BGS research into drought-exposed soils wins award

The summer drought experienced by the UK in 2022 produced significant speculation about how it may affect the country’s soil resource. This event highlighted knowledge gaps regarding the wider impacts of drought on soil properties and functions in temperate soils.

In 2024, BGS scientists, in collaboration with the UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology, published a review that pulled together knowledge from studies in the UK and other temperate countries to understand how soils may respond to agricultural and ecosystem drought. The paper, Temperate soils exposed to drought — key processes, impacts, indicators and unknowns, highlighted where knowledge gaps exist and the focus for future research, including:

• understanding the resistance and resilience of the soil ecosystem to and its recovery from drought, and how these may vary between different soil types
• soil water repellancy
• the impact of wildfires on soils
• how multiple stress factors, such as heat and moisture, impact soil
• the effects of successive extreme events on soil systems, for example drought followed by flooding

Land, an international, cross-disciplinary, open-access journal, recently announced that this research paper has received the Best Paper Award, which is granted annually to highlight publications of high quality, scientific significance and extensive influence.

The planet is experiencing more extreme weather events, illustrated by the droughts across much of the country this year. Addressing the knowledge gaps highlighted in the paper will help to identify actions that can be taken to build more resilient ecosystems and help mitigate the impacts of future extreme weather events. We are delighted that Land has recognised the importance of our research through this award.

Dr Andrew Tye, soil scientist at BGS.

The research was funded by the Environment Agency and the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC).

More information on the research paper can be found on the BGS website.