World Soil Day (WSD) is held annually on 5 December as a means to focus attention on the importance of healthy soil and advocating 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 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.
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan will inaugurate the function to be organized by the Department of Soil Survey and Soil Conservation Kanakakunnu. The department is launching an app based on geospatial technology to help improve soil fertility.
The Earth’s body of soil is the pedosphere, which has four important functions: it is a medium for plant growth; it is a means of water storage, supply, and purification; it is a modifier of Earth’s atmosphere; it is a habitat for organisms; all of which, in turn, modify the soil.
The world’s ecosystems are impacted in far-reaching ways by the processes carried out in the soil, from ozone depletion and global warming to rainforest destruction and water pollution. With respect to Earth’s carbon cycle, the soil is an important carbon reservoir, and it is potentially one of the most reactive to human disturbance and climate change.
Soil conservation is the preventing of soil loss from erosion or reduced fertility caused by over usage, acidification, salinization or other chemical soil contamination. Slash-and-burn and other unsustainable methods of subsistence farming are practiced in some lesser developed areas.
Soil contamination or soil pollution as part of land degradation is caused by the presence of xenobiotic (human-made) chemicals or other alteration in the natural soil environment. It is typically caused by industrial activity, agricultural chemicals, or improper disposal of waste. The most common chemicals involved are petroleum hydrocarbons, polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons, solvents, pesticides, lead, and other heavy metals. Contamination is correlated with the degree of industrialization and intensity of chemical usage.
Effective Soil Conservation Methods:
• Forest Protection
• Buffer Strips
• No-Till Farming
• Fewer Concrete Surfaces
• Plant Windbreak Areas
• Terrace Planting
• Plant Trees
• Crop Rotation
• Water the Soil
• Maintain pH
• Add Earthworms
• Indigenous Crops
• Afforestation
The soil is a finite natural resource; on a human time-scale, it is non-renewable. However, despite the essential role that soil plays in human livelihoods, there is a worldwide increase in degradation of soil resources due to inappropriate management practices.Protecting is our duty as it is our life.
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