World Soil Day

  Despite almost a century of research and extension efforts, soil erosion by water, wind and tillage continues to be the greatest threat to soil health and soil ecosystem services in many regions of the world. Our understanding of the physical processes of erosion and the controls on those processes has been firmly established. Nevertheless, some elements remain controversial. It is often these controversial questions that hamper efforts to implement sound erosion control measures in many areas of the world. Regional and global estimates of soil loss rates due to erosion differ substantially depending on the method used to derive them. Generally, estimates of mean annual soil loss from field plots are substantially higher (8 to almost 50 t ha-1 yr-1) than those from regional and global models (2 to 4 t ha-1 yr-1). Any estimate of erosion must also be placed in the context of the acceptable or tolerable rate of loss. Rates of tolerable soil loss calculated using soil production rat...

Healthy soils are essential to achieve ‘ Zero Hunger ’ – and other Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) – peace and prosperity, the United Nations agriculture agency chief underscored in Brazil at the World Congress of Soil Science . On Sunday, more than 2,000 scientists gathered in Rio de Janeiro under the theme “Soil Science: Beyond food and fuel,” for a week of exploring the increasingly complex, diverse role of soils; grappling with resilient agriculture practices to address environmental and climatic changes; and confronting threats to food security and sovereignty. “Soil degradation affects food production, causing hunger and malnutrition, amplifying food-price volatility, forcing land abandonment and involuntary migration-leading millions into poverty,” said José Graziano da Silva, the Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organizaation ( FAO ), in a video message noting that approximately one-third of the Earth’s soil is degraded The FAO The Status of the World's...

Healthy soils are the foundation for food, fuel, fibre and even medicine, said the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) as it kicked off the 2015 International Year of Soils today on the first-ever World Soil Day . Healthy soils are the foundation for food, fuel, fibre and even medicine said the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) today as it kicked off 2015 the International Year of Soils on the first-ever World Soil Day. Soils are also essential to our ecosystems, playing a key role in the carbon cycle, storing and filtering water, and improving resilience to floods and droughts, and yet we are not paying enough attention to this important “silent ally,” the UN agency explained. The International Year of Soils kicks off today at events in Rome, New York and Santiago de Chile, in an effort to raise awareness and promote more sustainable use of this critical resource. “Today, we have more than 805 million people facing hunger and malnutrition. P...

  The SWSR report identified soil erosion by water and wind as the most significant threat to global soils and the ecosystem services they provide. Soil erosion causes the loss of surface soil layers containing organic and mineral nutrient pools, partial or complete loss of soil horizons and possible exposure of growth-limiting subsoil, as well as off-site impacts such as damage to private and public infrastructure, reduced water quality and sedimentation. Soil erosion is accelerated by human activities through, amongst others, reduced plant or residue cover, tillage and other field operations, and reduced soil stability leading to soil creep and landslides. • Land-use changes such as deforestation or improper grassland-to-cropland conversion that cause removal of surface cover and loss of soil carbon should be avoided or carefully planned and appropriately implemented if unavoidable; • A cover of growing plants or other organic and non-organic residues that protects the soil surf...