.
This is based on a 2013 blog by Policy Officer, Louise Payton for Arc2020 which can be found here.
1. Act rapidly to build organic matter in soils
It takes as much as 500 years for topsoil to grow by 2cm so we need to first protect, and then start to grow our soils
through innovative management techniques.
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Organic matter is an essential element of soils. Applying small doses of organic matter over time encourages soil
biodiversity to develop and flourish.
‘Mob stocking’ (where a large herd of livestock is confined to an area to intensively graze it) has also been shown
to build organic matter very fast – though may be more relevant for some regions more than others
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Encourage soil building organisms – for example there is some evidence that inoculating with microbial ‘stews’
could help achieve this, though more research is needed
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Stop straw going for power generation; we shouldn’t be burning it when we need it recycled back into soil
organic matter.
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Experiment on infertile soils. There are projects like Sekem, in Egypt, which have shown how even desert can be
turned into productive farmland.
2. Protect soils using continuous plant cover and trees
You can’t see healthy soil – it is covered in plants. Plant roots protect soil structure by holding it together and allowing air to
penetrate in spaces around roots. They also encourage healthier soil communities through plant-fungal interactions.
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Stop clear felling old growth forest on vulnerable soils, as trees protect soil, store carbon (organic matter) and
help prevent salination and erosion.
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Develop more agroforestry systems (mixtures of productive trees or shrubs and crops), so we have the yield,
biodiversity, carbon storage and soil protection benefits of many more trees in our landscape
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Restoring farmland to grassland rapidly builds up soils. Rotational systems that include temporary grass leys also
help build soil organic matter.
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Move towards mixed and organic farming so that you have sources of organic matter onsite.
3. Examine the impact chemical inputs have on soil life
The current focus on chemical inputs began at a time when we didn’t yet understand the importance of soil life. Continuing
this focus ignores not just the need to replenish soil organic matter, but also the impact on soil communities.
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Encourage more research into how different chemicals and fertilisers affect soil biology, including in combination. Non
organic farmers need to know whether and how severely their inputs are hampering soil health, so they can choose
less damaging inputs
4.
Reduce soil compaction which impacts soil structure and soil biology
Soil compaction is a major problem in the UK and has been linked to declines in wheat and oil seed rape yields in some parts
of the UK
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Shrink our tractors, get ground pressures lower, reduce machinery passes and use GPS tracking so that we run on 5%
of soil rather than the average 85% each year.
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Start experimenting with growing perennial crops, as well as more trees (see above), to reduce the amount of
ploughing and sowing needed.
5.
Reduce the chances of erosion
Soil erosion is another major problem in the UK – when there is heavy rain and you see brown water on the roads, that’s soil
being lost from fields.
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Discourage crops which tend to be associated with increased erosion risk. For example maize needs loads of fertiliser
and herbicide, is wide rowed and harvested late, meaning that erosion can be a problem, especially on sloping land.
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Cover crops should be used to protect bare soils and build up fertility. More research is needed so that farmers can
choose the right cover crop for the right situation.
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Perennials and trees should also be used to protect soils – see point 2.
6. Help mitigate and adapt against the effect of climate change
A fully functioning soil reduces the risk of floods and protects underground water supplies by neutralising or filtering out
potential pollutants and storing as much as 3750 tonnes of water per hectare.
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Encourage healthy soil life. Soils with flourishing soil biology can cope better with rising temperatures and aridity and
prevent nutrient imbalances.
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Increase soil organic matter. Increasing the proportion of soil that is organic matter by 1% can increase its water
holding capacity by thousands of litres.
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Support organic farming (see below). The International Panel on Climate Change states that 89% of agricultural
emissions can be mitigated by improving soil carbon levels. Research shows that organic farming is the best way in
which to do this.
7.
Lobby for organic farming to be recognised by government policy
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Soil health is being increasingly recognised in Europe, but the proposed EU Soil Directive was shelved due to
opposition from some Member States, including the UK.
All Common Agricultural Policy payments should go to farming which benefits people and planet. A key part of
this is support for systems which protect the soil, such as organic farming.
The European Union should do more to ensure all Member States give similar levels of encouragement to
farming systems, like organic, that help conserve and build healthy soils – support varies widely among Member
States.