THE CARBON CONTENT OF SOIL AND ITS GEOGRAPHICAL-DISTRIBUTION IN GREAT-BRITAIN

England and Wales have 155 314 1 x 1 km squares, of which 140 049 have more than 50% soil cover. The total soil organic carbon content, base d on the dominant soil series and dominant land cover type, is estimat ed to be 2773 x 10(6) t C. Scotland has 84 929 1 x 1 km squares, of wh ich 82 420 have a nominated dominant soil series. The total soil organ ic carbon content is estimated to be 19 011 x 10(6) t C, 6.85 times th e total organic carbon content of the soil of England and Wales. The t otal organic carbon content of the soil of Great Britain is estimated to be 21 784 x 10(6) t C, of which 87% is in Scottish soils and 75% is in Scottish peats. A map of the mean soil organic carbon content of 1 0 x 10 km squares of the National Grid using classes of equal range il lustrates the narrow range of organic carbon contents of the soils of England and Wales and the dominance of organic carbon in Scottish soil s. A map using the same data, but with classes of unequal ranges incre asing in size with increasing carbon content, is better for showing de tailed differences within England and Wales.