SOME FACTS TO UNDERSTAND WORLD SOIL DAY

On World Soil Day, which is celebrated every December 5, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations ( FAO ) wants to send some messages to consumers and farmers about the meaning of soil erosion in our subsistence, an initiative to which we join.

What is soil erosion?

It is the removal of the most fertile top layer  of the soil from the earth’s surface by the action of water, wind and tillage. And, although it occurs naturally in all weather conditions and on all continents, it accelerates up to 1,000 times due to unsustainable human activities.

In fact, human-induced erosion is mainly caused by removal of vegetation cover, tillage, overgrazing, deforestation, land leveling, and inappropriate land use changes. Therefore, erosion is the  main threat  to the soils of our planet.

Five keys to soil erosion

1. By 2050, it will cause a 10% loss  in  crop productivity.

2. More than 80% of  land degradation  in sub-Saharan Africa is due to it.

3. If nothing is done, within three decades, the  estimated losses  in crop yields will be equivalent to eliminating 1.5 million km2 of cultivated area (the size of India, more or less)

4. The formation of two or three centimeters of soil can take  1,000 years .

5. Every five seconds the equivalent of a football field erodes .

The Big Five Impacts of Soil Erosion

1. Decrease in the health and productivity of soils. And, pay close attention, it influences both the quality and the quantity of agricultural production.

2. It entails significant losses of soil biodiversity. The soil houses a quarter of it, by removing the most fertile layer, erosion causes a decline in biodiversity.

3. Limits the response to climate change, by displacing organic carbon, this erosion decreases the potential to mitigate both change and its adaptation to it.

4. It increases the risk of landslides and floods because it affects the infiltration, storage and drainage of water in the soil, amplifying the hydrogeological risk.

Contributions that we can all make

We are being asked to stop soil erosion and  save the future of the planet. We are all asked to do our bit:

• To  farmers:

  • Cover crops.

  •  Crop rotation.

  • Limited tillage.

  • Maintenance  of vegetation on the surface.

  • Construction of terraces  or wind protection belts.

• To whole  world:

  • Let them plant vegetation to protect the soil such as lawns, shrubs, trees and grasses that will develop a root system that will hold the soil sections firmly together.

• To  civil society:

  • Participate in raising awareness of the importance of soils, particularly among young people.

• To  legislators:

  • Integrate sustainable land management policies  into a broader resource management program.

• To scientists:

  • That they continue to search  for innovative solutions  and  technologies to assess, control and prevent soil erosion.

An international campaign that is followed around the world with the hashtag  #StopSoilErosion,  #WorldSoilDay  and  #ErosióndelSuelo, which we join, and is key to achieving the sustainable development goals.

* Information source: Organización de las Naciones Unidas para la Alimentación y la Agricultura (FAO)