Capabilities

Contact:
 Dr Thomas Mayr


Specialist capabilities:

 

The National Soil Resources Institute (NSRI) has acted as the national centre for investigation of soils within England and Wales for over seventy years, NSRI’s forerunning institutions having been founded in 1939. Worldwide, NSRI works on the development of profitable and sustainable forms of land use and management. The integration of food and timber production with the catchment of clean water, the protection of the environment and wildlife, and development of settlements requires research, information and understanding. NSRI is helping to provide all of these for public and private-sector clients.

NSRI is the UK National Reference Centre for Soil to the European Environment Agency and is part of Cranfield University’s School of Applied Science, sitting within the Department of Environmental Science and Technologies. NSRI is able to link into the complementary skills of scientists, engineers and economists from other centres within Cranfield. NSRI has:

  • Specialist units researching environmental risk, soil quality and climate change impacts;
  • Fully-equipped computing laboratories with access to world-class supercomputing facilities;
  • Specialist teams of spatial software engineers;
  • The computerised Land Information System (LandIS);
  • Cartographic facilities;
  • A soil lysimeter station;
  • A comprehensive catalogue of soil publications and maps and archive of overseas soils information.

Soil is a resource of astonishing balance, complexity and, at times, fragility. It is an extraordinarily versatile medium for plant growth, water storage and biological activity. Of all of nature’s resources, none plays a more pivotal role in our agriculture, environment and land development than soil.