This research was commissioned by the Scottish Executive and the Welsh Assembly.
Organic soils include deep peats, which are composed almost entirely of a deep layer of organic material, and organo-mineral soils, which have a thinner layer of organic material overlying mineral soil layers or rock.
They are important soil types in Scotland and Wales. New calculations undertaken as part of this project show that organic soils in Scotland and Wales contain 2735 Mt carbon and 196 Mt carbon respectively. These estimates omit the carbon content in the mineral soils and are greater than all the carbon held in surface vegetation in the UK (114 Mt carbon).
The report explores, among other things, the effects of: soil drainage, on CO2 and CH4 emissions, conversion of peatland to grassland, effects of pine and birch planting on soil carbon stocks, effects of livestock grazing and of fertiliser use.
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