A new method using the ratio of soil organic carbon to clay can help determine the health of soil. By looking at data from thousands of sites in England and Wales, researchers found that this ratio can show if soil is in good or degraded condition. Different levels of this ratio indicate different levels of soil quality, with certain thresholds marking the boundaries between very good, good, moderate, and degraded conditions. This method can be used to assess and monitor soil health on a large scale, based on just two simple measurements.