Using simple spectral technology to engage farmers in building soil health

The FAO calculates that 33% of soils are degraded globally[ref]. In England and Wales this degradation costs £1.2 billion, primarily mainly linked to loss of organic content of soils (47% of total cost), via off site impacts on climate regulation, water regulation and quality [Graves]. Soil scientists insist managing soil organic matter is central to supplying ecosystem services such as climate mitigation, water storage and purification and nutrient cycling. It is essential we develop landscape-scale approaches to address this pressing problem. The UK Government is committed to achieve sustainable soil management by 2030 [1]. With the exit from the EU the new Environmental Land Management Scheme will seek to make payments for public goods such as enhanced ecosystem services via increasing soil organic matter content.
Affinity Water (AW) through the Water Industry National Environment Programme (WINEP) for delivering Water Framework Directive (WFD) drivers focused on water quality challenges have been working with farmers in the River Lea catchment for the past 10 years. This landscape scale approach places soil health and management as the core of delivering effective outcomes. We will use this farmer network in conjunction with spectral analysis and statistical methods to determine the carbon content of soils and other soil health indicators.
Research questions
- Can spectral data provide robust high quality information on soil properties beyond soil carbon that can evaluate soil health?
- Can spectral tools provide farmers and water companies with the appropriate information to improve catchment management?