A report has just been published by scientists at the James Hutton Institute, SRUC and University of Aberdeen that assesses the socio-economic impacts of soil degradation on Scotland’s water environment. The work was commissioned by Scotland's Centre of Expertise for Waters. 

Having healthy soils is important for many parts of the Scottish economy, for example, they improve crop yields, store more water to help limit the effects of drought and floods and regulate water flows to rivers and lochs. When soils are degraded there are both direct and indirect impacts. This project has shown that degrading them can have significant costs to both individuals, society, and the wider economy. These include impacts on water quality and quantity, crop yields and fuel use, human health and GHG emissions.