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Scotland's land and soils

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 December 2011

T. S. West
T. S. West
Affiliation:
The Macaulay Institute for Soil Research, Craigiebuckler, Aberdeen AB9 2QJ
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Synopsis

The range of foodstuffs that can be produced by Scottish agriculture depends chiefly on the nature of the soils and the prevailing climate. The landform of Scotland and some of its physical features are discussed in terms of its geology, and the nature of its present-day soils in relation to parent materials is summarized. The agriculturally useful soils have been mapped, inventoried and characterized by the Soil Survey of Scotland and other departments of the Macaulay Institute for Soil Research. The limitations imposed by the soils, their geographical latitude, altitude, aspect, slope, the prevailing weather in their locality, etc., are taken into account in the Land Capability for Agriculture (LCA) assessment. Examples are given of several physical and chemical characteristics which are dominant in Scottish soils and which are of particular significance to the production of foodstuffs.

Type
Research Article
Information
Proceedings of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, Section B: Biological Sciences , Volume 87 , Issue 3-4: Scottish Food and Drink , 1986 , pp. 125 - 138
Copyright
Copyright © Royal Society of Edinburgh 1986

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References

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