Erosion, poor land practices greatest threats to soil

By Dilara Zengin and Tuba Sahin

ANKARA (AA) - Today, the world's soil suffers most from erosion and poor land use -- the greatest threats to its productive top layer, according to a representative of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).

"Soil affects our everyday lives, from the food we eat and where we live to the natural functions and ecological services that it provides", FAO Turkey representative Viorel Gutu told Anadolu Agency.

Ahead of World Soil Day 2019 on Dec. 5, Gutu said the campaign, Stop soil erosion, Save our future, is envisaged to raise awareness on the importance of sustaining healthy ecosystems and human well-being.

This year's theme will address increasing challenges in soil management, and seek to promote soil health by encouraging governments, organizations, communities and individuals around the world to engage proactively in improving the well being of soil.

"Today, intensive agricultural practices and the over-application of synthetic fertilizers and pesticides lead to the leaching of essential nutrients and excessive amounts of salts or heavy metals in the soil, which can reduce or even prevent plant growth," said Gutu.

He highlighted that soil productivity could also fall when compressed by the weight of agricultural machinery or grazing livestock.

Pointing to the importance of soil for food security, Gutu noted an estimated 95% of food is directly or indirectly produced on the soil.

"Healthy soils supply the essential nutrients, water, oxygen and root support that our food-producing plants need to grow and flourish," he said.

He touched on the FAO's work in Turkey, saying that the first national strategy for sustainable soil management was developed by the country's agriculture and forestry minister and the UN body.

The ministry and FAO also performed together to establish a Safeguards Information System under a program for technical cooperation to help facilitate the positive effects of conservation efforts and minimize risks.

This was also one of the main contributions of the FAO to the development of a new "national agricultural strategy", he noted.

Under the first phase of a partnership program between the FAO and Turkey, the organization and ministry designed a soil carbon mapping project to collect and publish data on the physical and chemical properties of the various soils across the country.

The data, which utilized over 12,000 soil samples from 30 "agricultural basins", can be used to assess levels of land degradation, desertification or soil contamination in areas of interest and can be accessed online.