Soil facts and figures:
- 95% of global food supplies are directly or indirectly produced on soil. NFU (2018)
- One teaspoon of soil contains more living organisms than there are people in the world. FAO (2020)
- UK soils store over 10 billion tonnes of carbon in the form of organic matter. Roughly equal to 80 years of annual UK greenhouse gas emissions. Environment Agency (2019)
- It is estimted that in the UK, soil is being destroyed 10 times faster than it is being created. WWF (2018)
- Around 17% of arable soils in England and Wales show signs of erosion and 40% (2 million ha) are thought to be at risk. Environment Agency (2019)
- Almost 4 million ha of agricultural land in England and Wales are at risk of compaction, affecting soil fertility, water resouces and increasing flood risk. Environment Agency (2019)
- In the UK, intensive agriculture has caused arable soils to lose 40-60% of their organic carbon. Environment Agency (2019)
- The annual costs of soil degradation in England and Wales are between £0.9 and £1.4 billion, with a central estimate of £1.2 bn. These costs are mainly linked to loss of organic content of soils (47% of total), compaction (39%) and erosion (12%). Graves et al (2014)
- The contribution of damaged soils to flooding events is estimated to be £233m/year. Parliamentary Office of Science & Technology (2015)
- Around 300,000 hectares of UK soil are thought to be contaminated with toxic elements – such as cadmium, arsenic and lead. Environmental Audit Committee (2016)
- English farmers are losing valuable resources through diffuse pollution. 235,000 tonnes of nitrogen and 8,391 tonnes of phosphorus are lost every year that would otherwise help sustain farming. Defra (2015)