We need your help. You may have noticed that some of our imagery is starting to get out of date and we want to highlight the amazing work from our members. As we approach our 80th anniversary and are also close to reaching 1000 members, we want to mark this milestone by featuring your photos to showcase the new developments and people at the forefront of soil science.

So we are pleased to be launching a photo competition and want to see your amazing shots from the workplace! Whether it鈥檚 in the field, in the lab, on a training course, with new cutting-edge equipment, team photos. creative setups, or just everyday work life 鈥� submit your best photo for a chance to be featured. We are particularly keen to showcase recent innovations and state-of-the-art approaches, such as microscopy, new instruments in action, and sophisticated field monitoring.

We plan to categorise images under some general themes (which are used for our conference abstracts) so bear this in mind when entering:

• Soils for Life
• Soils for Climate
• Soils for Water
• Soils for the Digital Age
• Soils for People

There will be an overall winner which will be decided by the BSSS Executive and Presidential Team, however we plan to feature as many photos as possible to put our members front and centre of our marketing.

The winner will receive an exclusive pack of goodies.

See more details about how to enter below!

Please Note:

• This competition is predominantly for BSSS members however submissions from non-members will also be accepted.
• You can submit up to 5 photos. Please provide a description of the photo(s) in the relevant field.
• The competition will be open from聽Friday 29 May 2026 to Friday 25 September 2026.
• To submit via the form linked below, you will have to login to/create a Google account
• The winner will receive a prize and will be featured in Society marketing and publications.
• Photographs must not have been taken more than ten years prior to the competition opening date of Friday 29 May 2026.
• The Photography Competition is free to enter and no purchase is necessary.
• Images must not be false-coloured. The images submitted must be taken with a camera. Images generated by Artificial Intelligence cannot be considered. The use of Artificial Intelligence in manipulating photos is also disallowed. Rules regarding the use of Artificial Intelligence are subject to change at short notice and without notification.
• We will collect personal data including your name and email address as part of the competition. Please see full privacy policy and use of images disclaimer in the form. Please ensure that any participants or subjects that are identifiable in the photo(s) have provided consent for the photo(s) to be used.
• By completing the form, you confirm that the information that you have provided is accurate.

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By: Dr Khalid Mahmood(BSSS), Dr Dan Evans (Cranfield University)

The 快猫短视频 (BSSS), in partnership with Cranfield University, proudly hosted the inaugural BSSS Collaboration & Partnerships Forum, welcoming around 75 participants from across academia, research organisations, government, industry, consultancies, environmental NGOs, and BSSS corporate partners.

Held at Cranfield University鈥檚 world-leading soil science facilities, the forum created a vibrant and much-needed space for networking, collaboration, and innovation, bringing together the UK soil science community at a critical time for soils, food systems, and environmental sustainability.

Why Soil Matters More Than Ever

Soil is often overlooked, yet it underpins nearly every aspect of life on Earth.

• 95% of global food production depends directly or indirectly on soil
• Soils host over 25% of the world鈥檚 biodiversity
• They store more carbon than the atmosphere and vegetation combined
• UK soils alone store around 10 billion tonnes of carbon 鈥� equivalent to ~80 years of UK greenhouse gas emissions

Beyond food production, soils deliver essential ecosystem services that sustain life and economies:

• Regulating water flow and reducing flood risk
• Filtering pollutants and improving water quality
• Cycling nutrients critical for plant growth
• Supporting biodiversity and ecosystem resilience
• Sequestering carbon and mitigating climate change

In economic terms, soil ecosystem services are valued in the trillions globally, reflecting their profound contribution to human well-being and environmental stability.

However, soils are under increasing pressure. Globally, one-third of soils are degraded, and in the UK, intensive agriculture has already led to 40鈥�60% loss of soil organic carbon in arable soils. This has major implications for food security, climate resilience, and ecosystem health.

A Forum Designed for Collaboration

The forum opened with a welcome from the 快猫短视频 (BSSS), highlighting the Society鈥檚 growing role in advancing soil science, strengthening collaboration across sectors, and promoting the importance of healthy soils within national environmental and agricultural priorities.

