The opposite is also true; some 40 per cent to 60 per cent of the UK’s arable soils have lost their organic carbon content, while research by Rothamstead shows that 38 per cent of arable soils in the UK are marked as ‘degraded’. 

This has real implications for British families and farmers. This is most notably because of water. In your gut, a healthy microbiome maintains the mucosal lining and the tight junctions between intestinal cells. 

This is the barrier that keeps what should stay in the gut in, and what shouldn't get through. When this barrier is compromised, ‘leaky gut’ ensues.

Absorb

Weather patterns have become more erratic, while degraded microbiomes have undermined soil’s ability to act like a sponge, in periods of both drought and flood. 

Soil’s sponge-like property comes from its structure. When soil gets compacted, its microbial networks struggle to breathe, while roots struggle to grow deeper while water struggles to pass through it. Water then sits on top of the soil, or runs off into local rivers, carrying pesticides like glyphosate with it.

Almost four million hectares of soil in England and Wales are estimated to be at risk of compaction, which could result in a loss of agricultural productivity costing approximately £163 million every year. 

However, research is starting to show that compaction is reversible. A new study conducted in Hampshire over 12 months has tested what happens when we treat soil with a combination of microbial soil treatment and mechancial aeration. 

More research is needed, which is why new government-backed field trials into microbial and soil-improving approaches are important. 

A new Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs ADOPT trial beginning this autumn will investigate how microbial approaches can help farmers reduce input costs, improve drought resilience and protect water quality.

This Author

Katie Ward is the managing director of probiotic company Microbz.