Why Soil Matters?(World Soil day)
Ensuring that our soil is rich and fertile is key to
avoiding an ecological disaster.

World Soil Day (WSD) is held annually on 5 December as a means to focus a¬ ention on the importance of healthy soil and to advocate for the sustainable management of soil resources. An international day to celebrate Soil was recommended by the International Union of Soil Sciences (IUSS) in 2002. Under the leadership of the Kingdom of Thailand and within the framework of the Global Soil Partnership, FAO has supported the formal establishment of WSD as a global awareness raising platform. The date of 5 December was chosen because it corresponds with the official birthday of the late H.M. King Bhumibol Adulyadej, King of Thailand, who was one of the main proponents of this initiative. The FAO Conference unanimously endorsed World Soil Day in June 2013 and requested its official adoption at the 68th UN General Assembly. In December 2013, the UN General Assembly responded by designating 5 December 2014 as the first official World Soil Day. And year 2015 as the International Year of Soils followed by 2015-2024 as International Decade of Soils. This diverse community of living organisms keeps the soil healthy and fertile. This vast world constitutes soil biodiversity and determines the main biogeochemical processes that make life possible on Earth.
Soil is a vital source of food and medicine, home to a vast reservoir of biodiversity and an important store of carbon. Soil is one of the Earth’s most valuable natural resources, yet 30 percent of our soils are degraded. Soil is one of the most ubiquitous and under-appreciated substances on Earth.Despite being everywhere around us – in fields and gardens, and beneath our very feet as we walk the concrete and tarmac of city streets – soil is often taken for granted. Yet in several fascinating ways this miraculous substance holds the key to life on Earth.
It helps produce our food, filters and purifies our water, reduces flooding, regulates the atmosphere, and plays a crucial role in driving the carbon and nitrogen cycles. It is also one of the most biodiverse habitats on Earth.
Most of us are already aware of the importance of forests and trees in reducing the amount of harmful CO2 in the atmosphere; but few realize that soil arguably plays an even more vital role.Plants extract carbon dioxide from the atmosphere in a process called photosynthesis, and some of this carbon is then stored or “captured” in the soil as fresh plant residues and highly decomposed material known as humus. Soil stores an extraordinary quantity of carbon: three times the amount in the atmosphere and twice the amount contained in all plants and trees.
These organic compounds are highly enriched in carbon and are known as soil organic matter (SOM) that locks carbon underground in a stable, environmentally friendly way.However, when soil becomes damaged or degraded, it can release harmful carbon dioxide or methane back into the atmosphere, thereby accelerating – rather than decelerating – the impact of climate change.
As John Scott, Zurich’s Head of Sustainability Risk, says: “This is why the way in which we use land for agriculture is so important. By switching from intensive farming methods to organic ones, for example, we could dramatically change the emissions profile of the land. If managed in the right way, soils will be healthier and more fertile – and also store more carbon.”Several studies of fruits, vegetables and grains have suggested a decline in nutritional value over time, but the reasons may not be as simple as soil depletion. There is considerable evidence that such problems may be related to changes in cultivated varieties, with some high-yielding plants being less nutritious than historical varieties.
Soil is essential for Biodiversity, which in turn, is essential for food security, both above and below the ground. Soil is one of the main global reservoirs of biodiversity to the extent that 25 percent of animal species on Earth live underground, while 40 percent of organisms in the terrestrial ecosystems are associated with soil at some point during their lifecycles.Healthy soils provide habitats that support thousands of different species of fungi, bacteria and invertebrates, which then work in combination to drive the Earth’s carbon, nitrogen and water cycles, thereby creating the nutrients and food we need to survive.Simply put, soil produces a staggering 95 percent of entire humanity’s food supply, by growing both the crops we eat and the grasses and other plants that are fed to the livestock.
Many life-saving drugs and vaccines from the last hundred years were discovered in the chemically rich and biologically diverse environments found in soil. These medicines range from well-known antibiotics such as penicillin, to bleomycin which is used to treat cancer and amphotericin that combats fungal infections.Soil biodiversity also has an important medicinal role to play thanks to its relationship with plant roots. Healthy soils enable plants to produce helpful chemicals such as antioxidants which protect them from pests and other external threats.
When humans eat these plants, the antioxidants they contain boost our own immune systems and hormone regulation. It is no exaggeration to say that there is a direct connection between healthy soils and healthy humans.When we are fully aware of the different ways in which soils helps to support life on Earth, it is doubly alarming to discover how damaged and vulnerable they have become. The FAO estimates that 30 percent of the world’s soils are now degraded. While a recent report by the European Commission estimates that between 60 and 70 percent of its soils are unhealthy.There are multiple human-made threats to soil health. These include deforestation, urbanisation, agricultural intensification, soil compaction, acidification, salinisation, pollution, landslides, wildfires and soil erosion.According to the FAO, soil erosion poses a major threat to global food security and could compromise the wellbeing of at least 3.2 billion people globally. What makes the situation worse and even more serious is the fact that high-quality, fertile soils cannot be quickly or easily replaced.It takes about a century to build just half a centimetre of healthy soil, which means we are currently losing soil 50 to 100 times faster than it is able to rebuild.
The day was celebrated on Monday by SKUAST-Kashmir at Faculty of Agriculture, Wadura, Krishi Vigyan Kendra Srinagar, Krishi Vigyan Kendra Ganderbal and Krishi Vigyan Kendra Gurez, Bandipora.
The international observance was recommended by the International Union of Soil Sciences in 2002 to aware people of the degrading condition of the soil, its impact and its prevention. This day reminds us about the need to manage soil resources in an eco-friendly manner. The day raises awareness about the importance of healthy soil. This year, the theme of World Soil Day-2022 is “Soils: where food begins” with a motive to raise awareness of the importance of maintaining healthy ecosystems and human well-being.
The stress was laid on the importance of ‘soil health’ on developing organic inputs for large scale adoption of sustainable farming practices like Organic/Natural farming which are inevitable for restoring deteriorating soil conditions. ‘World Soil Day’ aims to raise awareness about the growing challenges in soil management in view of intensive cropping, over-utilization of chemical inputs, environmental pollution and climate change etc. The event saw on farm demonstration of vermicomposting technology to the participating farmers using Eisenia fetida earthworms.
We should encourage people around the world to engage in proactively improving soil health, to fight soil biodiversity loss. If we do not act soon, the fertility of soil will continue to be adversely aff ected at an alarming rate, threatening global food supplies and food safety.