In this series I was interested in exploring soil ecosystem resources, its availability/scarcity and its use. Our human species' unsustainable agricultural practices has pushed us to the limit of soil productivity, and we are losing (shockingly) a football field of healthy soil every 5 seconds. Population growth, development, exhausting biosphere (agriculture and pasture extensification, desertification, and deforestation) are all primary causes.
Soil is a vital component of ecosystems, serving as a foundation for life. Healthy soil plays a key role in the water cycle, storing and purifying water, food production, and in the carbon cycle, storing carbon and releasing oxygen. Soil is a finite resource and cannot be easily replaced once it is lost or damaged, in fact, it takes 1000 years to make 1 cm of top soil. On some accounts there is only 60 years of usable top soil left on current consumption patterns. Therefore, it is really important to use soil responsibly and sustainably, in order to preserve it for future generations.
Like all other examples in this series, we all must do what we can to put a stop to this worsening situation. Our species survival depends on choosing the right path, i.e. the best policies and action across a very diverse set of problems and issues across many environmental themes.
