The largest ever ecosystem investigation of its kind across England has launched, which will help assess the impact of ‘nature-friendly' farming practices at over 6,000 locations.
The project has been set up to build a picture of the current state of farmland habitats and soil conditions, and how this varies across different regions and farming systems.
Funded by Defra and Natural England, the England Ecosystem Project is being rolled out by Fera Ltd with the support of 15 organisations, including the Wildlife Trust and ADAS.
The insights from the data aims to evidence how farmers are helping to achieve the UK's 2050 net zero goal, and highlight untapped opportunities for environmental protection.
Martin Worsley, natural capital researcher at Fera, said: "Our aim is to quantify the living aspect of soils across every type of farmland habitat, from upland livestock farms in the Scottish borders to horticulture and arable farms down in Kent.
"Creating this baseline will help us to track important metrics, such as soil carbon and nutrient levels, over time to show where farmers are helping to move the dial with environmental protection.
"It will also help us highlight opportunities for increased carbon capture, and where producers can learn from best-practice, to help ensure sustainable farming and land management efforts are targeted in the right place for maximum benefit."
The project involves a team of ecologists carrying out in-depth analyses of soil samples and vegetation surveys captured at 38,000 sampling points across England. This will be revisited every five years.
For those looking to explore environmentally friendly income streams, Mr Worsley advises that quantifying the natural capital on the land is a vital first step.
He said: "It's important to have detailed baseline measurements of your farmland natural capital to be able to accurately plan how best to go about making investments and tapping into the funding on offer.
"If you're not 100% confident on current farmland data, such as the levels of soil carbon or total wildlife habitats across your holding, you'll be in the dark when it comes to making the most of income opportunities."
