Ron Allen's soil and water pages
 
   
 
Soil and Water Protection on the Agenda
 

Re: Newsletter errata

A few of you may have received our latest newsletter with the following errors (corrected after a couple of hundred had been run off).

Corrections:
  • Page 1. Oedemera nobilis

  • Page 2. Amphibian (not reptile)
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Article from English Nature magazine 'Sitelines' English Nature

Many of England's water and wetland SSSIs are affected by diffuse agricultural pollution, and Environmental Stewardship (ES) includes nature resource protection as an objective to combat this.

ES contains management prescriptions aimed at protecting soils and water in both Entry and Higher Level schemes. This is an important shift by Government, recognising that agri-environment schemes payments can help address the soil and nutrient management issues in modern intensive agriculture that contribute to diffuse pollution and flood generation. Soil compaction, nutrient-rich agricultural run-off to watercourses, soil erosion and subsequent sedimentation of waterways are some of the problems that ES will focus on.

Entry Level Stewardship allows for soil and nutrient management plans to be drawn up and encourages changes in farm practice, such as avoiding planting root crops on land of high erosion risk.

Higher Level Stewardship offers a range of management prescriptions in high risk areas in priority catchments to address soil compaction and excessive run-off. Measures include reverting arable land to grassland, seasonal livestock removal, extensifying grazing, and establishing in-field grass areas on arable land. Capital payments for relocating gates and establishing cross drains to intercept run-off pathways are also possible. At both levels, many of the measures for wildlife will deliver further soil and water protection if applied with a soil management plan.

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DEFRA FIRST SOIL ACTION PLAN FOR ENGLAND

The Action Plan was launched in May 2004 has the following Vision.

‘Our vision is to ensure that England’s soils will be protected and managed to optimise the varied functions that soils perform for society (eg. supporting agriculture and forestry, protecting cultural heritage, supporting biodiversity, as a platform for construction), in keeping with the principles of sustainable development and on the basis of sound evidence.’

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CIWEM POLICY POSITION STATEMENT ON SOIL

Dr Alan Woods writing in the Water and Environment Magazine (May 2005) sets out the thinking behind the Chartered Institution of Water and Environmental Management (CIWEM) and says that:

‘we risk taking out soils for granted at our peril. They provide an extensive and impressive range of environmental services to us all, providing food, processing organic waste, conserving biodiversity and, not least,supporting sports pitches’.

The CIWEM Policy Position Statement sets out 12 recommendations and calls for more research to improve understanding of soils, new incentives and regulation to encourage better soil management, action to protect and rehabilitate soils.

The CIWEM PPS calls for:

1. A European Framework Directive for soils;
2. Action to improve the knowledge base;
3. Government institutions to consider soils;
4. Land management to promote soil management;
5. Soil types of special value and scientific interest to be protected;
6. Criteria for best and most versatile land to be broadened;
7. A risk-base approach to tackling threats to soils;
8. Action to improve soil organic matter;
9. Cross-compliance measures to protect soils;
10. Incentives to promote beneficial land-use;
11. Action to rehabilitate degraded soils;
12. Problems to be tackled at source, working through natural processes.

Ron Allen and The Environmental Project Consulting Group supports CIWEM as an ‘Environmental Partner’
 
The Environmental Project Consulting Group
44A Winchester Road, Petersfield, Hampshire GU32 3PG
email: Ron Allen, tel: 01730 231019,
Copyright April 2005 Ron Allen
Geologist, Soil Scientist, Applied Ecologist, Hydro-ecologist, Chartered Environmentalist