This is the International Year of Soils. A number of stories have been written about the importance of healthy soils in stabilizing climate and improving yields of crops.
University of Tennessee at Knoxville scientists recently released a study showing that the soil in the region encompassing the Dust Bowl in the 1930’s is still degraded, particularly with respect to content of organic matter, compared to untilled soil in the region. Farmers have been working to improve the soils there but still have a ways to go to bring the levels up to pre-Dust Bowl values. You can read a story about this at Tennessee Today here.
In addition, arable land is being lost to development, erosion, and pollution. The Guardian states that 40% of arable land is being lost to these factors in their article here.
Fastcoexist.com discusses the importance of restoring degraded soils to help pull carbon dioxide from the atmosphere here. Healthy soils with lots of organic matter provide better yields and reduce the need for irrigation as well as sequester carbon, all wins for farmers.
This is one of the topics that are being discussed at the global climate meeting this week. The “4 pour 1000” initiative being discussed there highlights the importance of healthy soils for agricultural producers and encourages all to work towards better land quality. You can see a clearer copy of the infographic below with some additional information about this initiative at https://4p1000.org/understand.
