Soils deliver ecosystem services that enable life on Earth.
Roles and functions of the soil.
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Showcasing the connections between human well-being and the soil.
Soils are fundamental to life on Earth but human pressures on soil resourcesare reaching critical limits . Further loss of productive soils will amplify food-price volatility and potentially send millions of people into poverty. This loss is avoidable. Careful soil management can increase the food supply, and provides a valuable lever for climate regulation and a pathway for safeguarding ecosystem services. Achieving sustainable management of soil resources will generate large benefits for all communities and nations. In some parts of the world it will be a key to economic prosperity and in others it will even be important for their national security in the short to medium-term. Whatever the context, effective policy based on sound evidence is essential for a good outcome. The consideration of soil in policy formulation has been weak in most parts of the world. Reasons include the following: • lack of ready access to the evidence needed for policy action • the chall...
Soils are fundamental to life on earth.
The goal of the Intergovernmental Technical Panel on Soils (ITPS) in this first Status of the World’s Soil Resources report is to make clear the essential connections between human well-being and the soil. The report provides a benchmark against which our collective progress to conserve this essential resource can be measured. The report synthesizes the work of some 200 soil scientists from 60 countries. It provides a global perspective on the current state of the soil, its role in providing ecosystem services, and the threats to its continued contribution to these services. The specific threats considered in the report are soil erosion, compaction, acidification, contamination, sealing, salinization, waterlogging, nutrient imbalance (e.g. both nutrient deficiency and nutrient excess), and losses of soil organic carbon (SOC) and of biodiversity. While there is cause for optimism in some regions, the overwhelming conclusion from the report is that the majority of the world’...
Status of the World’s Soil Resources.
This document presents the first major global assessment ever on soils and related issues. Why was such an assessment not carried out before? We have taken soils for granted for a long time. Nevertheless, soils are the foundation of food production and food security, supplying plants with nutrients, water, and support for their roots. Soils function as Earth’s largest water filter and storage tank; they contain more carbon than all above-ground vegetation, hence regulating emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases; and they host a tremendous diversity of organisms of key importance to ecosystem processes. However, we have been witnessing a reversal in attitudes, especially in light of serious concerns expressed by soil practitioners in all regions about the severe threats to this natural resource. In this more auspicious context, when the international community is fully recognizing the need for concerted action , the Intergovernmental Technical Panel on Soils (ITPS)...