UK pilot study finds soil carbon storage may be underestimated in Scottish farmland

A pilot study by the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB) and meat trade bodies found that soil carbon storage on British farms may be higher than current methods show. The project sampled 178 farms, collecting over 53,000 soil cores across 5,000 fields. Early data indicates that 30% or more of soil organic carbon sits below the commonly measured 30 centimeter depth, meaning standard carbon accounting could miss a significant portion of stored carbon. Scottish farms showed an average of 139 carbon tonnes per hectare, compared to 128 for Great Britain, with some fields exceeding 600 tonnes. Around 95% of estimated carbon stocks were held in soils, with the rest in trees and hedges. The next phase will examine how soil type, land use, and management practices affect these stocks, which could inform future carbon credit methodologies and farming incentives.