On 3 December, 2020 POST and the non-partisan International Cryosphere Climate Initiative (ICCI) hosted a closed briefing as one of a series of “Cryosphere 1.5°C Briefings”. These are the notes from the briefing. As this was a closed event for Parliamentarians and parliamentary staff, questions and comments during the different rounds of discussion have not been attributed.
Documents to download
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Securing UK Soil Health (345 KB, PDF)
Key points in this POSTnote include:
- Soils filter and store water, support agriculture and other plant and animal communities, and harbour a quarter of the world’s biodiversity.
- Soil is a renewable resource but can be permanently degraded by pressures such as urbanisation or erosion. Degradation of peat soils releases CO2 to the atmosphere.
- Arable soil health can be improved by appropriate cropping and organic matter inputs, but poor management can lead to erosion, degradation of soil fertility and reductions in water-holding capacity.
- The evidence base for soil management has been challenging to develop because soils improve slowly. There is no UK-wide scheme for monitoring soil health.
Documents to download
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Securing UK Soil Health (345 KB, PDF)
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