Tools and Resources
Soil creation using materials containing potentially toxic contaminants must take into account their fate, whether in the soil, or beyond it in the vegetation or water flowing through it. In an urban context, soil formation will usually be driven towards creating a soil type that can sustain a particular type of vegetation. Soil-forming and other soil processes should also be considered when managing natural soil materials in urban greenspace schemes, in order to maintain soil sustainability and prevent soil degradation.
Consideration of soil formation is important in the urban environment where greenspace is to be established, especially if the natural soil is inadequate and soil-forming materials – the basic building blocks of a soil – have to be used for vegetation growth. Artificial soil formation involves more than mixing these ingredients together. It requires an understanding of how soils are created naturally in order to encourage soil-formation processes to act as quickly and effectively as possible.
The term ‘soil-forming material’ has been employed for non-soil materials used in land reclamation to support vegetation growth. These are usually derived from mineral wastes, such as:
In addition, other industrial by-products, such as pulverised fuel ash or flue-gas desulfurisation (FGD) gypsum from thermal power stations, are sometimes used for this purpose.
Soil-forming materials must also have the propensity to turn into soils over time. This process can be encouraged by treatment to relieve compaction; the incorporation of organic matter such as greenwaste compost; and the choice of appropriate vegetation types that will endure and improve the quality of the substrate.
In the urban context, artificial soil formation usually depends on four main sources of base materials:
All four types are likely to be infertile and, depending on the specific source or land-use history, may have chemical or physical properties that are hostile to plants. They may also pose a risk of environmental contamination, depending on future use and the soil-forming technologies adopted. Soil formation using these types of material usually involves their amendment with organic materials to provide additional nutrient resources, and to help restrict contaminant movement and/or assist in their breakdown.
Effective artificial soil formation depends on good planning and assembling important information. This includes:
Forest Research have been involved in two projects funded by EPSRC under the SUBR:IM (Sustainable Urban Brownfield Remediation: Integrated Management) Consortium.
The first, ‘Novel special-purpose composts for the sustainable remediation of brownfield sites’ developed a novel sustainable remediation technique that relies on the use of waste produced materials (composts) combined with naturally occurring minerals (clays, zeolites) to enhance the biodegradation and immobilisation capability of the compost. This was based on nursery trials to evaluate the effectiveness of the technology by monitoring the bio-availability of the contaminants of concerns to plants under specific experimental conditions.
The second, ‘Integrated urban remediation and greening’ aimed, amongst other objectives, to test the suitability of remediated soil materials for vegetation establishment.
A summary of the results from these two trials is available in a CL:AIRE SUBR:IM Bulletin ‘The use of compost in the regeneration of brownfield land’ (PDF-409 KB).
Forest Research has over 40 years’ experience in establishing vegetation on brownfield sites, often where the existing soil resource is likely to limit sustainable plant survival and growth, and frequently provides consultancy and research services to the Forestry Commission and external clients.
Forest Research has extensive experience of conducting soil surveys, including evaluation of the soil resource.
Forest Research is available to provide advice and recommendations on the formation of soils on a range of substrates, and has experience of a variety of composts and other waste products as soil amendments.
Forest Research has a long track record in conducting research on the use of soil-forming materials in land regeneration, including conducting batch leaching tests, nursery and field trials and ecotoxicological experiments to determine the suitability of potential materials for specific site conditions.
Foot, K. and Sinnett, D. (2006). Imported Soil or Soil-Forming Materials Placement (PDF-191 KB). Best Practice Guidance for Land Regeneration, BPG Note 5. Forest Research, Farnham.
van Herwijnen, R. and Hutchings. A. (2006. Laboratory Analysis of Soils and Spoils (PDF-294 KB). Best Practice Guidance for Land Regeneration, BPG Note 2. Forest Research, Farnham.
Hutchings, A, Sinnett, D. and Doick, K. (2006). Soil Sampling Derelict, Underused and Neglected Land prior to Greenspace Establishment. Best Practice Guidance for Land Regeneration, BPG Note 1. Forest Research, Farnham.
Bending, N.A.D., McRae, S.G. and Moffat, A.J. (1999). Soil-forming Materials: Their use in Land Reclamation. Stationery Office, London.
van Herwijnen, R., Sellers, G., Sinnett, D., Moffat, A.J., Hutchings, T.R., Al-Tabbaa, A. and Ouki, S. (2008). The Use of Compost in the Regeneration of Brownfield Land (PDF-409 KB). CL:AIRE SUBR:IM Bulletin 10 (Contaminated Land: Applications in Real Environments/Sustainable Urban Brownfield Regeneration: Integrated Management.)