Soils@Hutton - Soil Survey and Monitoring

At the James Hutton Institute, we have expertise in a range of soil survey and monitoring approaches. We investigate ways to effectively monitor soils and to establish which soil properties are the most useful to give us an early indication of detrimental changes. We have recently resampled soils at sites throughout Scotland that we visited over 20 years ago in an effort to determine the best way to sample the soil, the best indicators of change, the best analyses to use and the number of samples needed. We also have a number of long term sites which we revisit and sample at regular intervals, some of which are part of the Environmental Change Network. Survey teams are available for a range of scenarios; including soil pedological classification, agricultural land capability, physical & chemical analysis, forensic, soil microbiology and function. The James Hutton Institute is also custodian of the National Soil Inventory for Scotland and the National Soil Archive of Scotland.

Contact Allan Lilly for further information