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The main soil types in Scotland

In Scotland, all the soils we see today have formed since the last glaciers melted around 11,500 years ago. The ever-evolving nature of soils, however, means that they are being continually formed and modified both by natural processes and by human activities.

These interactions are responsible for the wide range of soils that exist in Scotland today. Due to Scottish colder and wetter climate, our soils are in general more organic, wetter and more leached, than soils elsewhere in the UK and Europe.

A unique soil classification system has been developed for Scottish soil external site . Four major soil types account for nearly 90% of land coverage .

  • Peats external site are soil with a deep (> 50 cm) layer of organic matter. They form under high rainfall or permanently waterlogged conditions, where vegetation slowly decays and accumulates at the surface. Accounting for around 11% of the land area, peat nonetheless holds over 70% of all soil carbon in Scotland.
  • Gley soils external site are also poorly drained but without accumulation of organic matter. They cover around 34% of Scotland.
  • Brown forest soils external site are well drained and are often deep fertile soils favourable for agriculture. They represent around 15%.
  • Podzols external site develop on acid and freely drained material where nutrients can be leached out making it less suitable for agricultural use. Podzol accounts for around 27% of Scotland land areas.
  • Montane soils external site On the more exposed mountain top, soil formation is very slow, therefore soil are usually very shallow. Such soil are very easily damage (e.g. erosion or pollution) and unlikely to recover naturally. Such soils represent around 6% of Scotland.