During the decade of the soil (2015–2024), The International Union of
Soil Sciences (IUSS) plans to publish a book per year on matters of
global importance. This is the third book in that series. As its title
suggests, it aims to link soil properties and processes to both
threats to and maintenance of human and animal health typically (but
not exclusively) through plants as intermediaries. As much as the
title suggests a strong focus on human and animal health, the health
of soil is an equally strong theme. Perhaps an equally fitting title
would be “The nexus of the health of soils, plants, animals, and
humans”.
International in authorship, with over 40 authors from 14 countries,
it provides global insights informed by direct experience. For
example, arsenic in water, soils, plants, and food in India and
Bangladesh is explained by authors from Bangladesh (Chapter 20);
authors from Serbia and Croatia provide interesting insights about
selenium deficiency in the Balkans among other regions (Chapter 13).
The book is comprehensive in scope covering topics ranging from
chemistry and physics through biology of microorganisms, plants, and
animals, to pedology and human nutrition. In 21 chapters, this book
covers historical perspectives on and foundational aspects of soils to
human, animal, and plant health, including nutrition, disease
organisms, antibiotics, and contaminants; macro- and micro-nutrients;
animal nutrition including both excesses and deficiencies of
nutrients, and prediction of nutritional needs and nutritional
balances with a focus mainly on ruminants; management of soils for
plant nutrition and animal and human health, including
bio-fortification (with Zn, Fe, and Se) and threats posed by Cd and
As. Soils and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals are
succinctly addressed as is the impact of climate change on soil C
storage. Chapters on physicochemical and physical aspects of soils and
health provide helpful background.
By its comprehensive nature and its links among health of soil,
plants, animals, and humans, it makes a contribution to reversing the
“retreat of scientists into ever taller but narrower silos” (Suttle,
page 105). It is to be hoped that the start made by this book will
lead to continued progress in such a direction.
The authors have made a sincere effort to and frequently succeeded in
demonstrating the often elusive connections of soil health to plant,
animal, and human health. In doing so, interesting conceptualizations
appear. In places it soars conceptually. One example of many: “Soil, a
four dimensional (length, width, depth and time) geo-membrane
(geo-derma) at the atmosphere/lithosphere interface, is in dynamic
equilibrium with its environment and is teeming with life” (Kemper et
al. page 16) urges the reader on.
The book notes and continues to suffer from “a dearth of quantitative
information on the relations between elements in the soil and human
health” (Oliver, 1997, as quoted by Brevik and Pereg page 10). The
need for continued work aimed at providing quantitative connections
among soils, plants, animals, and humans is evident in this book. A
possible outcome of its publication may be the stimulation of
additional support for such work. The connections are best established
in sections dealing with soils and plants. When getting into animal
nutrition, however (e.g., Chapters 14 and 15), the connections to
soils diminish and are restricted mainly to grazing ruminants.
Quantitative connections to human health may have been most evident
when dealing with toxicities.
“In this book the effort is made to discover man’s debt and duty to
the soil”. So said Henry Wallace in the Preface to Soils and Men:
Yearbook of Agriculture (USDA 1938). In the 80 yr since then,
preoccupation with the North American dust-bowl years and associated
feelings of guilt have been replaced by a more balanced view as that
represented in The Nexus of Soils, Plants, Animals and Human
Health. As Rattan Lal says in the foreword: “health of soil, plants,
animals and people is one and indivisible”. But, the indivisibility is
a double-edged sword. The dependence on soil for nutrition is well
documented (e.g., Chapters 9, 10, and 16) as are the dangers from soil
(e.g., diseases Chapter 4 and Cd toxicity Chapter 19), and in other
chapters, both benefits and harms are shown to originate from soils
(e.g., Microorganism in Chapter 8). Such a balanced assessment will
appeal to readers seeking to understand the fascinating intricacies of
soils. The Nexus of Soils, Plants, Animals and Human Health is very
well written. The chapters are all of high quality and up to
date. This ambitious undertaking was contained in a short 163
pages. As such, it was not possible to delve into details that some
readers might seek. The thorough referencing of each chapter, however,
provides an excellent start for anyone wanting to dig deeper.
The content is highly accessible, and yet informative to
specialists. I learned something from all chapters, including those
with which I have a fair knowledge and especially those that were new
to me. One need not be a specialist to understand the material; the
book appears well suited for a broad educated public.
W.B. McGill, University of Northern British Columbia
Canadian Journal of Soil Science98:589 (2018)
