The Relevance of Geopedology for Policy Making and Soil Security

Abstract

Policy making and soil security require to address the sustainable management of soil resources at the landscape level. Therefore, geopedology can become highly relevant for effective policy making for achieving long term soil protection. The necessary pre-condition is the availability of a solid scientific basis and detailed data on the actual status and trends of soils within relevant landscapes. The recent emergence of high-resolution digital soil mapping techniques offers new possibilities for achieving such a knowledge base. Several examples from the European Union demonstrate that geopedology can be a valuable tool for understanding soil processes at the landscape level and design effective soil protection policies.