Soil security is "concerned with maintaining and improving the world’s soil resource to produce food, fibre and freshwater, maintain the biodiversity and ecosystem services and contribute to human health". In this working package we applied the Soil Security Assessment Framework to assess the capacity and condition of forest soils in the Basque Country. Capacity and condition are the biophysical dimensions of soil security. Capacity determines the intrinsic potential of the soil to perform soil functions and it is characterized by its inherent soil properties, slowly acquired through pedogenetic time (e.g., soil texture, cation exchange capacity due to the clay and minerals). Soil capacity can remind us of other concepts like soil quality. Condition refers to the current status of the soil and it is described by dynamic soil properties that are easily modified through management, it is a concept very similar to soil health. The other dimensions of soil security, capital, connectivity and codification, address the socio-economic aspects of soil management (economic, cultural, spiritual, educational, policy and governance).
We quantified and mapped the capacity and condition of Basque forests for biomass production, carbon storage, and nutrient storage and cycling using different indicators and the concepts of genosoil and phenosoil.
You can explore the preliminary maps in the interactive web app!
We quantified and mapped the capacity and condition of Basque forests for biomass production, carbon storage, and nutrient storage and cycling using different indicators and the concepts of genosoil and phenosoil.
You can explore the preliminary maps in the interactive web app!
Some useful references and sites to learn about Soil Security
- The Aroura Soil Security Think Tank is an interdisciplinary Think Tank with international experts for addressing soil-related challenges and raise global awareness. The outcomes of the the first global summit were the Soil Security Declaration and a set of policy guidelines.
- The Global Soil Security web.
- The open access Soil Security journal.
- McBratney, A., Field, D.J., Koch, A., 2014. The dimensions of soil security. Geoderma 213, 203–213. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoderma.2013.08.013
- Evangelista, S.J., Field, D.J., McBratney, A.B., Minasny, B., Ng, W., Padarian, J., Román Dobarco, M., Wadoux, A.M.J.-C., 2024. Soil security—Strategizing a sustainable future for soil, in: Advances in Agronomy. Elsevier, pp. 1–70. https://doi.org/10.1016/bs.agron.2023.10.001
- Evangelista, S.J., Field, D.J., McBratney, A.B., Minasny, B., Ng, W., Padarian, J., Román Dobarco, M., Wadoux, A.M.J.-C., 2023. A proposal for the assessment of soil security: Soil functions, soil services and threats to soil. Soil Security 10, 100086. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.soisec.2023.100086