AN Aberdeen-based institute has launched a citizen science project to better understand the soil quality in Scotland.
The James Hutton Institute is part of a European project that is looking for volunteers to help gather of 2000 samples in the Scottish countryside and cities.
What’s the importance of studying soil?
THE ocean is widely recognised as the largest carbon store on Earth, a fact that is well-established in scientific research. However, the second-largest carbon reservoir – soil and sediment – is often overlooked.
To most, soil is just the dirt on the Earth's surface. However, the European Soil Data Centre (ESDAC) in the Soil Atlas of Europe describes it as "the living, breathing skin of our planet," shaped by natural environmental phenomena.
Despite its significance, the impact of human activity on soil as a vital resource is still not well understood, with far more knowledge existing about the ocean as a carbon store than about soil.
It is the goal of a European project called Echo to remedy the gap in common knowledge of soil health. It aims to collect 16,500 samples across Europe to create a general understanding of soil health in Europe and the UK.
In Scotland, 2000 samples need to be collected to be analysed. It will create a general map of the health of Scottish soil.
Volunteers will be called Echo ambassadors and will aim to collect samples all around Scotland, in the countryside and also in cities to better understand the health of the soil.
Potential ambassadors will have to spread the word about the importance of soil health and encourage communities to collect soil samples from local areas.
The project aims to protect one of the biggest carbon stores on the planet which is also a vital ecosystem. It also aims to raise awareness and literacy among citizens to improve knowledge about soil samples.
Dr Karolina Trdlicova, citizen coordinator for the Echo initiative, explained that the project has two goals. This first one is to “increase soil literacy” by bringing “soil to the forefront and increase public awareness of soil”. The second goal is to collect large numbers of soil samples throughout Scotland.
Each volunteer will collect one sample and will be provided with a handy sampling kit, which they can then distribute to their communities.
The James Hutton Institute is interested in all types of soil across Scotland, from the summit of a hill in a moor to the shaded corners of people’s gardens.
“One additional reason why we are asking citizens to take soil from wherever they want is because the data [on soil] that the European Union holds is predominantly focused on agricultural soils or soils from forests, whereas there are huge gaps in other habitats,” said Dr Roy Neilson, a soil ecologist at the James Hutton Institute.
Dr Neilson explained that by asking citizens to go and take samples “wherever they want, it will start to fill in some of the gaps in the [European] databases”.
The samples received by the James Hutton Institute will be analysed for heavy metals, and tested for physical properties like soil compaction, pH levels, and other relevant data.
By 2027, the aim is to create an online, open-access database explained Dr Trdlicova.
At the end of the project, Echo ambassadors will be able to review the list and see the results of the analysis of the soil samples they collected from their garden or walking route.
Currently, the James Hutton Institute has more than 60 ambassadors all around Scotland. Some are gardeners but others have nothing to do with soil.
“We've had quite a wide outreach of people whose day jobs maybe have nothing to do with soil, but soil is something they care about, or they became interested, or they just want to be part of this as a science project,” said Dr Trdlicova.
“That's what the project does, it's using science and being engaged in a project of collecting soil samples as a way of increasing people's soil literacy and interest in soil.”
“We feel that [the attention] soil quality is getting is not proportionate to its importance,” explained Dr Trdlicova.
“Soil scientists are aware of the importance of soil health and maintaining good soil, but we would like that to be a wider acknowledged topic.”
The European Soil Observatory estimates that 62% of soils in Europe (including Scotland) are unhealthy.
Dr Trdlicova emphasised that soils are the second-largest carbon sinks after the oceans, and as they degrade, more carbon is released into the atmosphere.
Soil health goes beyond fertility or the ability to grow food. According to Dr Trdlicova, healthy soil "prevents surface flooding, stores carbon, and supports food production."
A recent study reveals that "59% of the world’s biodiversity is in soils," according to Dr Neilson. This highlights the importance of gaining a better understanding of Scottish soil to support biodiversity.
The James Hutton Institute is also home to Scotland’s National Soils Archive, which contains more than 60,000 soil samples dating back to 1934.
As one of the 16 partners on the project, the James Hutton Institute will also conduct extensive DNA analysis of Scottish and wider European soils, helping to unearth the range of life within each sample.
