Picture a planet with:
Rocky surface
No odor
Inability to sustain life
Wind stirs sand, obscuring a bright blue sky
Rain creates rivulets carrying sand and gravel to gullies, filling rivers with sediment
Land replaced by silt, pebbles, and boulders
A world without soil threatens:
Loss of food security
Loss of beauty and ecological balance
Erosion already affecting landscapes and food production
Current situation not as severe as a "rocky planet" stage
As soil erosion progresses:
Threat to global food security increases
Hunger in unexpected regions emerges
Necessity to understand connections between:
Food systems
Soil health
Food system complexity:
Interactions of physical environment, biology, and social forces
Each farm’s unique variables complicate comprehensive understanding
Consequences of soil erosion explored through:
Crop cultivation
Biodiversity
Demographics in agriculture
Societal policies and issues surrounding soil
Measuring soil erosion impacts:
Economic loss, biodiverse loss, crop yield reduction
Evaluation in both local and global contexts
UN reports: 40% of global land degradation due to soil erosion affects:
1.5 billion people suffering welfare loss
Economic predictions indicate:
$3 trillion in losses due to soil erosion by 2030
Highest losses in Sub-Saharan Africa (60% share)
Crop production affected by:
Annual yield losses estimated at 33%
Ongoing erosion potentially leading to 50% decline by 2050
Local farmer impact more severe than global averages
Erosion affects different soil types variably
Example of Mollisol rich in topsoil at risk of extinction without intervention.
Africa's challenges:
Erosion threatens food production severely
Ultisols in Sub-Saharan Nigeria highly degraded
30-50% of the cultivated land risked in moisture-effective seasons
Case study in Anambra, Nigeria details:
Barren gullies from erosion due to wet/dry expansion cycles.
Erosion rates of 20-70 tons/ha annually.
Farmers affected personally, losses translate into food security concerns.
Researchers conducted desurfacing experiments in Nigeria:
Crop yield reductions of 46% with simple soil removal.
Consequences manifest through:
Floods destroying crops
Decreased diversity impacting food supply
Erosion-driven conflicts emerging in north-eastern Nigeria
Morocco:
25% land agricultural, 50% degraded by soil erosion
Agriculture vital for economy, relying on soil health.
Ethiopia and Tanzania suffer similarly from high erosion rates impacting agricultural GDP significantly.
Asia experiencing diverse erosion effects based on different terrains:
Rice production seen critical in India and China.
Total loss in South Asia triggers massive GDP losses and food insecurity.
Smallholders constitute 80% of farms globally:
Influence in maintaining agricultural diversity
Critical in preserving genetic resilience in crops
Impacts of erosion disproportionately affect smallholders:
Dimensions of poverty and limited resources impact resilience.
Women hold substantial share of agricultural labor:
They represent 56% of the agricultural workforce in sub-Saharan Africa.
Barriers in land ownership reduce their economic power.
Food aid systems increasingly stressed:
Soil loss coupled with population demands complicates future outlook
UN Food and Agriculture Organization warns of potential drastic shortages
Historical reliance on food aid for crisis mitigation at risk due to eroding capacity of food-producing nations.
Need for alternative farming practices to address erosion and feeding nine billion:
Innovations in crop management and sustainable practices will be key to future food security.
Climate change making incredible impacts on farming:
Rising temperatures and weather extremes impacting yields.
The interrelationship between soil, agriculture, and climate:
Balancing actions addressing climate change alongside soil conservation.
Ensuring sustainable practices essential moving forward.