A new project that’ll evaluate 10 soil health indicators to create a framework to support farmers has been launched.

Led by researchers from the Organic Research Centre (ORC) with support from Scotland’s Rural College (SRUC), the work should directly address a barrier for growers – the challenge of effectively monitoring and managing soil health.

“Farmers often lack clear, accessible and affordable ways to evaluate the health of their soil, which makes informed management decisions difficult,” says ORC researcher, Dr Julia Cooper.

“The project will create a ranked list of early indicators of soil health coupled with a practical interpretation framework to tackle that head-on. It’ll cover biological metrics like the soil food web, phospholipid fatty acids and CO2 burst, all of which are key areas of interest for farmers exploring the impact of their management on soil biology.”

Results dissemination

Julia adds that the results will be shared through workshops, freely available news items published online, and through AHDB and SRUC, to ensure accessibility. Findings will also be utilised by AHDB to inform its programme of soil health recommendations.

ORC researcher Dr Catriona Willoughby states that a key output will be economic rationale. “The research will evaluate the potential of the selected metrics to support agricultural productivity through crop yields, linking environmental stewardship with the economic viability of farm operations.

“We’re building on previous and current national-scale initiatives, including AHDB’s soil health scorecard and the Defra healthy soil indicator.”

Catriona explains that a combination of project team expertise, industry input and stakeholder feedback will be utilised to select the most appropriate early indicators of soil health. “To refine the list of indicators proposed, a ‘logical sieve’ will be used to score each shortlisted indicator against six criteria: data robustness, links to ecosystem services, sensitivity to agricultural management, ease of sampling, cost-effectiveness and interpretability.

“The health and future of our soils are key to the future of farming. Ultimately, this project will help farmers make decisions that keep their soil productive and healthy, which is a critical aspect of environmental provision for future generations,” she concludes.