Ó National Soil Resources
Institute,
Cranfield University, 2008
NSRI Soils Site Reports
The Soils
Site Reporter is an easy-to-use, online soil reporting tool which produces
site-specific soils information with maps and soil descriptions. As the national
authority on the sustainable management of soil resources for England and
Wales, NSRI holds a vast collection of soils information, now available in
a matter of minutes with the input of a grid reference or Postcode.
Each report, downloadable in pdf format, provides detailed information on
the expected soil conditions at the site and outlines interpretations of the
suitability for different uses. A variety of environmental issues such as the
potential of damaging ground movement or pipe corrosion and the ease with which
chemicals can leach into groundwater or run off into rivers are also included.
Each report contains a range of maps, graphs and schematic diagrams
to help describe the soils and their properties at and around the specified
point. The contents of the different reports and their prices are outlined
below:
1.
SOILS - SPATIAL DISTRIBUTION
a. Soil
Association Distribution
b. Hydrology
of Soil Type (HOST)
c. Ground
Movement Potential
d. Flood
Vulnerability
e. Risk
of Corrosion to Ferrous Iron
f. Pesticide
Leaching Risk
g. Pesticide
Runoff Risk
h. Hydrogeological
Rock Type
i. Ground
Water Protection Policy (GWPP) Leaching
j. Soil
Parent Material
k. Expected
Crops and Land Use
l. Natural
Soil Fertility
m. Simple
Topsoil Texture
n. Typical
Habitats
2.
SOIL ASSOCIATION DESCRIPTIONS
a. General
Description
b. Distribution
Map (England & Wales)
c. Comprising
Soil Series
d. Component
Series Profiles Diagrams
e.
Soil Properties (three components, below)
i.
Soil Depth Information and Depths to Important Layers
ii.
Soil Hydrological Information
iii.
Available Water Content
3. TOPSOIL
ELEMENT BACKGROUND LEVELS
a. Analysis
within a 15 km Radius
b. Analysis
within a 50 km Radius
c. National
Analysis
Prices
(exclusive of VAT)
1 km x 1 km (1 km2)
£40
*
£65
2 km x 2 km (4 km2)
£43
*
£70
3 km x 3 km (9 km2)
£46
*
£74
4 km x 4 km (16
km2)
£49
*
£80
5 km x 5 km (25
km2)
£52
*
£85
* Free
to authorised undergraduate students (BSc, NVQ etc.) and course teachers.
Legislative Drivers for Soil Reports:
Those undertaking an environmental impact assessment (EIA)
or a strategic environmental assessment (SEA) are required
by EU law (85/337/EEC & 2001/42/EC) to identify, describe
and assess the direct and indirect effects of a proposed
project scheme on the soil environment (the ground) and its
functions and composition, as well as and closely-related
environmental themes (e.g. groundwater, flora, fauna, landscape).
The Cranfield “Soils Site Reporter” provides an ideal preliminary
reference source for these assessments as it identifies and
describes the soils present around a site, and highlights
potential issues which should be considered as part of these
integrated assessments.
The report describes the interaction between soil and habitats,
water movement, and the impact of soil on material assets
and cultural heritage in the form of damaging ground movement
and conditions. A description of the interaction between
these factors is also required by EU legislation.
The inclusion of a Soils Site Report in an EIA or SEA will
quickly enable you to understand and communicate the key
issues surrounding the soil 'land bank' relating to your
project, as well as to provide pertinent information on a
range of other issues including flood extent vulnerability,
geo-hazards and background levels of soil contaminants.
The Environmental Soil Site Reports are provided free of charge for authorised
members of Crown Government Departments. (This unfortunately excludes Local
Councils and Executive Agencies.)
Some companies and organisations have licences arranged providing free
access to these reports for their staff. If this would be of interest to
your company, please contact us at nsridata@cranfield.ac.uk for
more information.
Other users may access this service for a fee payable per report. Registration
is free and there are no annual charges or additional costs.
Who is the Site Reporter aimed at?
Although of a technical nature, these reports are aimed to be of interest
to a wide range of people: environmental consultants, planning officers, geotechnical
engineers, interested home owners, agronomists and habitat scientists to name
but a few.
If you do not already have an account, this can be created easily following
the instructions there;
Input your site, referenced by Postcode, map grid reference or by browsing
the map to select the point;
Next, select the type of report and size of your area (1Km x 1Km up to
5Km x 5Km);
Checkout; the report will be emailed to you shortly thereafter.
How do I pay for a Soil Site Report?
We have built the Soils Site Reporter with an integrated secure online payment
facility, using Worldpay. This allows for swift and conveient access to the
Reporter, with secure and confidential payments.
What security measures are there for online payments
Our financial transactions are handled by WorldPay, so you can be confident
of your details being secure. No financial details are held by the University.
Our website is built using an encrypted SSL (secure sockets layer) - look for
the 'https' in the URL.
Do I need the Flash browser-plugin?
Our website application does require the freely-available Adobe Flash plugin
to be installed on your machine. Not having the Flash plugin installed is a
common reason for problems running the application. The Flash browser plugin
is free; note you may require administrative privileges to install it on your
PC.