Reflections from the BSSS Annual Report 2025 demonstrated the continued growth and momentum of the Society, which now represents around 900 members alongside a growing network of corporate partners from academia, industry, government, and the environmental sector. The opening remarks emphasised how collaboration and knowledge exchange are becoming increasingly important as soils gain greater recognition for their role in climate resilience, food security, biodiversity recovery, water regulation, and sustainable land management.

The Society鈥檚 leadership in professional development and capacity building was also highlighted, including its expanding programme of specialist training courses, technical events, conferences, and knowledge-sharing initiatives that support both researchers and practitioners across the soil sector.

Particular attention was given to BSSS outreach and education activities, including the Soil Innovation Box programme (previously known as the Soil Loan Box), which helps engage school pupils and young learners through hands-on soil science activities and educational resources. The initiative reflects the Society鈥檚 commitment to inspiring future generations and raising wider awareness of the essential role soils play in supporting ecosystems, agriculture, carbon storage, biodiversity, and environmental sustainability.

Recognising both the urgency and opportunity, BSSS designed the Collaboration & Partnerships Forum as a dedicated platform for BSSS corporate partners and stakeholders to connect and collaborate.

The ambition is clear: to make this an annual flagship event, strengthening partnerships across the soil sector and accelerating innovation.

The forum provided participants with opportunities to:

• Build meaningful cross-sector collaborations
• Share expertise and emerging research
• Identify joint projects and funding opportunities
• Align science, policy, and industry priorities

Interactive speed networking sessions, led by Dr Khalid Mahmood, set the tone for the day, creating an open and energetic environment that encouraged dialogue and new connections from the outset.

The 11 collaboration pitches included contributions from BSSS corporate partners and other organisations:

• Rothamsted Research
• Elementar
• James Hutton Institute
• FGP Surveyors Limited
• Southern Water
• 快猫短视频
• Arcadis
• Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
• Downforce Technologies
• BeZero Carbon

The diversity of topics reflected the broadening role of soil science across sectors. Presentations explored themes including digital soil monitoring, carbon measurement and verification, sustainable land management, environmental policy, ecosystem services, infrastructure resilience, regenerative agriculture, and the growing role of soil data in supporting net zero ambitions and natural capital markets.

Soils Data: Unlocking Opportunities

A central theme of the forum focused on soil data 鈥� its opportunities and challenges.

Rapid-fire collaboration pitches from BSSS partners and leading organisations showcased innovation across the sector, including:

• Digital soil monitoring and sensing technologies
• Carbon measurement and verification
• Natural capital and carbon markets
• Environmental policy and land-use planning
• Sustainable and regenerative agriculture

Speakers from organisations such as Rothamsted Research, Defra, Arcadis, Southern Water, Downforce Technologies, and the James Hutton Institute demonstrated the growing importance of data-driven soil science.

A key takeaway from the discussions was the importance of soil data in enabling a more holistic understanding of soils beyond carbon alone. While carbon metrics remain important, robust soil data is essential for assessing the full range of ecosystem services soils provide 鈥� including biodiversity support, water regulation, nutrient cycling, food production, climate resilience, and wider environmental sustainability. Innovation Transforming Soil Science

Two keynote showcase presentations highlighted how innovation is reshaping soil science:

Earth Observation, AI and Digital Soil Mapping

Dr Toby Waine explored how remote sensing, AI, and digital mapping are transforming our ability to monitor soils at scale, enabling smarter and more sustainable land management.

Climate-Smart Nitrogen Management

Dr Emily Guest demonstrated how legumes and improved nitrogen strategies can reduce emissions, enhance soil fertility, and build resilient farming systems.

Together, these sessions highlighted a critical shift towards integrated, data-led, climate-smart approaches.

Supporting the Next Generation

Early Career Researchers (ECRs) brought fresh perspectives through a dynamic poster session, showcasing cutting-edge research and innovative approaches.

