Sustainable management and protection of soils

MAINTAINING the health of the soil is everybody’s concern because it can take up to 1,000 years to form just one centimeter of soil.

With an estimated 33 percent of the world’s soils currently degraded, raising awareness about its importance should be a top priority for all of us.

Awareness about soils should be raised and the need to sustainably manage and protect soils worldwide should be considered.

Soil is the very foundation for food production to feed the billions of people.

Soil is the basis for food, feed, fuel, and fiber production, and for many critical ecological services.

Soil is the reservoir for at least a quarter of global biodiversity, and therefore requires the same attention as biodiversity, yet the critical importance of soil to our daily lives is often overlooked.

Soil plays a key role in the supply of clean water and resilience to floods and droughts.

Primarily, plant and animal life depend on nutrient cycling through soil processes, and the largest store of terrestrial carbon is in the soil. Thus, its preservation may contribute to climate change mitigation.

However, in Asia and in other regions, soil degradation has become a serious problem and the degradation is occurring – even escalating – at a time when the region needs soil more than ever.

The area of productive soil is limited in relation to current technologies and is under increasing pressure of intensification and competing uses for cropping, forestry, pasture/rangeland, and bioenergy, to satisfy the demands of the growing population for food, energy production, settlement and infrastructure, and raw material extraction.

Most of the arable land is already fully utilized, yet by 2050, in order to meet the needs of an additional two billion inhabitants of our planet, we will need to increase food production by at least 60 percent.

But in order to do that, we must sustainably manage and protect our soils.

Soil and vegetation have a reciprocal relationship.

Fertile soil encourages plant growth by providing plants with nutrients, acting as a water-holding tank, and serving as the substrate to which plants anchor their roots.

In return, vegetation, tree cover, and forests prevent soil degradation and desertification by stabilizing the soil, maintaining water and nutrient cycling, and reducing water and wind erosion.

As global economic growth and demographic shifts increase, soils are placed under tremendous pressure, and their risk of degradation increases greatly.

Managing vegetation sustainably – whether in forests, pastures, or grasslands – will boost its benefits, including timber, fodder, and food, in a way meets society’s needs while conserving and maintaining the soil for the benefit of present and future generations.

The soil is essential for achieving food security and nutrition and has the potential to help mitigate the negative impacts of climate change.

Therefore, sustainable soil management can contribute to the production of more and healthier food.

If humanity’s primary need for food security and nutrition, climate change mitigation, and sustainable development is to be met, soil resources have to be given the global attention that it deserves. (jaypeeyap@ymail.com/PN)

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