OPAL Soil Centre launches scheme to map the characteristics of the nation's soil<em>News</em>

By Danielle Reeves
Monday 23 March 2009

A new nationwide survey in which members of the public record information about the soil and earthworms in their local community, to reveal changes caused by pollution and climate change, has been launched today by Imperial College London scientists.

The OPAL soil and earthworm survey is run by the OPAL Soil Centre which is based at Imperial and is part of the national Open Air Laboratories (OPAL) project – an Imperial-led nationwide initiative to inspire communities to discover, enjoy and protect their local environment.

Anyone can take part in the survey by downloading a survey guide and workbook www.opalexplorenature.org

The survey packs contain instructions for digging a small 10 centimetre deep pit in a garden, park or other open space, and a field guide taking participants through a number of simple tasks designed to asses the properties of the soil in their pit. The survey pack also contains a key for identifying the earthworm species found living in the soil.

Participants will record their findings in field workbooks, and then enter them into a newly constructed national online database to build up a map of soils across England. They will also upload information about the earthworms they find, to provide a never-before-seen picture of the distribution of species across the country too.

As data from around the country is submitted to the online database, environmental scientists from Imperial will be able to compare it with historic records in order to understand how soil properties and quality are changing over time.

Dr Nick Voulvoulis from Imperial's Centre for Environmental Policy (CEP), Director of the OPAL Soil Centre, said: "This is a really exciting project that gives people of all ages the chance to get their hands dirty and find out more about the world beneath their feet. At the same time, they will be contributing to an important nationwide survey of our soils and the organisms that live in them, which will allow scientists to monitor any future changes that may occur as a result of climate change or pollution."

Dr Voulvoulis and his colleagues say that studying soil is important because it is critical to many areas of our lives including farming, mining and construction, waste management and producing biofuels. Soil provides minerals and water to plants, helps prevent droughts and floods, and is home to a high diversity of organisms, including earthworms, which help dead plant matter to decompose and recycle nutrients.

Soil is subject to pollution from many of the sources that pollute water and the air, including human activities such as agriculture, waste management and transport. Such pollution can reduce soil's ability to carry out these important functions and sustain life. Tracking the abundance of earthworms, and the diversity of earthworm species present in soil, is one of the ways that scientists can monitor environmental pollution.

Anyone can take part in the survey by downloading a guide and workbook from the OPAL website

Dr Martin Head, also from Imperial's CEP, and Manager of the OPAL soil centre, added: "Most people are familiar with water and air pollution, but tend to forget about soil. We hope that the OPAL soil and earthworm survey will raise awareness of the important role soil plays in ecosystems and in the quality of our lives."

Dr Linda Davies from Imperial's Centre for Environmental Policy, Director of the OPAL project over all, said: "Everyone can take part in OPAL by exploring and discovering the natural world around them. There are activities to suit all ages and abilities and everyone's contribution is valuable. OPAL wants to inspire a new generation of nature lovers and increase environmental awareness, which has both local and global relevance."

The OPAL soil centre is a collaboration between Imperial College London, The Environment Agency, the Natural History Museum, and the British Geological Survey.

Representatives from all four partner organisations will be manning exhibition stands at a information event to mark the launch of the survey, taking place in the Mechanical Engineering building concourse on Imperial's South Kensington campus on Friday 27 March.

The drop-in event will run from 3pm – 5pm and is open to Imperial College staff and students who want to meet the scientists, get involved and find out more about the survey. For more information see Imperial's events website.

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