Soil science and policy changes

Hemicycle in Strasbourg, by European Parliament. Distributed by Flickr.

Sarah Connors, EGU Science Policy Fellow
Antonio Jordán, University of Seville

​Soil is often considered as the skin of the Earth and is located at the interface between the lithosphere, hydrosphere, atmosphere and biosphere. Soil is the physical and nutritional support for living organisms in emerged areas.
From another point of view, soil is the basis for the production of food, fiber, medicines, fuel and ecosystem resources or services. However, soil is a limited resource because of its low formation rate and finite area of land. Although human activity has always contributed to soil degradation, the pressure on soil resources has particularly increased over the last century. This is because of the intensification of crops and productive activities, reduction of forest and natural areas and the expansion of urban areas. About a third of the world soil surface is moderately or severely affected by physical (erosion, compaction) and chemical degradation processes (salinity, acidification, loss of nutrients or pollution).
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