World's soils are under threat

TLDR

Soil erosion is the gravest threat worldwide, degrading water quality in developed regions and reducing crop yields in many developing areas, while soil organic carbon stores are critical for the global carbon balance and require national targets to stabilize or increase. The study aims to boost nitrogen and phosphorus fertilizer use in infertile tropical and semi‑tropical soils—where food insecurity is greatest—while cutting overall global fertilizer consumption, and to improve the quality of soil information for policy by updating outdated regional assessments. The Intergovernmental Technical Panel on Soils has released the first State of the World’s Soil Resources Report. Abstract.

Abstract

Abstract. The Intergovernmental Technical Panel on Soils has completed the first State of the World's Soil Resources Report. Globally soil erosion was identified as the gravest threat, leading to deteriorating water quality in developed regions and to lowering of crop yields in many developing regions. We need to increase nitrogen and phosphorus fertilizer use in infertile tropical and semi-tropical soils – the regions where the most food insecurity among us are found – while reducing global use of these products overall. Stores of soil organic carbon are critical in the global carbon balance, and national governments must set specific targets to stabilize or ideally increase soil organic carbon stores. Finally the quality of soil information available for policy formulation must be improved – the regional assessments in the State of the World's Soil Resources Report frequently base their evaluations on studies from the 1990s based on observations made in the 1980s or earlier.