In 2015, the UN formulated seventeen global Sustainable Development
Goals (SDGs), among them ending poverty, eliminating hunger,
protecting the planet and ensuring peace and prosperity. Although
judicious management of soils is critical to advancing most of these
goals, the word soil is not once mentioned in any of these laudable
goals. SDG#15, for example, mentions land degradation but does not
specifically focus on soils. In line with previous UN programs, SDGs
thus reflect an utter lack of awareness of the importance of the most
basic of all natural resources on which depends all terrestrial life –
soils.
Consequently, this book aims to document the importance of soil and
soil protection to reaching these Sustainable Development Goals. This
fifteen-chapter book, authored by experienced and knowledgeable
researchers from around the world, is a synthesis of the knowledge and
state-of-the-science, linking soil properties and processes to
specific SDGs.
The volume highlights individual soil related aspects of these SDGs,
such as the contribution of soil science, soil management and use,
measures to minimize erosion, climatic effects, carbon sequestration
by soils, soil restoration, the role hydrology plays in sustainable
soil management, ways to preserve soil structure of fertile volcanic
soils. Soil and water pollution, which must be controlled in order to
preserve soil and environmental health are also discussed. Other
chapters deal with how to convince the general public of the
usefulness of the SDGs and point out how the public may contribute to
them, ways to manage Chernozems and the role IUSS plays in furthering
and implementing the soil related measures are also discussed herein.
Table of Contents
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Foreword V
Chapter 1
Role of soils for satisfying global demands as defined by the U.N.
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
Winfried E.H. Blum 1
Chapter 2
How can the soil science discipline contribute most effectively to
achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals?
Johan Bouma 15
Chapter 3
The soil nexus and sustainable development goals
Henry Lin 38
Chapter 4
Soil health and functions as a basic requirement for advancing the SDGs
Rainer Horn, Heiner Fleige, Rattan Lal and Iris Zimmermann 52
Chapter 5
The role of soil management and restoration in advancing Sustainable
Development Goals
David A.N. Ussiri and Rattan Lal 61
Chapter 6
Soil management for advancing SDG 13 (Climate Action)
Fabrizio Albanito, Nuala Fitton and Pete Smith 72
Chapter 7
Regulatory utilization of USLE/RUSLE erosion rate estimates in
Uruguay: a policy coincident with the UN Sustainable Development Goals
Mario Pérez-Bidegain, Mariana Hill, Carlos Clerici, José A. Terra, Jorge
Sawchik and Fernando García-Préchac 82
Chapter 8
Restoring soils of Sub-Saharan Africa for achieving SDGs
A.O. Ogunkunle and V.O. Chude 92
Chapter 9
The contribution of hydropedological assessments to the availability
and sustainable management of water, for all (SDG#6)
Johan van Tol, Simon Lorentz, George van Zijl and Pieter le Roux 102
Chapter 10
The relevance of soil structure conservation and carbon sequestration
in Chilean volcanic ash soils for achieving sustainable development goals
José Dörner, Dorota Dec, Franciso Matus, Felipe Zúñiga, Iván Ordóñez and
Rainer Horn 118
Chapter 11
Advancing the Soil-Water-Waste Nexus approach for achieving the
Sustainable Development Goals
Parvathy Chandrasekhar, Anika Reetsch, Sridhar Patra, Reza Ardakanian
and Kai Schwärzel 126
Chapter 12
Edaphological approaches to advancing Sustainable Development
Goals: an educational perspective to build a citizen preservation culture
Laura Bertha Reyes-Sánchez 139
Chapter 13
Soil science solutions for advancing SDG 2 towards resilient agriculture
A. Bonfante, A. Basile, G. Langella, P. Manna, and F. Terribile 156
Chapter 14
Managing Chernozems for advancing SDGs
Pavel Krasilnikov, Alexey Sorokin, Oleg Golozubov, and Olga Bezuglova 175
Chapter 15
Sustainable Development Goals and the International Union of Soil Sciences
Rattan Lal 189
