Storm Desmond stripped agricultural land of soil and nutrients

More large storms in the future, such as Storm Desmond, will increase the loss of valuable soil and nutrients from agricultural fields, according to new research published by a Lancaster University-led team. In the wake of Storm Desmond, and the wettest November and December since rainfall records began, farmers in the North West of England are once again struggling with waterlogged soil, livestock and crop loss. Alongside the devastation caused by flooded homes and businesses, farmers also face the loss of an asset essential to their livelihood - the soil itself. In a new paper of the Total Environment, researchers investigating nutrient runoff from agricultural land warn that losses of soil and nutrients could increase by an average of 9 per cent by 2050, with some years washing off greater than 20 per cent more soil than the average year. Professor Phil Haygarth of the Lancaster Environment Centre is leading the three-year, Natural Environment Research Council-funded study. He said: "There always has been, and always will be, large variability in the weather between years, but there is undoubtedly a trend towards warmer, wetter winters which could result in increased water pollution from agricultural land." Nutrients, such as phosphorus and nitrogen are essential to plant and animal growth, but too many nutrients cause excessive plant growth and algal blooms in rivers and lakes. These suffocate fish and other organisms and require costly remediation by water supply companies.