Scotland's soils

Soils are one of Scotland’s greatest assets. They’re seen as a vital part of our economy, environment and heritage, to be safeguarded for existing and future generations.

Scotland has a huge variety of soil types. This is because our soils are created from a wide range of rocks and sediments by various processes that are controlled by the climate and where soil is located in the landscape.

Our soils tend to contain more organic matter and be more acidic than soils in the rest of the UK.

To see soil maps of Scotland and find out more about how soils form, visit the Scotland's Soils website.