International Year of Soils #IYS2015

International Year of Soils #IYS2015

Soil is the foundation of our lives and of all ecosystem services, although it is so far little present in public consciousness. But it is a very important part of our nature: it enables food production, serves as an important water storage and water filter, convert and dissipate organic residues and makes pollutants harmless. Remarkably there are more organisms living in soils than on its surface! Today we take soil for granted, resulting in numerous negative consequences such as soil loss and soil destruction. 350-400 km² of arable soils are lost every day worldwide. Now it is necessary to protect soils sustainably as a resource and therefore for our existence. […]