NEC06520 NERC mySoil-sample: Business Planning

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

In 2008 (Defra, 2008) it was estimated that a 1% change in soil carbon was equivalent to the UK's annual greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuel. Over the last 30 years the Countryside Survey has reported a ~10% decline in soil carbon from arable soils, supported by the National Soil Inventory data. The UK Government has recently committed to the 4 per Mille initiative to try and restore soil carbon to help mitigate climate change and improve soil structure and hydrological function. In order to achieve this we need data that shows the state and change in soil carbon while maintaining pH and soil productivity, especially in light of Brexit which will place new pressures on production and therefore soils. In this proposal we will transform how soil data is collected by industry through planning for the creation of a digital data acquisition system, named mySoil-sample, that will enable farmers to collect 'smart soil data' with GPS located digital records using smart phones or the web that can be stored and shared. Industry collects in excess of 0.5 million soil samples each year that are analysed professionally in industry laboratories, but data collection is still primarily paper-based and fragmented.This system will unlock the potential of farmer's data and feed into portals that enable benchmarking of soils. Moreover, this data set will enable NERC scientists to develop new science, data and maps to help industry and policy makers that is up to date and captures soil change, helping generate a more responsive industry.