The session reinforced the importance of investing in the next generation of soil scientists, who will play a key role in addressing future challenges.

聽LandIS and the Power of Data Integration

The LandIS Soils Data Portal session was led by Dr Dan Evans and Professor Stephen Hallett. The session demonstrated how integrated soil, land use, and environmental data for England and Wales, supported by Defra, are helping to enable:

• Better decision-making for farmers, land managers, and advisers
  鈥� Improved environmental monitoring and evidence-based policy development
  鈥� Stronger collaboration across research, government, industry, and the wider land management sector

As demand grows for high-quality soil data to support carbon accounting, biodiversity targets, climate resilience, and sustainable land use, platforms such as LandIS will play an increasingly important role in turning national soil evidence into practical insight.

A standout highlight was the guided tour of Cranfield University鈥檚 advanced soil science and agritech facilities.

Participants experienced first-hand:

• The Soil Map and Archive, which underpins Cranfield鈥檚 national soil data resources
  鈥� The glasshouse facilities, including advanced crop and soil sensing technologies
  鈥� The Soil Management Facility, supporting controlled studies of soil, crops, water, and machinery
  鈥� Applied research infrastructure for soil health, land management, and sustainable agriculture

The visit demonstrated how Cranfield鈥檚 data, facilities, and research expertise are helping to address major challenges including climate change, food security, biodiversity, and sustainable land use.

Strong Momentum for BSSS Partners

The forum was specifically designed to deliver value for BSSS corporate partners, and feedback confirmed its success as a powerful networking and collaboration platform.

There was strong enthusiasm to:

• Continue the forum annually
• Expand collaboration between partners
• Strengthen links between research, policy, and industry

Participants recognised the growing importance of BSSS in providing a trusted, neutral platform that brings partners together to drive innovation and impact.

Looking Ahead

The success of the inaugural forum highlights a growing recognition that healthy soils are fundamental to sustainable futures.

With soils underpinning food production, climate regulation, biodiversity, and water systems, the need for collaboration has never been greater.

By bringing together BSSS partners and the wider community, the Collaboration & Partnerships Forum represents a significant step forward in:

• Strengthening partnerships
• Accelerating innovation
• Delivering real-world impact

聽Final Reflection

Healthy soils are the foundation of life.

Healthy soils are the foundation of life. They feed us, regulate our environment, support biodiversity, and play a critical role in climate resilience. Yet they are fragile, finite, and increasingly under pressure.

Reliable and accessible soil data is fundamental to understanding, protecting, and managing these vital resources effectively. From carbon monitoring and water regulation to biodiversity assessment, land management, and sustainable food production, high-quality soil data underpins evidence-based decision-making across environmental and agricultural systems.

The BSSS Collaboration & Partnerships Forum demonstrated the value of bringing together researchers, industry, policymakers, and practitioners to share knowledge, strengthen partnerships, and explore collaborative approaches to advancing soil data, innovation, and practical solutions.

BSSS looks forward to welcoming partners back next year as we continue building a strong and connected soil science community dedicated to improving soil knowledge and safeguarding one of our most valuable natural resources for future generations.

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The 快猫短视频 (BSSS) launched the Collaboration & Innovation Forum as a new initiative to bring together soil scientists, researchers, and corporate partners in a highly collaborative, innovative, and enterprise-focused environment. The forum is designed to create a dynamic platform for networking, sharing best practice, and fostering meaningful cross-sector partnerships that bridge science, industry, and policy. By encouraging open dialogue, knowledge exchange, and the co-development of solutions, it supports BSSS鈥檚 mission to connect science with real-world application and drive innovation across the soil ecosystem.

BSSS was delighted to host the first forum at Cranfield University, bringing together around 70 participants from research organisations, academia, industry, and corporate partners. The day began with welcoming remarks from BSSS and Cranfield, followed by an engaging speed networking session that set a strong collaborative tone. Soil health remained central throughout, with focused discussions on soils data鈥攅xploring key challenges and opportunities鈥攁longside 13 dynamic 3-minute pitches from participating organisations, showcasing innovative ideas and solutions.

