How black soils are at greater risk of degradation due to biodiversity loss?

As part of World Soil Day, the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) launched its first global report on black soils which highlights how black soils are at greater risk of degradation due to biodiversity loss, increased land use and extreme weather events, such as droughts.

Black soils are dark in colour and rich in organic matter, they are found in Russia, Kazakhstan, China, Argentina, Mongolia, Ukraine, the US, Colombia, Canada, and Mexico.

Black soil is considered essential to the global food chain and – critically – has a key role to play in climate change mitigation and adaptation as it contains 8.2% of the world’s soil organic carbon (SOC) stocks and can provide 10% of the global SOC sequestration potential. SOC sequestration is not only cost-effective, but can help mitigate climate change by decreasing carbon from the atmosphere.

Additionally, the FAO provided a list of resources to support in sharing the message around soil health and vitality.