This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007
Listen
Soil protection and climate change
25/09/2006
Plans to establish a Scottish soil monitoring system and to develop a soil strategy were announced today.
This follows the publication of two reports relating to soil protection and climate change. A third report will be follow shortly.
The research is part of a commitment made in Scotland's climate change programme Changing our Ways and is an important step toward soil policy development.
A soil monitoring system will help to provide trends in soils quality and will be used to target policies better. Unlike air and water, where there have long been monitoring networks in place, there is little information on the state of soil quality for the whole of Scotland.
A partial re-sampling of the National Soil Inventory to look at soil carbon is already funded and this will be extended to establish a Scottish Soil Monitoring System.
A Scottish Soil Strategy will provide a framework for soil protection. A key aspect of this strategy will be the protection of soil as an asset - for the future of the Scottish economy, as well as a contribution to the challenges set by climate change.
Environment Minister Ross Finnie said:
"The research I am publishing today shows that Scotland's soils are generally in good health. This has resulted largely from the sustainable management practices already employed by land managers. The development of a Soil Strategy will provide a framework for soil protection in Scotland. One key aspect of the strategy will be the preservation of carbon stocks in soils, an issue highlighted in Scotland's Climate Change Programme Changing Our Ways.
"Specific details of the recently published EU Soil Thematic Strategy have yet to emerge but we in Scotland we are very much ahead of the game. We have a good a track record in protecting soils, and we recognise it as a key component in protecting our natural environment. We are already using some of the techniques to help improve the protection and management of soil from the range of threats outlined by the Commission and I look forward to assessing what more we can do in Scotland to lead the way."
The European Commission has just adopted proposals for a Soil Framework Directive under the Thematic Strategy for Soil Protection on September 22, 2006. The Commission now proposes a comprehensive strategy that takes into account all the different functions that soils can perform, their variability and complexity, and the range of different degradation processes, while also considering socio-economic aspects. The overall objective is the protection and sustainable use of soil, based on preventing further soil degradation and restoring degraded soils. This means that Scotland is ahead of the game.
The three reports published today are:
- The State of Scottish Soils project seeks to provide evidence on the state of, and threats to Scottish soils. The study highlights that soils are a valuable and often fragile natural resource, and that the range of environmental services they provide to society is often underestimated. The research found that Scottish soils are generally in good health, with the most important threat being soil organic matter loss and the impacts of a changing climate. The study also highlights a lack of reliable data which can provide information on trends in soil quality throughout Scotland
- The ECOSSE ( Estimating Carbon in Organic Soils - Sequestration and Emissions) investigates the behaviour of carbon in organic soils which are prevalent in Scotland. The study includes the development of a new model (ECOSSE) to predict greenhouse gas emissions in organic soils in response to climate change and land use change. Given the global significance of emissions from organic soils there is considerable international interest in this study and the ECOSSE model - this report will be published later in the year
- The Biomass review study looks at the environmental and economic aspects of growing and use of biomass in Scotland, both as a renewable energy source and as a transport fuel. Biomass energy development is part of a portfolio of renewable energy systems that could be exploited in Scotland - to reduce greenhouse gas emissions as well as to contribute to future energy security. The study highlights that in general biomass heat can result in considerable emissions savings relative to fossil-fuel based systems - in some cases resulting in emission reductions of over 90%. At the same time there could be other environmental impacts of increased bioenergy production, eg on soils and biodiversity. The study shows that careful planning is necessary in this area to minimise potential adverse effects