Understanding Soil Security And Its Relevance To Australia

The Concept of Soil Security and its Five Soil Solutions

Discuss about the Restoring Soil Quality To The Mitigate Soil.

Soil degradation is regarded as a significant and emergent global concern whereby the elevating world population raises the soil pressure and further results the natural capital of soil to experience enduring decline. In recent times, global policy makers have identified and thus introduced a range of approaches to focus on this concern (McBratney, Field & Koch, 2014). The essay intends to evaluate the concept of soil security by further associating to five soil solutions. In addition to this the paper further explains the relevance of soil security to Australia by shedding light on the Global Societal Challenges.

The concept of soil security is regarded as a recent theory that has emerged with the elevating rate of imperative issues further experiencing global soil stock. This concept has been related to the maintenance and enhancement of the world’s soil resources in order to sustain its food and fresh water supply and facilitate its maintenance of bio-diversity along with the safeguard of eco system products and services in general (Koch et al., 2013). However, it is significant to recognize that for several people, ‘soil’ is referred as an interchangeable word which can further be referred as ‘land’. Such a lack of distinction related to terminology outcomes in an oversight of the supported character of soil within landscapes. The conceptualization of ‘soil security’ can be evaluated by focusing on the way soil contributes to the five essential functions within the landscape. The effective execution soil lies fundamentally in solving serious concerns related to food security, biodiversity, and change in climatic conditions along with fresh water regulation. However, in recent times several obstacles have been identified in order to communicate such linkages. Thus, an effective conceptualization of soil security can be implemented in order to concentrate such deficiencies in order to provide a functional psychological framework that will associate soil with productive consequences in sustainable growth and development. The primary purpose in protecting soil is to sustain as well as optimize its structure and outline, with its various and complex ecosystems of soil biota with its nutrient cycling capability whereby it operates as a substrate for plantation further functioning as a regulator for fresh water filtration and controller. The concept of soil security further requires multidisciplinary approach that has its expansion beyond soil science ‘sensu stricto’. Integration with the domains of ecology and economics to establish the value of renewable and non-renewable resources along with engagement with social sciences in order to determine the way soil policy-makers can associate society with the essential functions of soil in landscapes to establish it as a fundamental component. Furthermore, determining policy tools that can execute at international level and further be employed at local level will be considered to be significant and critical and may require directions from other resource policy areas such as air and water.

The Relevance of Soil Security to Australia

The term ‘soil security’ considered as a concept to sustain and improve the nature of soil across the world so that they can continue to provide resources such as food, fibre and fresh water. It further contributes to power, energy and climate sustainability, also facilitate the maintenance of bio diversity, and safeguard environment friendly goods and services (Koch et al., 2015). At this juncture, it is significant to recognize the way the Australian government has been playing a critical role in establishing soil security in view of world awareness. Several reports demonstrate the way Australian government and industry must direct the world and facilitate the cooperation and alliance with cultivators in order to increase soil carbon for enhanced level of soil security (Brevik et al., 2015). The agriculture sector of Australia is set to experience the critical and destructive impacts of the persistent change in the climatic conditions by further developing the sequestration of carbon in soil to improve the level of soil security whereby the government can augment the level of its production and alongside condense carbon emissions (Lal, 2015). In the opinion of few Agricultural experts, the concept of soil security essentially requires to raise the level of carbon quantity in soils by accepting the function of sustainable agriculture practices. This is further to note that enhanced level of soil security would support increased level of sustainable food, water and energy resources besides focusing on extenuating climate change (Jones et al., 2013). However, as per several international experts, Australia has successfully posited itself in a unique and significant position in order to direct the efforts to enhance the level of soil protection with the country’s agricultural sector that is regarded as the first to deal with the disputes and challenges of climate change. However, factors related to science and technology has already increased its accessibility to the agricultural sector and also around the world (Adhikari & Hartemink, 2016). However, it has established four significant objectives which could be implemented for future improvements. The four objectives primarily concentrated on the essential importance of soil as well as soil carbon, which the society must identify along with the endurance, and health of human populace. Furthermore, issues related to soil must be given utmost priority and concern as well as focusing on issues related to climatic conditions (Lal, 2014). In addition to this, concept of soil security must be attained through soil carbon sequestration as well as the optimization for social, environmental as well as economic sustainability. Another significant purpose relates to the domain of science and technology that is accessible to the agricultural sector in order to manage and improve soil carbon with the local circumstances and must further be underpinned in executing through adherence to public regulation as well as community recognition (Ahmad et al., 2014).

