Listening to Soil: Baker Consultants Concludes Defra-Funded Ecoacoustics Project with University of Warwick

As the commercial partner and ecoacoustic specialists, Baker Consultants led the development of a scalable, non-invasive technique that captures the sound of biological activity underground, providing a novel and practical tool for assessing soil biodiversity and health.

Soil health is fundamental to resilient food production, ecosystem function and climate mitigation. Yet, current monitoring methods can be costly, time-consuming or inconsistent. By harnessing the science of ecoacoustics, essentially listening to the life within the soil, this project has delivered a ground-breaking solution that promises to transform how we manage land sustainably.

Project Highlights:

• Collected over 2,000 soil acoustic recordings across a range of farmed and semi-natural landscapes.
• Developed a machine-learning algorithm to analyse biological sound data.
• Created a prototype handheld recording device designed for use directly in the field by land managers.
• Conducted detailed mesocosm experiments to link soil sound with biodiversity under controlled conditions.

Dr Carlos Abrahams, Director of Ecoacoustics at Baker Consultants and Project Lead, said:

“This project has been a remarkable journey of discovery and innovation. Our work has demonstrated that the sound of life in soil can be measured and meaningfully interpreted, providing farmers, landowners and researchers with an accessible way to monitor soil biology and biodiversity. We’re excited to see the real-world impact of this technology as it moves forward into commercial use.”

Trial sites included Rothamsted Research, Wildfarmed, National Trust, JoJo’s Vineyard and Yeo Valley Farms. Together, they contributed to the creation of the world’s largest soil sound library, forming the basis of a soil acoustic index built around the principle that a “healthy soil is a noisy soil”. Work has also begun on building a database of species-specific acoustic signatures to enable further ecological insight.

To take this technology to market, Baker Consultants has launched a sister company, Soil Acoustics Ltd, which will manufacture and distribute the Soil Acoustic Meter (SAM): a patented tool designed to make soil listening accessible to farmers, land managers and researchers around the world.

The Baker Consultants team is highly experienced and we are passionate about what we do. If you need advice related to ecology, surveys or conservation, then please get in touch with us via our contact form on the website, or you can call us on +44 (0)1629 593958 or email us on info@bakerconsultants.co.uk.