Soil and the intensification of agriculture for global food security

作者：Peter M. Kopittke, Neal W. Menzies, Peng Wang, Brigid A. McKenna, Enzo Lombi · 发表于：Environment International · 年份：2019 · DOI：10.1016/j.envint.2019.105078 · 被引用次数：1482 · 研究领域：Water-Energy-Food Nexus Studies

Soils are the most complex and diverse ecosystem in the world. In addition to providing humanity with 98.8% of its food, soils provide a broad range of other services, from carbon storage and greenhouse gas regulation, to flood mitigation and providing support for our sprawling cities. But soil is a finite resource, and rapid human population growth coupled with increasing consumption is placing unprecedented pressure on soils through the intensification of agricultural production - the increasing of crop yield per unit area of soil. Indeed, the human population has increased from ca. 250 million in the year 1000, to 6.1 billion in the year 2000, and is projected to reach 9.8 billion by the year 2050. The current intensification of agricultural practices is already resulting in the unsustainable degradation of soils. Major forms of this degradation include the loss of organic matter and the release of greenhouse gases, the over-application of fertilizers, erosion, contamination, acidification, salinization, and loss of genetic diversity. This ongoing soil degradation is decreasing the long-term ability of soils to provide humans with services, including future food production, and is causing environmental harm. It is imperative that the global society is not shortsighted by focusing solely on the near-immediate benefits of soils, such as food supply. A failure to identify the importance of soil within increasingly intensive agricultural systems will undoubtedly have serious c...