2015 INTERNATIONAL YEAR OF SOILS
"The IYS 2015 aims to increase awareness and understanding of the importance of soil for food security and essential ecosystem functions critical for life (World Soil Day FAO, Dec 2014)."
Soils contribute to the maintenance of a number of environmental services in addition to perform several vital functions, some of which are shown in the above picture.
Soils are exploited everyday by human activities, some of which are not controlled or efficiently regulated by law.
Due to globalization and the increasing food demand, intensive farming, introduction of exotic species cultivation, cultivation of GMOs monocultures, are among the main causes of soil fertility and soil biodiversity loss.
These losses imply an alteration of the underground ecosystem equilibrium.
So, given these issues and considering the importance of soils, the deepening of our knowledge and understanding of all soil structure and dynamics is of vital importance.
FOR MORE INFO ON IYS 20015 SEE THE LINK:
http://www.fao.org/soils-2015/en/
Posted by: Maria Vittoria Moretti - Trésorière Association l'Agroécole