The programme featured showcase talks on BSSS annual report, Earth Observation, AI and digital soil data, and climate-smart nitrogen management, complemented by a lively Early Career Researcher poster session. The afternoon included insights into the LandIS / Soils Data Portal and tours of Cranfield鈥檚 state-of-the-art facilities, a highlight for many attendees.

Feedback was overwhelmingly positive, highlighting strong momentum for collaboration, innovation, and partnership across the sector, and reinforcing BSSS鈥檚 role as a convening platform linking science, industry, and policy.

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By Ariba Shahab | Sustainability & Agri-business Professional 路 Carbon Project Coordinator, CultYvate, BSSS member

Kneel down in an areca nut garden in the Andaman Islands and press your fingers into the earth. If you are lucky and the rains have been recent it gives a little, dark and crumbly at the surface. But push deeper, even just a few centimetres, and you will feel it: the resistance of something older, something the tropics spent millennia building. The soil turns brick red. It is dense, grainy, and faintly warm. You are touching laterite, and it has been here far longer than the palms above it.

The Andaman and Nicobar Islands sit at a geological and ecological crossroads an archipelago of 572 islands strung between the Bay of Bengal and the Andaman Sea, technically part of India but closer in distance and character to Myanmar and Indonesia. The islands are volcanically influenced, heavily forested, and drenched by monsoon rains that can exceed 3,000 mm annually. By every tropical measure, they should produce rich, deep soils. And yet, scratch the surface quite literally and the fertility story becomes far more complicated.

KEY SOIL CHARACTERISTICS

The Laterite Problem

Laterite from the Latin later, meaning 鈥渂rick鈥� is among the most widely misunderstood soils in tropical agriculture. Formed over thousands of years of intense weathering under high heat and rainfall, lateritic soils are the product of a process called laterisation: the relentless leaching of silica, calcium, potassium, and most soluble minerals, leaving behind an iron and aluminium-rich residue. The result is a soil that is physically hard, chemically impoverished, and stubbornly resistant to conventional improvement.

The characteristic brick-red surface of lateritic soil in the Andaman Islands. Iron and aluminium oxides dominate this horizon, binding phosphate and limiting crop nutrition. (Source ICAR, Central Island Agricultural Research Institute)

In the Andamans, laterite is not just a soil type it is the geological signature of the land. Beneath a thin organic mat of decomposing leaf litter and forest debris, the red horizon begins. It can be as shallow as 10鈥�15 centimetres below the surface. Below that, in many areas, lies a near-impenetrable plinthite layer mottled red-and-yellow hardpan that sets like concrete when exposed to repeated wetting and drying cycles. Roots, particularly fine feeder roots, struggle to penetrate it. Waterlogging becomes a problem in the wet season; drought stress follows within weeks of the rains stopping, because the thin topsoil holds almost no water reserve.

鈥淏eneath the lush green canopy lies one of agriculture鈥檚 harder paradoxes: a island where the rain falls in abundance, yet the soil beneath holds almost nothing for the roots to drink鈥�

The nutrient picture is equally challenging. Available phosphorus is almost always critically low 聽聽iron and aluminium oxides bind phosphate ions with extraordinary tenacity, effectively locking them out of plant uptake. Cation exchange capacity (CEC) is poor, meaning that even when nutrients are added, the soil cannot hold them long enough for crops to use them. Nitrogen cycles quickly under tropical heat, and without a healthy soil organic matter layer to anchor it, it is lost to volatilisation and leaching within days of rainfall.

Why Areca Nut Endures

Given this picture, why does areca nut (Areca catechu) thrive here? The answer lies not in the plant鈥檚 tolerance of poor soils areca nut is, in fact, a demanding crop but in the remarkable adaptive intelligence of island farming systems that have developed around it over generations.

