Monitoring & Metrics
Measurement and monitoring of soil over time is crucial for understanding changes in its health and the impact of inputs and processes - and as such must form the cornerstone of future soils policy.
Whether this is carried out at nationwide or on-farm level, the metrics and methodology need to be universally agreed and adopted as these provide the foundations for the subsequent regulatory and subsidy framework, a national picture of soil health and a common understanding of the steps needed to address it.
Issues and topics that we will address through our Monitoring workstream include:
What are the right indicators for measuring soil quality?
At what interval should soil monitoring take place in order to generate a useful national picture of soil health and track progress over time?
How can on-farm and nationwide soil monitoring be connected?
How should ‘public goods’ be defined as they relate to soil?
MONITORING OUTPUTS
Taking the Initiative to Deliver Soil Health for Agricultural Soils
Cereals, Cambs., 13 June 2018
“We need a soil monitoring programme to understand the direction of travel and to provide evidence that our actions are working.
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