Cross Institute Programme for Sustainable Soil Function

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The SoilCIP

In 2002 the UK Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) published its report Review of BBSRC-Funded Research Relevant to Sustainable Agriculture. The recommendations in the report included (Recommendation 5) “the development of mechanisms to integrate institute strategic spend among relevant BBSRC institutes… Considering the national importance of sustainable agriculture research there could be merit in establishing a more formal arrangement, for example a ‘virtual institute’ or network model to share and combine expertise or facilities at a national level.” The Cross-Institute Programme for Sustainable Soil Function (SoilCIP) was the flagship for this integration. At its creation in 2004 it brought together BBSRC-funded research on soil science (Core Strategic Grant and Responsive Mode grants) at Rothamsted Research, Silsoe Research Institute and the Institute of Grassland and Environmental Research. The ex-SRI soil physicists were integrated into Rothamsted in 2005; North Wyke Research will be fully integrated into Rothamsted in April 2009.

 

The creation of the SoilCIP has brought together some unique facilities including:

  • mobile laboratories for in situ measures of gaseous fluxes, etc;
    • ;
  • specialised purpose built equipment for controlled experimentation, e.g. the DENIS flow-through system for N transformation processes;
  • the unique platform research sites such as Rothamsted’s Classical and other long-term experiments and Sample Archive, and the Rowden Plots at North Wyke;
  • quarantine glasshouses and soil processing facilities to research interactions between exotic soil pests and diseases and their natural enemy communities.

The SoilCIP brings together research scientists with expertise in all aspects of soil science – biology, chemistry and physics. With its critical mass it has the infrastructure, resources and expertise to be able to meet future research needs for soils, including training the next generation of soil scientists and ensuring succession.

 

©2009 Cross Institute Programme for Sustainable Soil Function

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