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This document presents key messages and the state-of-the-art of soil pollution, its implications on food safety and human health. It aims to set the basis for further discussion during the forthcoming Global Symposium on Soil Pollution (GSOP18), to be held at FAO HQ from May 2nd to 4th 2018. The publication has been reviewed by the Intergovernmental Technical Panel on Soil (ITPS) and contributing authors. It addresses scientific evidences on soil pollution and highlights the need to assess the extent of soil pollution globally in order to achieve food safety and sustainable development. This is linked to FAO’s strategic objectives, especially SO1, SO2, SO4 and SO5 because of the crucial role of soils to ensure effective nutrient cycling to produce nutritious and safe food, reduce atmospheric CO2 and N2O concentrations and thus mitigate climate change, develop sustainable soil management practices that enhance agricultural resilience to extreme climate events by reducing soil degradation processes. This document will be a reference material for those interested in learning more about sources and effects of soil pollution.
Soils are affected by human activities, such as industrial, municipal and agriculture, that often result in soil degradation and loss. In order to prevent soil degradation and to rehabilitate the potentials of degraded soils, reliable soil data are the most important prerequisites for the design of appropriate land-use systems and soil management practices as well as for a better understanding of the environment. The availability of reliable information on soil morphology and other characteristics obtained through examination and description of the soil in the field is essential, and the use of a common language is of prime importance. These guidelines, based on the latest internationally accepted systems and classifications, provide a complete procedure for soil description and for collecting field data. To help beginners, some explanatory notes are included as well as keys based on simple test and observations.--Publisher's description.
The State of the World's Land and Water Resources for Food and Agriculture is FAO's first flagship publication on the global status of land and water resources. It is an 'advocacy' report, to be published every three to five years, and targeted at senior level decision makers in agriculture as well as in other sectors. SOLAW is aimed at sensitizing its target audience on the status of land resources at global and regional levels and FAO's viewpoint on appropriate recommendations for policy formulation. SOLAW focuses on these key dimensions of analysis: (i) quantity, quality of land and water resources, (ii) the rate of use and sustainable management of these resources in the context of relev...
Despite almost a century of research and extension efforts, soil erosion by water, wind and tillage continues to be the greatest threat to soil health and soil ecosystem services in many regions of the world. Our understanding of the physical processes of erosion and the controls on those processes has been firmly established. Nevertheless, some elements remain controversial. It is often these controversial questions that hamper efforts to implement sound erosion control measures in many areas of the world. This book, released in the framework of the Global Symposium on Soil Erosion (15-17 May 2019) reviews the state-of-the-art information related to all topics related to soil erosion.
This publication is a revised and updated version of World Soil Resources Reports No. 84 and 103 and presents the international soil classification system. Every soil in the world can be allocated to one of the 32 Reference Soil Groups as defined in this document, and can further be characterized by a set of qualifiers. The resulting soil name provides information on soil genesis, soil ecological function and soil properties relevant for land use and management. The same system, refined slightly, may be used to name the units of soil map legends, thereby providing comprehensive spatial information. By accommodating national soil classification systems, the World Reference Base facilitates the worldwide correlation of soil information.
This publication is a revised and updated version of World Soil Resources Reports No. 84, a technical manual for soil scientists and correlators, designed to facilitate the exchange of information and experience related to soil resources, their use and management. The document provides a framework for international soil classification and an agreed common scientific language to enhance communication across disciplines using soil information. It contains definitions and diagnostic criteria to recognize soil horizons, properties and materials and gives rules and guidelines for classifying and subdividing soil reference groups. Published also in Spanish and Arabic.
The Soil Organic Carbon Mapping cookbook provides a step-by-step guidance for developing 1 km grids for soil carbon stocks. It includes the preparation of local soil data, the compilation and pre-processing of ancillary spatial data sets, upscaling methodologies, and uncertainty assessments. Guidance is mainly specific to soil carbon data, but also contains many generic sections on soil grid development, as it is relevant for other soil properties. This second edition of the cookbook provides generic methodologies and technical steps to produce SOC maps and has been updated with knowledge and practical experiences gained during the implementation process of GSOCmap V1.0 throughout 2017. Guidance is mainly specific to SOC data, but as this cookbook contains generic sections on soil grid development it can be applicable to map various soil properties.
Soil organic matter - the product of on-site biological decomposition - affects the chemical and physical properties of the soil and its overall health. Its composition and breakdown rate affect: the soil structure and porosity; the water infiltration rate and moisture holding capacity of soils; the diversity and biological activity of soil organisms; and plant nutrient availability. This document concentrates on the organic matter dynamics of cropping soils and discusses the circumstances that deplete organic matter and their negative outcomes. It then moves on to more proactive solutions. It reviews a "basket" of practices in order to show how they can increase organic matter content and discusses the land and cropping benefits that then accrue.--Publisher's description.
Changing land-use practices and the role of soil biological diversity has been a major focus of soil science research over the past couple of decades—a trend that is likely to continue. The information presented in this book points to a holistic approach to soil management. The first part looks at the land use effects on soil carbon storage, and considers a range of factors including carbon sequestration in soils. The second part of the book presents research investigating the interactions between soil properties, plant species, and the soil biota.