Challenges in Establishing Soil Security

Australian agriculture is anticipated to enhance its capture and usage of soil water and improve the nutritional level of soil in order to reduce its dependency on the high level of energy requirements for production of nonliving or inorganic fertilizers. It is further anticipated that the Australian agricultural industry will preserve soil in order to stock more carbon and to condense its greenhouse gas emissions in particularly those associated with fertilization activities (Lal, 2015). However, it has been anticipated by majority of Australians that the production of food and fibre harvests to be sustainable whereby the farming landscapes will serve improved quality environmental friendly services like non-polluted air and fresh water and healthy soils along with the protection of biodiversity. These barriers and challenges have been noted to emerge together in the conceptualization of soil security (Adhikari & Hartemink, 2016). Furthermore, concept of social security has been concerned with the preservation and maintenance as well as enhancement of the global soil resource in order to improve the production level of nutrition, fibre and fresh water. It also contribute to the sustainability of energy and climatic conditions, with the conservation of biodiversity and welfare of the ecosystem (McBratney, Field & Koch, 2014). Though it has been recognized that Australia has been continuing to generate excellent soil research and development, the domain of awareness and knowledge require to combat these barriers and challenges and further to evaluate advancement and development which is unavailable in current times (Jones et al., 2013). Importantly, an organized and coordinated strategy is required by the nation which has further been identified.

Therefore, from the above discussion it can be concluded that it is immensely important for any nation to effectively maintain and protect soil in order to preserve food, fibre along with fresh water resources. The essay has evaluated the way the concept of soil security can be analysed by focusing on five of its functions and further highlighted the way Australia has been working to preserve and safeguard its soil to improve the production level of its resources.

References

Adhikari, K., & Hartemink, A. E. (2016). Linking soils to ecosystem services—A global review. Geoderma, 262, 101-111.

Ahmad, M., Rajapaksha, A. U., Lim, J. E., Zhang, M., Bolan, N., Mohan, D., ... & Ok, Y. S. (2014). Biochar as a sorbent for contaminant management in soil and water: a review. Chemosphere, 99, 19-33.

Brevik, E. C., Cerdà, A., Mataix-Solera, J., Pereg, L., Quinton, J. N., Six, J., & Van Oost, K. (2015). The interdisciplinary nature of SOIL. Soil, 1(1), 117.

Jones, D. L., Cross, P., Withers, P. J., DeLuca, T. H., Robinson, D. A., Quilliam, R. S., ... & Edwards?Jones, G. (2013). Nutrient stripping: the global disparity between food security and soil nutrient stocks. Journal of Applied Ecology, 50(4), 851-862.

Koch, A., Chappell, A., Eyres, M., & Scott, E. (2015). Monitor soil degradation or triage for soil security? An Australian challenge. Sustainability, 7(5), 4870-4892.

Koch, A., McBratney, A., Adams, M., Field, D., Hill, R., Crawford, J., ... & Angers, D. (2013). Soil security: solving the global soil crisis. Global Policy, 4(4), 434-441.

Lal, R. (2014). Societal value of soil carbon. Journal of Soil and Water Conservation, 69(6), 186A-192A.

Lal, R. (2015). Restoring soil quality to mitigate soil degradation. Sustainability, 7(5), 5875-5895.

McBratney, A., Field, D. J., & Koch, A. (2014). The dimensions of soil security. Geoderma, 213, 203-213.