Land quality
We depend on the good quality of our land. We need land to generate energy, to grow our crops, for mineral resources, to bury our wastes, to support our homes, industries, schools and hospitals, to support our transport networks and for a great deal more. Land is a vital habitat for plants and animals. We use land for leisure and recreation as well as simply to enjoy it.
Many human activities and their by-products have the potential to damage land and particularly soils. Large and small industrial enterprises, the urban infrastructure, agriculture, horticulture, transport, from deliberate or accidental pollution incidents all affect land quality.
Soil is central to the environment. It stores and recycles nutrients and water, and provides the medium for crop growth; but it also acts a buffer between the atmosphere and aquatic ecosystems. This can only be maintained if we do not damage soil; once damaged or contaminated soil can be extremely difficult, if not impossible to repair and, soils can themselves become sources of pollutants.
Pollutants from our activities that have damaged land and soil may enter surface or groundwater. Equally they may affect air quality. Such pollutants may be directly toxic to individual species or may have more subtle longer-term effects on ecosystems.
- Land contamination
Thousands of sites have been contaminated by previous industrial use, often associated with traditional processess which are no longer used. These sites may present a hazard to the general environment, but there is a growing need to reclaim and redevelop them. - Soils
Healthy soils are vital to a sustainable environment, but there are increasing signs that their condition has been neglected.
- Diffuse water pollution
Diffuse water pollution can arise from many sources, which may be small individually, but their collective impact can be damaging. Diffuse pollution can be caused by current and past land use in agricultural and urban environments. - Agriculture
Agriculture provides wildlife habitats, a well-loved landscape and a place for recreation – but it also has some less desirable impacts on the environment. - Publications catalogue