Areca nut cultivation in the Andamans is rarely monoculture. Walk through a working garden and you will find the palms interspersed with banana, black pepper vines climbing the trunks, turmeric in the understorey, and often a canopy of coconut or fruit trees overhead. This structural complexity is not incidental. It is functional soil management. Each layer of the system contributes differently: the palms produce a continuous rain of fronds, leaf sheaths, and spent flower spathes that decompose slowly and steadily, feeding the topsoil鈥檚 thin organic layer. The pepper vines and turmeric add fine root biomass at different soil depths. The bananas, with their large leaves and rapid growth, generate significant mulch volume. Together, these plants create a semi-closed nutrient cycle returning organic matter to the soil faster than the tropical heat and rain can strip it away.

Farmers here do not describe this as agroforestry, or polyculture, or any other technical category. They call it, simply, how a garden works. But the soil science behind it is elegant: the system maintains soil organic carbon (SOC) levels that would be impossible under any single crop grown alone on lateritic ground. Where a monoculture might register SOC levels below 1%, a well-managed mixed areca garden can sustain 2鈥�3%, a difference that transforms not just fertility but soil water retention, microbial activity, and root-zone structure.

Microbial Life in an Iron-Rich World

Perhaps the most overlooked dimension of Andaman lateritic soils is their microbial ecology. The conventional view of such soils infertile, acidic, biologically impoverished obscures a more interesting reality. Under the canopy of areca gardens, where the topsoil remains moist and perpetually mulched, a distinct microbial community has evolved that is adapted to low-pH, iron-dominated conditions.

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) are particularly significant. In phosphorus-limited soils, AMF act as biological extensions of the root system, dramatically increasing the effective absorptive surface area of plant roots and mobilising phosphate from soil pores too small for roots to penetrate. Research in analogous lateritic systems across South and Southeast Asia consistently shows that AMF colonisation rates are highest under mixed-species canopies聽 precisely the conditions Andaman areca gardens provide. The implication is that traditional multi-crop systems are not merely managing soil chemistry; they are, unknowingly or knowingly, managing soil biology.

What the Data Does Not Yet Tell Us

Here lies the most important and most honest part of this story: we do not have enough data. Systematic soil surveys of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands remain sparse. Baseline measurements of SOC stocks, nitrogen mineralisation rates, phosphorus fractions, and microbial diversity under traditional farming systems are almost entirely absent from the published literature. The islands sit outside the reach of most Indian agricultural research institutions, and their unique combination of island biogeography, volcanic parent material, and indigenous farming knowledge has received little sustained scientific attention.

This is not merely an academic gap. In an era where carbon markets, nature-based solutions, and climate-smart agriculture are attracting significant investment, the absence of baseline soil data for the Andamans means that the ecological and carbon value of traditional farming systems here cannot be measured, verified, or rewarded. Farmers managing extraordinarily complex, soil-building systems receive no recognition financial or scientific for the environmental services they provide.

The red soil of the Andamans has been building its story for millennia. The areca palm has been read for generations. It is time soil science catches up with both of them.

Keywords: Laterite soils 路聽 Andaman Islands聽 路聽 Areca nut聽 路聽 Soil organic carbon聽 路聽 Tropical agroforestry聽 路聽 Mycorrhizal fungi 路聽 Climate-smart agriculture

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Useful Information

Abstracts will only be considered if they meet the following criteria:

• Length: Maximum of 300 words
• Keywords: Add up to 10 descriptive 鈥榮earch鈥� keywords
• Lead author鈥檚 organisation and email details must be included

Submissions

You can submit more than 1 abstract if you wish. If you are currently working on your project and will be collecting results later in the year, you can still submit now and have the chance to amend your presentation closer to the conference if it is selected. You do not have to be a BSSS member to submit. We encourage submissions from related disciplines as well as soil science.聽

Oral abstract submissions will be open until聽Monday 31 August.

Poster聽abstract submissions will be open until Friday 23 October.

