Page 8 - Natural World Winter 2017
P. 8
LIVING LANDSCAPES
there are a lot of them: at least a
quarter of the Earth’s biodiversity
can be found in the soil. These life
forms – from fungi to earthworms –
form intricate networks beneath our
feet, and so play their part in keeping
soils healthy. Interplays between
organisms form a complex web
These Wildflower field margins ZOE STEVENS
intricate reduce soil loss, and create RUPERT PAUL
networks are habitat and nectar sources fertilisers to grow crops, along with
what keep high levels of pesticides. Nutrients
soils healthy becoming unprofitable within a aren’t being fed back into soils, and
generation due to the loss of soil this (alongside regular tillage) is
which fertilises our crops and plants. organic carbon. damaging soil structure. This in
But across the UK, and indeed the turn can’t support bacteria, fungi
Modern agricultural systems are and invertebrates – the
world, the quality of our soils is exhausting our lowland soils, powerhouse supporting other
declining. Healthy soils are stripping them of their organic wildlife up the food chain.
fundamental to our society, and matter and natural nutrients. Some
estimates put the cost of soil farmers are totally reliant on In the uplands, soils are su ering
degradation in the UK as high as £1.4 from compaction. When livestock
billion per year. Some of our most numbers are too high, or pressures
productive arable land is at risk of from feet and tra c too continual,
soils become hard. The ground
Down and dirty – what you can do can’t absorb rainfall, so water pours
o the hillsides. As well as causing
Our top three ways to flooding downstream, the runo
help soil in your garden gets into water supplies, literally
and beyond. More at muddying the waters and taking
wildlifetrusts.org/soil with it vital nutrients needed to
keep the soil healthy.
1. Start composting Lilla, aged five, discovers a slow
worm in the garden compost heap Our soils are also releasing their
Buy or build two or carbon stores. Peatlands are one of
more bins, so you can our most important and
fill one while the endangered habitats, covering 12%
other ‘cooks’. Kitchen of the UK. Not only do they
and garden waste, support unique wildlife, but the
brown cardboard – it formation of peat by sphagnum
all breaks down in the end, mosses captures and stores
reducing landfill and creating carbon, removing greenhouse
habitat for insects, amphibians and gases from the atmosphere. In the
reptiles, too! last 10,000 years, UK peatlands
have locked up around 5.5 billion
2. Go peat free tonnes of carbon. And yet, 80% of
our peatlands are in a poor
Buying compost for your flower beds or containers? Make condition because they’ve been
sure to buy peat-free, and let your garden centre know drained of water or damaged by
why it’s important. extraction over several centuries.
3. Lose the chemicals We have a huge job to undertake
in restoring our soils, for people
Avoid slug pellets, pesticides and other chemicals. Instead, and wildlife. Luckily, there’s plenty
encourage natural predators and ensure your garden has we can all do to reverse this
lots of variety when it comes to plants and grasses. downward trend.
8 NATURAL WORLD WINTER 2017
