WADER works in partnership with farmers and landowners in Northumberland to help them reduce diffuse pollution in an innovative way through the application of soil science. Soils are a key measure and influence on the health of the environment, and those in bad condition can impact local water quality as well as biodiversity and productivity of farmland.
Northumberland’s soil health is under pressure from nutrient inputs, agricultural practices, sediment runoff, and climate-related impacts, all of which can damage both soils and connected watercourses. When excess nutrients and sediments enter watercourses, they can cause issues like eutrophication and algal blooms that negatively impact ecosystems.
Improving soil health by enhancing structure, boosting organic matter, increasing water holding capacity, and reducing erosion helps limit nutrient and sediment loss, ultimately improving water quality and supporting healthier, more resilient ecosystems.
WADER Land and Water Advisors are supporting farmers and land managers across Northumberland to adopt interventions that strengthen soil health and enhance water quality in the Till and Tweed catchments.
Over the past four years, WADER has assessed soils across selected target sites using Nitrogen Hotspot Mapping to identify high risk areas. Farms in these areas were then chosen based on local insight, holding size, and involvement in Catchment Sensitive Farming.
Target farms received invitations for free environmental appraisals, leading to seventeen farm walkovers that included soil analysis, water sampling, and tailored management recommendations. These farms have since been monitored to track progress and improvements in soil condition over time. The data collected is helping to build a strong understanding of soils across the region, informing a catchment-wide programme of soil improvement and enabling WADER to share best practices and input results to the national soil health database.
Alongside farm walkovers, two soil focused demonstration projects were set up to showcase the use of cover crops and composted farmyard manure as a soil improver. You can read more about these projects here.
Coming soon…
