Submission to the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee: Soil Health
Applied Microbiology International’s submission to the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee highlights key barriers and opportunities for achieving sustainably managed soils by 2030. It argues that current metrics are too generic, and calls for context-specific indicators focused on soil function rather than taxonomy.
AMI emphasises the need for clearer definitions, expanded research into microbial contributions to soil ecosystems, and incentives for bioremediation and circular practices. It also critiques the limited scope of Environmental Land Management schemes and calls for more ambitious, flexible strategies rooted in long-term resilience and biodiversity (including microbial biodiversity) to better support food security and environmental goals.