Large areas of farmland in the United Kingdom are at risk of becoming unproductive within a generation due to soil erosion, according to a government advisory group. A recent report from the Committee on Climate Change (CCC) has warned that soils are being degraded and eroded at unsustainable levels in some areas, such as the East Anglian Fens. This could reduce agricultural productivity and lead to increased reliance on food imports at a time of growing global demand and rising prices. “Soil is a very important resource which we have been very carefree with. At the moment we are treating our agricultural soils as though they are a mined resource – that we can deplete – rather than a stewarded resource that we have to maintain for the long-term future,” said Lord Krebs, chairman of the CCC’s adaptation sub-committee. In its progress report on adaptation to climate change, the committee says that soil erosion is the result of current methods of intensive agriculture, with “deep ploughing, short-rotation periods and exposed ground leading to soil erosion from wind and heavy rain”. Britain’s soil quality has been severely damaged over the past decades. The country has lost 84% of its fertile topsoil since 1850, with the erosion continuing at a rate of 1cm to 3cm a year. The experts warn this rate of loss is not sustainable as soil can take a hundred years or more to form. “The most fertile topsoils in the east of England – where 25% of our potatoes and 30% of our vegetables are grown – could be lost within a generation,” said Lord Krebs. Climate change could make soil erosion and degradation even worse due to rising temperatures and water shortage, as well as the frequency of heavy rainstorms, which wash fertile topsoil away. Trevor Mansfield, head of policy at the Soil Association, a Britain’s leading non-profit organisation campaigning for organic agriculture, commented on the committee’s results: “For the first time, this report highlights the critical red list status of British soils, threatening our climate and future food production.” Soil Association has called on the UK Government to commit to a target to achieve a 20% increase in soil organic matter in UK arable and horticultural soils over 20 years, to protect the country’s ability to grow food in the face of a changing climate. (ab)