The 快猫短视频 2026 Annual Conference will take place from Wednesday 2 to Friday 4 December in Aberdeen. The overall conference theme is Soils at the Centre of Change: Innovation, Adaptation and Action. The packed multi-disciplinary event spanning the built, natural environment and agricultural sectors, set at the University of Aberdeen, will provide delegates with a fantastic opportunity to see the latest research and developments within soil science. The exciting and diverse programme will feature keynote speakers and experts across the 2 days.

Programme

The exciting and diverse programme will feature keynote speakers and experts across the 2 days. This will include a policy session, discussion panel sessions, an invited keynote, oral presentations and posters across the 5 themes, quickfire presentations, parallel CPD sessions, an art and culture exhibition, and scientific tours on the final day. We will also be holding a Gala Dinner and Awards Evening on the first night of the Annual Conference.聽

The conference will bring together researchers, policymakers, practitioners, and industry leaders to examine how soil science can drive practical solutions to some of the most pressing environmental, societal, and policy challenges we face today.

With growing global attention on climate resilience, land use, food security, and nature recovery, soils are increasingly recognised as fundamental to sustainable systems. This event will provide a platform to discuss innovation, adaptation, and action across research, policy, and practice, with a particular focus on:

• The role of soils in climate mitigation and adaptation
• Soil鈥搘ater interactions, flood resilience, and water quality
• Digital technologies and data-driven approaches in soil science
• The contribution of soils to ecosystems, livelihoods, and human wellbeing
• Translating soil science into effective policy and on-the-ground action

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The Talking Soil Benches are one of the most exciting outreach ideas I have led. As the UK鈥檚 first soil-focused talking benches, they offer a creative way to bring soil science into everyday spaces and encourage people to stop, listen, and think about the world beneath their feet. Built as fully integrated outdoor benches with inbuilt audio, weatherproof systems, and solar power, they allow users to hear recordings and soil stories in a way that feels accessible, surprising, and memorable.

One of these benches has now been installed at St John鈥檚 Church of England Primary School in Dukinfield, East Manchester. The bench includes recordings such as the sound of an earthworm, alongside interesting facts about soils, and it has already been received really positively by both pupils and parents. What I like most about the bench is that it makes soil visible in a new way. Soil is everywhere in our lives, but it is so often overlooked. The bench gives children and families a reason to pause and become curious about something that usually stays hidden.

In early February, I had the pleasure of visiting the school to run a session on what soil is and why it matters. One of the best parts of the visit was seeing just how naturally curious the children were. Rather than simply listening, they immediately began asking thoughtful, imaginative, and sometimes wonderfully unexpected questions about soil. They wanted to know: Can you make soil? What is聽soil made of? What would happen if we did not have soil? Is soil alive?聽and even What soils are on the Moon? One of my favourites was How much soil is there on Earth? To be honest, I’m not sure any soil scientist really knows the answer to that!

These questions were such a good reminder of why school engagement matters. Children are often willing to ask the big questions that adults stop asking. Some wanted to know how soil is created and why it takes so long to form. Others were fascinated by what lives in soil, how many insects or tiny organisms might be found in a cupful, and why there are so many different soil types and colours. A few questions opened up really lovely conversations about how soil helps grow food, supports plants, and underpins life on land. One group asked what would happen if we did not have soil at all, which is such a simple but powerful way of getting to the heart of why soil matters.

After the session, I took their questions away, wrote answers to them, and sent them back to the school along with some colouring sheets for the children to complete. I really liked being able to continue the conversation after the visit itself, rather than letting it end when I walked out of the classroom. It felt important to show that their questions were worth taking seriously, and that science begins with curiosity.

For me, this visit was part of a wider goal of bringing soil science into the classroom and engaging the next generation with the importance of soil. Soil supports our food, stores water, underpins ecosystems, and plays a critical role in the health of the planet, yet it rarely gets the attention it deserves. Projects like the Talking Soil Benches, along with classroom sessions like this one, are small but meaningful ways of changing that. If children can start to see soil not just as 鈥渄irt鈥� but as something living, dynamic, and essential, then that feels like a very good place to begin.

