Securing UK Soil Health

Documents to download

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.

Event summary: Food insecurity and children’s health

On 15 September, 2021 POST held a closed briefing on Food insecurity and children’s health. As this was a closed event for Parliamentarians and parliamentary staff, questions and comments during the discussion have not been attributed.
- Food security
Smart Cities

"Smart cities" describes places that incorporate a range of technologies (especially those that collect and use data) to address economic, social, and environmental challenges. Projects usually take place in urban areas, but are also deployed in rural settings. This POSTnote looks at smart city innovation in the UK and the technologies involved. It considers the factors driving the adoption of smart city technologies, and the potential benefits, barriers and risks associated with their implementation.
Pesticides and health

This POSTbrief summarises the evidence on routes of human exposure to pesticides and potential impacts on human health. It outlines the regulations and surveillance programmes in place to track exposures and minimise risk. Finally, it comments on how regulatory changes after EU withdrawal could affect trade, industry and consumers.
- Food security