The Week in Soil

Our weekly blog features the main scientific, political and cultural soil-related stories of interest from across the web over the previous seven days, available on our website and through our Twitter account every Friday morning.

12 December 2019
  • Soil in election manifestos
  • MEPs call for legal protection for land
  • Turkey facing soil degradation 
  • Biological soil crusts
  • Welsh govt support controlled environment farming
06 December 2019
  • World Soil Day
  • Soil erosion in Scotland and India
  • Farmland soil has low shelf-life
  • Diversity of soil organic matter important
  • UK soils and sugar
29 November 2019
  • Prof Jane Rickson talks soil on Radio 4
  • Politicians' failure to protect soils
  • Microplastics in soil alter soils
  • Isabella Tree on Desert Island Discs
  • Preparing soils for Spring
21 November 2019
  • Pesticides
  • Climate change and soils
  • Cardboard and soils
  • Scotland and future soils' resilience
  • New tool to assess soils
14 November 2019
  • Carbon storage
  • Veg growing and heavy rain
  • Nuclear technique to test soils
  • Decline in German insects and spiders
  • Multiple benefits of outdoor learning
08 November 2019
  • Rice under threat
  • Soil influences microbe communities
  • Soil bacteria protect crops against fungi
  • Biodiverse soils help with mental ill-health
  • Change vegetation driers soil more
01 November 2019
  • Climate change threatens South East farming
  • Environment Bill passes 2nd reading
  • Lake sediments increased over 4000 years
  • Soil microbes and wild fire
  • Future landscapes
24 October 2019
  • A Scottish Council approves peat extraction
  • Environment Bill 'not fit for purpose'
  • Agricultural Bill reintroduced
  • 1/3 of UK fresh 'cocktail' of pesticides
  • Soil key to saving family farms
17 October 2019
  • Understanding microplastics in soil
  • Latest version of Environment Bill 
  • Study accurately calculates soil carbon
  • World Food Day
  • Growing food on moon may be possible
11 October 2019
  • Adding compost increases soil carbon
  • Adding fungus to tomatoes increases yield
  • Military papers help soils 
  • Rothamsted launches dating site for papers
  • Cannabis plants help soil
04 October 2019
  • Social enterprise composting waste in Paris 
  • New soil moisture sensor
  • Australia's mangroves are carbon sink 
  • Organic cotton T-shirt can save water
  • NFU held debate on Brexit
27 September 2019
  • UN Climate Summit
  • Meeting of global agricultural ministers
  • Soil microbes make plants resistant
  • Earthworms triple after cover crops
  • Labour Party focus on net zero
19 September 2019
  • Carbon farming ramping up
  • Soil microbes breakdown pollutants
  • BBC on soil bacteria
  • Worms fail in microplastic soils
  • Soils changed to face earthquakes
06 September 2019
  • RSPB blog on Ag Bill
  • US research on soil fungal diversity
  • Long-read on fungal-plant interactions
  • Sustain declares Climate emergency
  • All growers should test soils 
30 August 2019
  • World water quality crisis
  • Organic gases from soils reactive
  • Robots help take soil samples
  • Bees exposed to lethal pesticides
  • Research on soil microbes and drought
23 August 2019
  • Salty soils 
  • Soil carbon and forest fires
  • Recreate pocket peat areas
  • Soil microbe patterns 
  • Northern Ireland soil sampling
08 August 2019
  • IPCC report on climate change
  • Amazon can act as carbon sink
  • Recarbonisation of global soils
  • 24 Hours in Farming
  • US ag 48x more toxic 
01 August 2019
  • SSA soap box
  • New environment ministers
  • No deal Brexit and farming 
  • Food, Poverty, Health and Environment Committee
  • Soil pore structure important
26 July 2019
  • Nematodes in the Arctic
  • Cigarettes in soils impact plants
  • Children's meals are poor 
  • Cereal makers and soil health
  • UK soil policymaking 
19 July 2019
  • SSA, soils and Westminster
  • Aviation and soil management
  • Spain will suffer desertification 
  • Human composting
  • Animals are key 
19 July 2019
  • SSA, soils and Westminster
  • Aviation and soil management
  • Spain will suffer desertification 
  • Human composting
  • Animals are key 
04 July 2019
  • Allotment soil safer
  • Biochar helps soil carbon
  • Iran and world soil loss
  • New soil app
  • Test soils in paddocks 
20 June 2019
  • World Day to Combat desertification
  • Cut farm ammonia could save lives
  • Soil biodiversity and radiation
  • US farms supported to diversify
  • New book on environmental policy
14 June 2019
  • Guardian list for net zero
  • Green Brexit
  • AHDB soil health indicator
  • Soil erosion in Tanzania
  • Drones tracking soil loss
07 June 2019
  • EA soil report
  • Soil in landfill 
  • Contaminated topsoils 
  • Innovating soil competition
  • Global soil week 
31 May 2019
  • WWF soils key for food security
  • Big Soil community sampling
  • Cereals event 2019 
  • Disastrous loss of topsoil 
  • US soil health laws
23 May 2019
  • Earthworms key to human survival
  • Wheelie bin worm farms 
  • Small farms declining 
  • Economics and soil erosion by water
  • Meat-free school meal
17 May 2019
  • 25 Year Environment Plan indicators
  • Report on soil management
  • Global Symposium on Soil Erosion
  • Earthworms key measure of soil health
  • Plants tailor own soils
10 May 2019
  • IBPES Global biodiversity assessment
  • Soil and public policy
  • 100 harvests not based on evidence
  • Plant hormone under stress
  • Bio-fertilisers and soil health
03 May 2019
  • FFCC looks at rural poverty
  • Climate Change Commission report
  • Radio 4 on climate change and soil
  • Dire soil situation in China
  • Beavers released in Yorkshire
26 April 2019
  • Groundswell Director talks soil 
  • Scottish farmers could do more on soil
  • China and soil pollution 
  • Flood-water induced soil loss
  • Bill Gates on soil and climate change
11 April 2019
  • Three Year Experts Review
  • Syngenta recognises farming shift
  • European Journal of Soil Science
  • Pesticides and polluted streams
  • Vertical farming
05 April 2019
  • Brexit and the environment
  • Farmer awarded carbon credits
  • Organically-farmed soils 
  • Dying soils in Europe
  • Natural climate solutions approach
29 March 2019
  • Ploughing through Brexit podcast
  • Citizen soil science initiative
  • Organically-farmed soils 
  • Healthy soils and cotton
  • Soil microbes and climate
22 March 2019
  • SSA on Economics of Soil
  • Environmental regulations
  • Biodiversity and new housing
  • Review of glyphosate
  • Soil minerals as carbon sink
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