Approved work: Biomass energy
This POSTnote will consider the sustainability of biomass crop feedstocks grown in the UK, and the land use and other challenges that may arise.

The soil microbiome, communities of microorganisms in soils, underpin natural processes in soil habitats and are affected by environmental and land use change. This POSTnote gives an overview of the benefits provided by the soil microbiome, ways of assessing the soil microbiome, and measures to improve its condition.
Sustaining the soil microbiome (481 KB , PDF)
Soils are one of the most biodiverse habitats on Earth, with an estimated 4,000 to 50,000 species of microorganism per gram of soil. The ‘soil microbiome’ refers to communities of microbes within the soil, which include bacteria and fungi, but also archaea (single-celled organisms initially identified in extreme habitats), protists (single-celled organisms that, unlike bacteria, contain a nucleus) and viruses. However, although they constitute a large part of the UK’s biodiversity, many soil organisms remain unknown. The soil microbiome underpins many of the ecosystem services that benefit humans, which include:
Soil health is defined in the academic literature as the capacity of a soil to function as a living ecosystem and support to sustain plants, animals and humans, and maintain environmental quality. The Government’s 25 Year Environment Plan highlight the importance of soil health and stated an ambition to manage England’s soils sustainably by by 2030.
Key points in this POSTnote include:
POSTnotes are based on literature reviews and interviews with a range of stakeholders and are externally peer reviewed. POST would like to thank interviewees and peer reviewers for kindly giving up their time during the preparation of this briefing, including:
*Denotes people who acted as external reviewers of the briefing
Sustaining the soil microbiome (481 KB , PDF)
This POSTnote will consider the sustainability of biomass crop feedstocks grown in the UK, and the land use and other challenges that may arise.
This POSTnote will summarise the evidence for different measures to mitigate emissions from different sources of air pollution.
Research suggests that the threat from invasive non-native species (INNS) is growing. Biological invasions by INNS harm native species and habitats and can have economic impacts. Biosecurity measures can be adopted to prevent the introduction and spread of INNS. This POSTnote summarises the drivers and impacts of INNS and the measures needed to meet national and international environmental targets.