On the global significance of soils in recent years
Soil, alongside water, is one of the natural resources most threatened by depletion, essential not only for the development of quality agriculture but also for feeding the planet's growing population. Due to the importance of the soil resource, the UN declared 2015 the International Year of Soils. According to FAO data, one-third of all soils are degraded due to erosion, salinization, nutrient depletion, etc. The forecasts are not very promising and show that unless new methods for soil treatment are undertaken, by 2050, the amount of fertile and arable land per capita will be only a quarter of the area per person in 1960. The fact that it takes approximately 1000 years to form 1 cm of topsoil is also not to be underestimated. Additionally, at least a quarter of the world's biodiversity lives underground.
In view of the enormous challenges for the sustainable management and conservation of the world's soils, the UN General Assembly, with a resolution at its 68th session on December 20, 2013, decided that December 5 should be observed annually as World Soil Day, and 2015 should be declared the International Year of this valuable resource.
Bulgaria will actively participate in the thematic year through various initiatives being prepared by the "Nikola Poushkarov" Institute of Soil Science, Agrotechnologies, and Plant Protection, as the national leader in soil science and agroecology. In May, 11-15, an international conference dedicated to "Soil and Agrotechnologies in a Changing World" will be held in Sofia.
In collaboration with the Bulgarian Soil Science Society, the following topics will be discussed:
- New knowledge about soils. Origin, diagnosis, and classification;
- Land use and agrotechnologies for a sustainable environment;
- Sustainable management of soil and water resources;
- Soil and plant health under climate change;
- Contemporary policies for soils and waters.