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Meet the team:

Jay Ryan (coach) – I am a senior soil scientist at ADAS, part of RSK, where I work in soil classification and environmental impact assessments. Prior to moving to the UK, I studied at the University of Adelaide, where I completed my research degree in soil carbon dynamics and a Bachelor of Science with a double major in soil science and ecology. I also hold a Master鈥檚 degree in environmental economics and policy, which has helped me provide a broader context for environmental science within my role. I have participated in soil judging competitions in both Australia and Scotland and am currently chairing the British Soil Judging Working Group, while also contributing to the International Union of Soil Sciences (IUSS) Soil Judging Working Group, both of which are aiming to develop a strong platform for soil description and classification skills with Britain and internationally.

Jessica Brook – I am in the final year of my PhD at the University of Aberdeen, and I have a strong interest in soil management and soil health. My research focuses on water quality risks from soil structural degradation in Scotland and it includes a broadscale study, sampling across almost 400 agricultural sites. I come from a farming background and have also completed an MSc in Soil Science.

Theodore Heaton-Davies – I’m Theodore Heaton-Davies. I’m in my first year of a PhD in Ecology and Agri-Environmental Research at the University of Reading. My project is on enhancing above and below ground ecosystem services through regenerative farming as a means to reduce reliance on chemical fertiliser. I’m especially interested in cycling different organic wastes back to farms and the impact of that on measures of soil health. As part of my PhD I’m currently聽undertaking a placement at ADAS where I’m based in the entomology team.

Thomas Smith – Thomas is an agricultural systems engineer and a second-year PhD researcher at Cranfield University, UK. His professional background includes work with Tesco, Syngenta, and Amazon, as well as serving as a logistics officer in the British Army. Thomas鈥檚 research focuses on reducing the emissions footprint of tea production through a combination of field experiments in Kenya, plus empirical and process-based modelling. Specifically, he is working to understand the relationship between fertilizer application and greenhouse gas emissions by examining complex interactions within carbon and nitrogen cycles. Ultimately the goal of the research is to optimise fertilizer use efficiency while minimizing environmental impact. His doctoral work is supported by Lipton Teas and Infusions and the UKRI Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC).

Cairo Robb –聽 I am a soils enthusiast, with a range of affiliations, who enjoys acting as a bridge between science and policy, policy and practice, and between disciplines, with the aim to increase society鈥檚 engagement with soils in decision making. I have a particular interest in the role that urban soils and their biodiversity can play in increasing people鈥檚 sense of connection to soils and soil biodiversity more broadly. By this, I mean all the local and global soils and soil organisms that we depend upon – and impact upon – through the supply chains we engage with in our everyday work and personal lives. I am studying part-time for my Master of Horticulture (MHort) qualification with the Royal Horticultural Society, and have completed the first two years of this three-year course. In recent years I also completed an MSc in Soils and Sustainability, and my background is in international environmental law and policy. Currently I am a soil health policy researcher in the Department of Engineering at Durham University. In addition, I work part-time in the Gardens Department of Magdalene College, Cambridge, which inspired my enrolment in the MHort. I am also the founder of the Collaboration for Interdisciplinary Sustainable Soils Project (CISS Project) CIC, a community interest company dedicated to raising awareness about soils and their biodiversity, and promoting interdisciplinary collaboration for sustainable soils. I am delighted and extremely grateful to everyone involved for this amazing opportunity to learn and gain an in depth understanding of soil description using the World Reference Base, and to take part in the 5th聽International Soil Judging Contest!

The World Congress of Soil Science (WCSS), organised by the International Union of Soil Sciences (IUSS), is the leading global gathering for soil scientists and practitioners, held every four years since 1927. Bringing together thousands of delegates from across the world. The upcoming 23rd Congress in 2026 is taking place in Nanjing with the theme 鈥淪oil and the Shared Future for Humanity,鈥� highlighting the critical role soils play in sustainable development and future generations. To read more about the WCSS from the President Elect of IUSS click here.

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Every five years the UK government is legally mandated to publish a The an independent group established under the , is expected to publish the fourth national climate risk report in 2026 and present it to Parliament in early 2027.

