Dr. Parveen Kumar, Dr. Feroz-Din Sheikh
Soil means ‘Life’. It constitutes a critical component of the natural system and is a vital contributor to the human health through its contribution to food, water and energy security and as a mitigator of biodiversity loss and climate change. Soil is a living resource, home to more than 25% of our planet’s biodiversity. It is estimated that only 1% of soil microorganism species are currently known compared to 80% of plant species. Up to 90% of living organisms live or spend part of their lifecycle in soils. Soil organisms improve soil health, help inn decomposition of harmful products and can break down certain
WORLD SOIL DAY
contaminants. Soil is the foundation of every terrestrial (land-based) food chain on Earth. Without soil, it would be very difficult for plants and microorganisms at the bottom of these food chains to grow. So, the health and conservation of soil are very important.
Considering the importance of Soil, the International Union of Soil Sciences (IUSS) in 2002 adopted a resolution proposing that December 05 be celebrated as the World Soil Day to recognize the importance of Soil as a critical component of the natural system and as a vital contribution to human well being. As a consequence to the resolution of the IUSS, the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) of the United Nations in June 2013 at its 68th General Assembly unanimously declared Dec 5 to be celebrated as World Soil Day every year. December 05, 2014 was celebrated as the first official ‘World Soil Day’. The date of 5 December was chosen because it corresponds with the official birthday of the late H.M. King Bhumibol Adulyadej, King of Thailand, who was one of the main proponents of this initiative. Since then the day has been celebrated every year across the world as the world soil day to make the peoples aware of this very important natural resource. Every year the day is celebrated with a different theme. This year the day is being celebrated with the theme, ‘Keep soil alive, Protect Plant Biodiversity’. Plants nurture a whole world of creatures in the soil that in return feed and protect the plants. This diverse community of living organisms keeps the soil healthy and fertile. This vast world constitutes soil biodiversity and determines the main biogeochemical processes that make life possible on Earth.
A tree will not be a tree without soil. While there are some plants that can live in water or air, most plants need to be rooted to the ground. It is the soil that provides nutrition to this plant life. It is through this vegetation that nourishes the humankind and the animal kingdom. Plants are important resource of food and fuel and of wood and other by-products that make our other life functions possible. The soil additionally supports the animal kingdom. Our agriculture also relies on soil, for its location and for other functions to be derived from its existence. It will be almost impossible to support the animal and human life without soil. Biodiversity relies on soil at all times. The soil is necessary for water supply. This is the magic of nature. The land is also necessary to ensure the quality of water we derive from our earth. Soil and water co-exist. So do we and soil co-exist? Taking good care of our soil also equates to taking care of our water supply. All of us have to realize it by now that soil is necessary for the sustainability of humankind. We have not done well with this precious resource and whatever good or harm we have done to take care of our environment and soil has manifested in so many ways, just like the disasters we have encountered in the past or the tragedies our ancestors and elderly have gone through. Soil Conservation thus is very necessary as soil is literally the foundation of plant life.
Unfortunately most of our faulty practices have led to degradation of soil. The quality of soil has degraded and in many cases the soil has become unfit for plant growth. What is needed immediately is to adopt soil conservation practices. Soil conservation refers to the prevention of loss of the top most layer of the soil from erosion or prevention of reduced fertility caused by over usage, acidification, salinization or other chemical soil contamination. Slash-and-burn and other unsustainable methods of subsistence farming are practiced in some lesser developed areas. A sequel to the deforestation is typically large scale erosion, loss of soil nutrients and sometimes total desertification. Soil conservation practices include crop rotation, cover crops, conservation tillage and planted windbreaks. These practices affect both erosion and fertility of soil.
When plants die, they decay and become part of the soil. Farmers have also been practicing soil conservation for millennia. In Europe, policies such as the Common Agricultural Policy are targeting the application of best management practices such as reduced tillage, winter cover crops, plant residues and grass margins in order to better address the soil conservation. Political and economic action is further required to solve the erosion problem. A simple governance hurdle concerns how we value the land and this can be changed by cultural adaptation. The technologies involving zero or minimum tillage, direct seeding and sowing across the slope and soil test based fertilizer recommendation have potential for improving productivity and soil quality, mainly by soil organic matter (SOM) build-up, growth of soil micro organisims and increased nitrogen fixation. Cover crops also reduce the problem of soil erosion. Beside their above-ground functions, cover crops fulfill important functions below the ground. Their root systems contribute to preventing soil compaction, tapping soil moisture from deeper horizons below the root zone of the main crops or recycling nutrients such as nitrates, potassium, calcium and magnesium that are easily leached to deeper soil horizons.
World Soil Day (WSD) is held annually on 5 December as a means to focus attention on the importance of healthy soil and to advocate for the sustainable management of soil resources. If we do not act soon, the fertility of soil will continue to be adversely affected at an alarming rate threatening global food supplies and food safety. On this all important day, let all of us pledge and commit ourselves to practice and raise awareness of the importance of sustaining healthy ecosystems and human well-being and to encourage peoples around the world to engage in proactively improving soil health and stand against soil biodiversity loss.
(The authors are Scientist and Head at KVK-Leh)
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