Ammonia pollution damaging more than 60% of UK land — report

By Andrew Wasley, Alexandra Heal

Ammonia and nitrogen pollution, mostly from farms, is harming more than 60% of the UK’s land area and hitting the most sensitive habitats for plants and wildlife hardest, a government report has found, despite there being no clear plans to monitor or reduce its impact.

More than 85% of England’s total land area receives ammonia concentrations above the critical level set to protect lichens, mosses, liverworts and similar plants — keystone species that are vital to ecosystems — while Northern Ireland is even worse, at 88%. Just over half the land in Wales is affected, and less than a fifth of Scotland.

When sites that are particularly sensitive are considered, including special areas of conservation, special protected areas, and sites of special scientific interest, England is worst hit, according to a study from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), with 95% of sites overloaded with the pollutants. In Wales and Northern Ireland 89% and 85% respectively of sensitive sites suffered excess levels of nitrogen. Only Scotland had lower levels, with nitrogen above “critical load” at only 40% of sites in 2014–16.

The pollution, which flows into waterways and is deposited into the air, can have a devastating effect…