THYME: Improving soil quality to enhance climate change resilience
In-farm experiments to directly compare the effects of different land management strategies on flood resilience and annual crop yield.
Project summary
The Challenge
Climate change is expected to increase the magnitude and frequency of flooding in the UK, thus threatening our fertile farmland and future food security.
The Approach
The Humber project is trialling methodologies to restore agricultural soils back to their natural functionality so they can soak up water, retain nutrients and host a greater biodiversity within the soil, with inherent benefits for food production.
The Outcome
It is envisaged that the project will improve food production efficiency and enhance soil biodiversity and flood resilience.
Institutes and centres
Lead academics
Project funded by
Project Partners
The Challenge
About 90% of the land area within East Yorkshire is used for agriculture, and it comprises some of the most fertile farmland in the UK. The majority of this agricultural land is situated on low-lying floodplain susceptible to flooding. Climate change is expected to increase the magnitude and frequency of flooding in the UK, thus threatening our fertile farmland and future food security. If we are to maintain agricultural outputs, we must adapt to manage the effects of these floods on farmland and raise our resilience to flood events.
The UK food and farming sector is worth around £108 billion Gross Value Added to the British economy
*NFU, Contributions of UK Agriculture Report, 2017The Approach
The University of Hull made links with Sustainable Landscapes - an established partnership between Future Food Solutions and Yorkshire Water that was already working with farmers in North Yorkshire. The project's remit has since expanded to include activity with Nomad Foods' farmers in the River Hull catchment.
The Humber project trialled methodologies to restore agricultural soils back to their natural functionality so they can soak up water, retain nutrients and host a greater biodiversity within the soil, with inherent benefits for food production.
THYME researchers from the University of Hull and Teesside University conducted a range of field experiments that directly compare the effects of different land management strategies on the annual crop yield and on water and nutrient retention in soils. The team tested a number of approaches in one field with an area designated as ‘control’ where no interventions are made to normal management strategies. Each field segment was equipped with spatially-distributed soil moisture sensors to allow continuous monitoring. Soil samples were taken and the team used X-Ray CT scanning techniques to ascertain the soil structure to understand how soil structure changes in response to land management strategy.
Through the partnership working with Future Food Solutions, Yorkshire Water and Nomad Foods, the research team were able to access historical data on soil moisture and crop yields, and potentially utilise an existing soil moisture sensor network.
The research team monitored crop yields, comparing the treated and untreated ground and comparing both to historical data for those locations. Soil nutrients were examined over a period of time and compared to baseline samples. Soil moisture retention was also monitored throughout the project and compared to baseline data.
A cost-benefit analysis compared the benefits of adopting sustainable land management practices on society and the environment against the risks from flood damage and environmental degradation associated with current management strategies.
The Impact
It is envisaged that the project will improve food production efficiency and enhance soil biodiversity and flood resilience.
The results will be used to demonstrate the multilateral benefits of enhancing agricultural soils for improved food security and alleviating flood risk. The study will provide critical supporting evidence for policy makers to justify investment in environmental stewardship that provides a range of socioeconomic and environmental benefits that ultimately make the UK more resilient to future climate change.
We expect the economic benefits of adopting these sustainable management practices to be apparent especially when compared to the general daily management costs incurred under currently employed techniques.
