Develop evidence-based Soil Health Indicators that can be considered for inclusion in Whole Farm Plans and Forest Management Plans.
Objective 3: Embed nature positive Farming, Fishing and Forestry
Priority Action 14. Ensure increased uptake of high diversity, nature-rich, high-soil carbon, low-intensity farming methods while sustaining high-quality food production
Soil analysis is now a mandatory component of Scotland’s Whole Farm Plan framework, which requires participating farm businesses to complete soil sampling as part of baseline environmental audits, with full implementation of all plan elements required by 2028.
Scottish Government guidance specifies that soil sampling and soil-related audits form part of the Whole Farm Plan package alongside biodiversity and carbon assessments, with soil sampling required on a five-year cycle for relevant land.
The ClimateXChange Soil Route Map (2025) identifies that Scotland currently lacks a single integrated soil policy framework and recommends updating the 2009 Scottish Soil Framework to better coordinate soil monitoring and policy delivery across agriculture, forestry, climate, and biodiversity objectives.
SEFARI soil research programmes are actively developing improved soil monitoring approaches and indicator frameworks, including work on soil function, ecosystem services, and methods for integrating biological and physical soil metrics into decision-making tools.
SRUC research highlights that soil indicators such as soil structure, organic matter, and compaction are already in practical use on farms through tools like VESS, but application remains inconsistent across systems and regions.
Scottish Forestry guidance includes soil protection within sustainable forest management practice, focusing on maintaining soil structure, limiting disturbance, and protecting soil carbon during forestry operations, but this is not yet linked to a standardised soil indicator framework across forest plans.
SEFARI research identifies soils as core regulators of ecosystem services, including carbon storage, nutrient cycling, water regulation, and habitat function, all of which underpin ecosystem resilience and biodiversity outcomes.
Soil Association Scotland evidence highlights soils as living ecosystems, where soil biodiversity and organic matter are essential for ecosystem stability and long-term ecological resilience.
NatureScot evidence identifies soil degradation processes such as erosion, compaction, and loss of organic matter as drivers of reduced ecosystem function and declining habitat quality.
State of Nature Scotland reports continued biodiversity decline across Scotland, reinforcing the importance of restoring foundational ecosystem components such as soils to support wider recovery.
Taken together, this evidence shows that soil health indicators are strongly supported by Scottish scientific and policy evidence and already partially embedded in farm and forestry systems. However, there is currently no unified indicator framework applied consistently across Whole Farm Plans and Forest Management Plans. This limits system-wide ecological impact.
Scottish Government – Whole Farm Plan guidance
ClimateXChange – Soil Route Map for Scotland (2025)
SEFARI – Soil ecosystem function research
SRUC – Whole Farm Plan soil implementation context
Scottish Forestry – Soil protection guidance
State of Nature Scotland
Increase the uptake of integrated pest management across Scottish agriculture to minimise risks and impacts of pesticides to the environment in line with the UK National Action Plan on the Sustainable Use of Pesticides.
Develop a routemap (end of 2025) for soil security in Scotland including a review and update of Scotland’s Soil Framework and action/implementation plan (2030).
Undertake an evidence-based update of currently available information and advice on biodiversity management to farmers/land managers, to ensure it is up-to-date, clear and easily accessible.
Improve information for land managers on how to assess and interpret soil erosion risks and implement measures to avoid erosion (and other impacts on soil health related to climate change), including: i) the impacts of extreme rainfall drought events on soils; and ii) maps of soils that have been subject to anthropogenic degradation and are candidates for soil improvement programmes.
Develop and promote clear guidance for practitioners on soil compaction and farm and forestry machinery contractors are engaged in ensuring appropriate use of equipment, uptake of decisionmaking tools and training, to minimise and ultimately avoid compaction damage to soils.
Set up monitoring frameworks to assess change in soil health, based on evidence from the Natural Resources theme of the Strategic Research Programme (2022-2027).
Reduce inputs of nutrients to freshwaters that cause enrichment impacts on biodiversity, by controlling both diffuse and point source pollution through effective nutrient management through agricultural reform and SEPA’s Priority Catchment programme, ensuring compliance with the Water Environment (Controlled Activities) (Scotland) Regulations 2011 (CAR) under River Basin Management Planning.
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