Sustainability of soil management practices-a global perspective

Abstract

Sustainable development "meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs for land" (W C E D 1987). We can adapt this definition to derive a definition for sustainable soil management: "soil management that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs from that soil". Thus, soil management is sustainable when it does not alter the capacity of the soil to provide for future needs. In this book, particular emphasis is placed upon the role of soil biology in the maintenance of soil sustainability. Management practices that threaten the soil biological community may also threaten soil sustainability by reducing the capacity of the soil to adapt in the future (Yachi and Loreau 1999). Soil sustainability can be threatened by numerous management practices including over-cultivation, decreased or increased water abstraction, underfertilisation or over-fertilisation, careless use of biocides, failure to maintain soil organic matter levels and clearing natural vegetation. These may threaten sustainability in a number of ways through physical and chemical processes (e.g. by increasing soil erosion, salinisation, desertification), or biological processes (e.g. by decreasing soil fertility). When soil management is poor, soil sustainability is often threatened by a combination of these factors at the same time. Because the impacts of poor soil management are so severe in many areas of the world, the adoption of sustainable soil management is of crucial importance for the future of human and natural systems. Practices that improve the sustainable management of soils have already been described in detail in this book. In this chapter we consider soil sustainability from a global perspective and examine the current status of sustainable soil management and how it may change in the future. © 2007 Springer.