L10

Question 1

What is one factor driving wetland decline?

Answer 1

Agriculture

Question 2

What makes a healthy soil?

Answer 2

• Combination of chemical, physical and biological factors interact and affect soil health
  • A good quality soil is crucial to supporting plant growth and many other key ecosystem services
  • Ploughing effects many types of soil structure and effects chemical balance
  • Eutrophication of water ways
  • Production of nitrogen fertiliser is largely energy intensive

Question 3

5 key soil degradation causes in the UK

Answer 3

• Loss of organic matter - continuous cropping
  • Nutrient losses - require addition of inorganic N and P to retain crop productivity
  • Erosion - because of degradation soils at risk of erosion - 2.9 million ha tonnes soil lost annually in England and Wales
  • Compaction - 3.9 million ha at risk of compaction by heavy machinery or grazing. Affects nutrient cycling and ability to mitigate flooding
  • Contamination - pollutants including microplastics

Question 4

How much of soil loss is linked to organic matter?

Answer 4

50%

Question 5

How much of the worlds arable topsoil has been lost to erosion or pollution?

Answer 5

33% in the last 40 years (Yang et al 2003)

Question 6

How many times are erosion rates greater than soil formation rates?

Answer 6

10-100 (Yang et al 2003)

Question 7

What does soil erosion lead to?

Answer 7

Preferential removal of organic matter and clay-removing nutrients and releasing CO2 (Yang et al 2003)

Question 8

How much vegetable production is grown on the fens?

Answer 8

40%

Question 9

How much peat is lost from the Fens every year?

Answer 9

1.2cm (Holman and Kechavarzi, 2011)

Question 10

How is soil quality restored in Agricultural land?

Answer 10

Organic farming
Regenerative agriculture
Conservation agriculture

Question 11

What techniques do regenerative and conservation agriculture utilise?

Answer 11

Cover cropping, min till or no till, organic soil amendments

Question 12

3 principles of conservation agriculture

Answer 12

Crop diversificiation, minimal soil movement, soil coverage with residue of the previous crop, crop cover or both

Question 13

How much agricultural land is under higher level agri-environment schemes

Answer 13

3.6 million Ha

Question 14

How much of the UK is urban area?

Answer 14

> 21,500 km2

approx 50% of UK is greenspace

Question 15

allotment land loss is how many times greater in deprived areas?

Answer 15

8

Question 16

How much of lost allotment land remains greenspace?

Answer 16

25%

Question 17

Is there space to grow food in Sheffield?

Answer 17

• Large potential allotment sites
  • 1.3% of greenspace is allotment land
  • 38% of greenspace is garden
  • 11% greenspace suitable for allotments
  • This is much greater compared to UK commercial horticulture