Soils and the Scottish landscape
Most of us are familiar with the sheer variety and diversity of the Scottish landscape, from the spectacular mountain scenery of the north, to the lush, rolling agricultural lands in the south and east. We associate different habitats – for example, moorland, pine forest, deciduous woodland, arable fields – with particular areas of the country. We also know many of the groups of plants, animals and physical features, like rivers and mountains, which are characteristic of these areas. Yet how often do we pause to consider the role that soils play in all of this? For most people, the answer is: rarely or not at all. Why should this be so? Soils for the most part are out of sight under our feet. Even when they are visible, as in a bare field or a road cutting, they often lack the immediate visual appeal characteristic of some other aspects of our natural heritage. But without soils, much of the rich natural diversity that Scotland possesses simply would not exist.
Anyone who enjoys gardening will have some awareness of soil variability. Some soils can be worked better than others, some drain well and some do not, some plants thrive in conditions where others would die. Soil patterns in the landscape are simply the same thing on a much larger scale. We can consider some of the characteristic soil-landscape patterns in Scotland by dividing the country into five geographical regions. These are the Southern Uplands, the Central Lowlands, the Highlands, the Eastern Coastal Belt and the Islands (Western Isles, Orkney and Shetland).