Specific objectives To protect yield, food, water quality and sustainable land use by identifying the factors controlling the bioavailability and transport of pollutants and pesticides in the environment. The development of low-cost land and water remediation technology. To reduce pesticide losses into drainage waters, particularly from cracking clay soils. To provide advice on soil and water protection for policy makers and land users. Both inorganic and organic pollutants threaten soil fertility and sustainability of agroecosystems.
Metals accumulate in topsoil and poison crops, food, and important soil microbial groups.
There is also concern about organic compounds, as many can be carcinogenic or oestrogenic. Some of these are added to soil purposely, as in the case of crop protection chemicals, but others enter soils inadvertently as contaminants in fertilizers and wastes or via atmospheric deposition. It is Government policy to increase the recycling of organic wastes such as sewage sludge, along with other wastes that can no longer be dumped in rivers or seas, due to EU and other international agreements. Such recycling must be done in a safe way, and scientific information is needed to prevent pollution and guide environmental policies. Basic and applied scientific knowledge is required on pollution due to heavy metals and organic compounds, as well as an understanding of the factors determining soil quality in order to protect soils and waters from future degradation.