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To understand the rates at which soils form from bedrock, it is important to know the rates at which the bedrock surface lowers (the apparent erosion rate, which is assumed to be constant). Previous models that calculate apparent erosion rates using measured concentrations of cosmogenic radionuclides rely on the assumption that the bulk density of the soil which forms as a product of bedrock erosion either equals that of the bedrock itself or is constant with depth down the soil profile. This assumption fails to recognise that soils have significantly lower densities that might not be constant with depth. The model presented here allows for the calculation of isotopically-derived soil production rates, considering the bulk density profile of the soil overlying the bedrock surface. This calculator, which can be run both in MATLAB® and GNU Octave©, represents a novel and significant contribution to the derivation of soil production rates.

Chorale is a transcultural, community-engaged work of music theatre, written by Daniel Evans and Younghee Park from an original concept by Jeremy Neideck. Directed by Bridget Boyle, Chorale draws on Queensland's rich history of amateur choral competition to explore themes of Queensland identity, cultural isolation and regional queerness. This work is a collaboration between Company Bad and debase productions, a new artistic partnership which brings together debase's signature audience-centred comic aesthetic with Company Bad's commitment to interweaving cultures in multilingual performance. This first phase of the project involved the development of a treatment for the work, writing of the first draft of the script, the creation of a musical treatment, and the rehearsal and public performance of the work in February 2019. This phase also involved the development of the work’s progressive audience and community engagement strategy where artists from the project will work with community choirs who will perform in the finished work alongside professional artists. This collaboration between professional and community artists not only allows connection with and develop of new audiences for the work, but also build creative and cultural capacity for regional artists. This project builds on the critical and commercial success of debase’s 2018 The Longest Minute, a co-production with Queensland Theatre and JUTE that garnered 5-star reviews and full houses with seasons in Cairns, Townsville, Brisbane and Rockhampton. Like The Longest Minute, Chorale’s engagement and development strategy connects with new audiences through a rigorous research and development phase that honours authentic voices. Chorale also builds upon the highly successful transculturally collaborative model of development employed by Company Bad through their acclaimed works Jiha Underground and Shimchong: Daughter Overboard! (presented by Motherboard Productions). This innovative a

Arable soils are critical resources that support multiple ecosystem services. They are frequently threatened, however, by accelerated erosion. Subsequently, policy to ensure their long-term security is an urgent societal priority. Although their long-term security relies upon a balance between the rates of soil loss and formation, there have been few investigations of the formation rates of soils supporting arable agriculture. This paper addresses this knowledge gap by presenting the first isotopically constrained soil formation rates for an arable (Nottinghamshire, UK) and coniferous woodland hillslope (Shropshire, UK). Rates ranged from 0.026 to 0.096 mm yr−1 across the two sites. These rates fall within the range of previously published rates for soils in temperate climates and on sandstone lithologies but significantly differed from those measured in the only other UK-based study. We suggest this is due to the parent material at our sites being more susceptible to weathering. Furthermore, soil formation rates were found to be greatest for aeolian-derived sandstone when compared with fluvially derived lithology raising questions about the extent to which the petrographic composition of the parent material governs rates of soil formation. On the hillslope currently supporting arable agriculture, we utilized cosmogenically derived rates of soil formation and erosion in a first-order lifespan model and found, in a worst-case scenario, that the backslope A horizon could be eroded in 138 years with bedrock exposure occurring in 212 years under the current management regime. These findings represent the first quantitative estimate of cultivated soil lifespans in the UK.

Global urbanization and food production are in direct competition for land. This paper carries outa critical review of how displacing crop production from urban and peri-urban land to other areas– because of issues related to soil quality – will demand a substantially larger proportion of theEarth’s terrestrial land surface than the surface area lost to urban encroachment. Such relationshipsmay trigger further distancing effects and unfair social-ecological teleconnections. It risks also settingin motion amplifying effects within the Earth System. In combination, such multiple stressors set thescene for food riots in cities of the Global South. Our review identifies viable leverage points on whichto act in order to navigate urban expansion away from fertile croplands. We first elaborate on thepolitical complexities in declaring urban and peri-urban lands with fertile soils as one global commons.We find that the combination of an advisory global policy aligned with regional policies enablingrobust common properties rights for bottom-up actors and movements in urban and peri-urbanagriculture (UPA) as multi-level leverage places to intervene. To substantiate the ability of aligningglobal advisory policy with regional planning, we review both past and contemporary examples whereempowering local social-ecological UPA practices and circular economies have had a stimulatingeffect on urban resilience and helped preserve, restore, and maintain urban lands with healthy soils.