Soils
The importance of soil
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Soil supports organisms that are essential for a healthy environment.
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Healthy soils are essential for a sustainable environment.
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Our landscape is sustained by soil.
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We use soil to grow our food and it helps to keep our drinking water clean.
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Soil plays a vital role in maintaining the balance of gases in the air that we breathe.
As our understanding of soil increases, we are seeing signs that contamination and poor soil management are causing problems in England and Wales. Over the years there has been a steady loss of soil and there are increasing signs of damage, degradation and erosion. Pollutants from our activities that have damaged land and soil may enter surface or groundwater, affecting our ability to meet water quality standards, or it may affect air quality. We are beginning to understand soil’s role in storing and releasing carbon, and the potential impact this may have in tackling climate change.
Our soil strategy
We have just launched ‘Soil: a precious resource', our strategy for protecting, managing and restoring soil. This will help us undertake our roles and responsibilities for soil efficiently and effectively. The strategy highlights our priorities for soil and the actions we will take.
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Soil: the hidden resource consultation (Acrobat, 436KB, 4 minutes)
Towards an Environment Agency Strategy for Soil Protection, Management and Restoration. -
Soil: the hidden resource consultation response (Acrobat, 99KB, 1 minute)
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State of the soils report (Acrobat, 936KB, 10 minutes)
Summarises our knowledge about the condition of soils in England and Wales -
Soil map: soils across England and Wales (Acrobat, 289KB, 2 minutes)
We produced this poster in association with the National Soil Resources Institute. It shows their Soilscapes map, plus pictures and messages about soil protection. - Soils: environmental facts and figures
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Soil fact sheet: Unearthing soil’s secrets (Acrobat, 436KB, 4 minutes)
