Protocol for the assessment of Sustainable Soil Management.
The VGSSM define Sustainable Soil Management (SSM) as: “Soil management is sustainable if the supporting, provisioning, regulating, and cultural services provided by soil are maintained or enhanced without significantly impairing either the soil functions that enable those services or biodiversity. The balance between the supporting and provisioning services for plant production and the regulating services the soil provides for water quality and availability and for atmospheric greenhouse gas composition is a particular concern”.
Following this definition, the elements to be considered for the assessment of SSM are:
a. Supporting and provisioning services for plant growth for food, livestock, fibre and forestry;
b. Supporting services for below ground biodiversity;
c. Regulating services for water quality and quantity; and
d. Regulating services to increase carbon sequestration and limit the emission of greenhouse gases.
In other words, a sustainably managed soil has the ability to grow food, fibre or energy crops, or undertake other human activities that have an impact on soil, in such a way as to avoid adverse effects on the soil or the wider environment, including waterways and biodiversity. SSM supports a number of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs):
• Sustainable productivity (SDG 2: ensure sustainable food production systems and implement resilient agricultural practices that increase productivity and production, and that progressively improve land and soil quality).
• Soil water availability (SDG 6: freshwater withdrawal as a proportion of available freshwater resources).
• Soil pollution (SDG 11: Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable) • Sustainable use of agricultural inputs (SDG 12: achieve the management of chemicals and all wastes, and significantly reduce their release to air, water and soil).
• Soil carbon capture (SDG 13: Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts).
• Soil degradation (SDG 15: Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss).
Planning a SSM assessment (Figure 1) includes the consideration of the study area, the purpose of measurements, budget, people responsible for the assessment, location and timing of sampling, and record keeping requirements. The SSM assessment must necessarily include the recommended set of indicators, as well as any relevant additional indicator(s), given the location, soil type, land use, types of SSM practices used, and natural and off-site threats. The time lapse between two measurements will depend mainly on the nature of the practice to be assessed. For most SSM practices, where the objective is to obtain long-term results, the positive impacts may be observed within a time frame of 4 to 8 years after implementation. More information on the planning of a SSM assessment can be found in the annexes
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