New study highlights importance of soil health monitoring for Nature-based Solutions in the UK

A new Sprint research paper emphasizes the critical role of soil health monitoring in enhancing the effectiveness of Nature-based Solutions (NbS) across the UK.

Healthy soil underpins the success of NbS. It delivers direct benefits for people and nature, such as food production, water filtration and carbon storage, as well as supporting flourishing above-ground ecosystems that deliver further services.

Robust monitoring of soil health is therefore essential for the adaptive management of NbS projects, helping to identify best practice and minimizing trade-offs between project goals. However, the authors in this study note that soil assessment is often underrepresented in current NbS monitoring programs. To address this gap, they propose a flexible, interdisciplinary approach that combines soil science, ecology, and socio-economic insights. Additionally, the study introduces an interactive tool designed to help users select suitable soil and biodiversity metrics tailored to specific contexts and scales.

The authors conclude that integrating soil health into NbS through improved monitoring approaches, supportive policies, and stakeholder collaboration can significantly enhance the resilience and effectiveness of these solutions, contributing to global sustainability goals.

The paper “Advancing nature-based solutions through enhanced soil health monitoring in the United Kingdom” published in Soil Use and Management was conducted by researchers from the University of Oxford and the University of Aberdeen. Learn more about the research that contributed to it from the Sprint “How do we scale up Nature-based Solutions?” and the Nature-based Solutions Initiative.