Land Restoration and Soil Habitat Creation

Physically-degraded mineral and landfill sites, and industrial brownfield sites offer many challenges for those seeking to establish sustainable green afteruses, whether for agriculture, commercial forestry, community woodland, habitat or public open space. On some sites soils are thin, absent, contaminated, or affected by landfill gas. Many disturbed sites are affected by over-compaction and associated poor drainage.

However, what may be considered “poor” sites for productive afteruses (such as forestry and agriculture) can often present excellent opportunities for habitat creation and land restoration. For example sites lacking in topsoil can be well suited to the creation of species-rich grassland, and badly compacted land can form the basis of wetland areas if the scheme is carefully designed. Maximising opportunities for habitat diversity requires a detailed understanding of the available soil and mineral resources, combined with expertise in hydrology and plant habitat growing requirements.

Having assisted government departments with long-term restoration trials, helped develop national guidance such as the Code of Practice for the use of sludge, compost and other organic materials for land reclamation, and having worked on many land restoration and habitat creation projects, our staff are well placed to provide expert input.

We can undertake desk studies, walkover surveys and detailed investigations of soil resources and provide advice on matching resource properties to potential afteruses, with or without amelioration.

To discuss how we can help you with your land restoration project contact us on +44 (0)1509 670570 or email mike.palmer@lra.co.uk

Frequently Asked Questions