Sustainable use of soils and time

Soils are the source of 99.7% of our food (FAO 1991 to 2001). The threat to soils has increased dramatically within the last century. Temporal features of soil use and fertility are manifold. Time-related aspects are well known to soil scientists and others. Time is not only an essential factor in soil science but also in the use and protection of soils. However, for social and economic reasons, this knowledge is often not applied. The challenge in maintaining sustainable use of soils is to develop appropriate cross-disciplinary analytical methods and measures. The focus on time presented here offers such an approach. We specify temporal features that allow us to better understand the various forms of soil degradation and the full range of sustainable and unsustainable use of soils. Therefore, temporal parameters and temporal patterns, as well as other temporal features such as time scales, points in time, and their interplay are a key issue for sustainable use of soils. We use the temporal perspective for diagnosis and therapy. Problems and delays connected with planning and action towards greater sustainability in the use of soils become more transparent. To demonstrate this, we present a temporal framework and the rules based thereon.

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