These national climate change reports can raise public awareness about climate risks, including to the country鈥檚 ecosystems. We used the third national climate risk assessment, released in January 2022, to study media attention to climate risks in the UK mainstream press.

The third listed 鈥渞isks to soil health from increased flooding and drought鈥� as one of eight priority climate risks facing the country. The report also stated that a new Soil Structure Measuring and Monitoring Scheme was being developed, but as of this writing, the healthy soils scheme is .

Climate change is most likely to make it onto the public鈥檚 agenda when political events, such as the annual COPs for climate change, or extreme weather events happen. Even then, breaking through the noise is hard. into media coverage of the July 2022 extreme heat, when temperatures topped 40掳C for the first time in recorded history, showed that only 36% of press reports about the heatwave mentioned climate change.

Degrading soil health is rarely featured in UK media reporting. Instead, it tends to be 鈥渃onfined to academic papers, local news reports, and reports by consultants,鈥� geomorphologist John Boardman.

Media Attention to Soil Health is Low

In of soil health discussion in the UK press following publication of the 2022 climate risk assessment, assuming the report to parliament might trigger some media attention to priority climate risks areas, we set out to examine the amount of coverage about degrading soil health due to climate change. In other words, media salience. In doing so, we sought to answer the question of how this issue is represented in the text of news reports and visually.

What we found is a stark lack of media reporting on soil health. Over two full years following the report鈥檚 publication we identified only 42 articles 鈥� across more than a hundred UK newspapers, including all widely-read national ones 鈥� that specifically covered climate-induced risks to the country鈥檚 soil health from increased flooding and drought.

revealed that:

• Press reports emphasized themes of either habitat/biodiversity loss or food insecurity.
• The root causes of the accelerating climate crisis were not discussed in the coverage. Instead, the overarching narrative was one about the inevitability of climate change. Basically, mainstream news supported the idea that there is no stopping climate change so the thing to do is to adapt to the consequences coming our way.
• Policymakers, both in writing and visually, were conspicuously absent from the observed news discourse. This implied that the needed adaptation efforts are the remit of individuals, communities, and industry alliances.
• Generic, stock-like photos made up the majority of the news images. Exchangeable photographs of agricultural activities or supermarket aisles were more prominent than pictures of people or wildlife. This rendered the issue as rather dull and abstract.

When mainstream news fails to pay attention to soil health, the public鈥檚 ability to recognize and act on the risks climate change poses to ecosystems and food security is severely compromised.

How to Improve Soil Health Media Coverage

Here we share some ideas of what could be done to improve media representations of soil health, from the most to the least feasible interventions.

First, soil scientists could try to make public engagement with their research findings a larger aspect of their work. In fact, the British public about scientific topics. Soil scientists can be trusted messengers to communicate the already of deteriorating soil health and the to government and politicians, agriculture-adjacent industry actors (food supply, retail, hospitality, agritech), and local communities.

To be sure, translating complex scientific facts to lay audiences is never easy. But as soil scientists, you are working in a discipline closely tied to the prospects for humanity鈥檚 future on this planet. Who better than you to sound the alarm bells 鈥� loudly and incessantly. If you are affiliated with a university, check to see if your institution offers media training. Training and tips are also available from the and the , among others.

We also recommend that risks to soil health are incorporated more consistently into environmental and science communication . If you are personally looking for a place to start, the Association of British Science Writers has complied a listing of in the UK. Other useful resources can be found from , , and the , of which Jill is a board member.

Finally, and at present most unrealistically, the (news) media system needs to pivot away from a for-profit bottom line. Shrinking newsrooms, along with increasingly precarious working conditions, news production driven by audience data metrics, and uncritical usage of artificial intelligence applications are anathema to a journalism industry that would have the resources and capabilities to more fully report on the connections between climate change and soil health.

The study has been published in The Geographical Journal. To view the full study,聽.

[Cover Image –聽” by聽Scottish Government聽is licensed under聽]

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