The 68th UN General Assembly declared 2015 the International Year of Soils (IYS) (A/RES/68/232).The International Year of Soils aims to raise awareness of why soils are important for food security and the ecosystem, which comprises all plants and animals in an area.
Soils are a finite natural resource and are non-renewable on a human time scale. Soils are the foundation for food, animal feed, fuel and natural fibre production, the supply of clean water, nutrient cycling and a range of ecosystem functions. The area of fertile soils covering the world’s surface is limited and increasingly subject to degradation, poor management and loss to urbanization. Increased awareness of the life-supporting functions of soil is called for if this trend is to be reversed and so enable the levels of food production necessary to meet the demands of population levels predicted for 2050.Soils preservation and sustainable land management have become essential for reversing the trend of soil degradation and ensuring food security and a sustainable future. Individuals, organizations, industries, governments, scientists, religious institutions, artists, etc…All should contribute to save our soil, then our ecosystems and Earth as a whole.
The area of fertile soils covering the world’s surface is limited and increasingly subject to degradation, poor management and loss to urbanization. Increased awareness of the life-supporting functions of soil is called for if this trend is to be reversed and so enable the levels of food production necessary to meet the demands of population levels predicted for 2050.Soils preservation and sustainable land management have become essential for reversing the trend of soil degradation and ensuring food security and a sustainable future. Individuals, organizations, industries, governments, scientists, religious institutions, artists, etc…All should contribute to save our soil, then our ecosystems and Earth as a whole.
Soils are made up of organic remains, clay and rock particles, found on the Earth’s surface. We need soils to produce food, give clothes and build homes. Soils also store and filter water, recycle nutrients, and create a barrier against floods. The area of fertile soils covering the world’s surface is limited. Deforestation, bad agricultural practices and pollution can cause soil degradation and erosion. Soils are also trapped underground when cities keep growing in size and more buildings are made. Current soil management strategies are mainly dependent on inorganic chemical-based fertilizers, which caused a serious threat to human health and environment. Conventional agriculture plays a significant role in meeting the food demands of a growing human population, which has also led to an increasing dependence on chemical fertilizers and pesticides. Chemical fertilizers are industrially manipulated, substances composed of known quantities of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium, and their exploitation causes air and ground water pollution by eutrophication of water bodies. In this regard, recent efforts have been channelized more towards the production of ‘nutrient rich high quality food’ to ensure bio-safety by using biological products for farming. The innovative view of farm production attracts the growing demand of biological based organic fertilizers, microbial products exclusive of alternative to agro-chemicals. In agriculture, encourage alternate means of soil fertilization relies on organic inputs to improve nutrient supply and conserve the field management The exploitation of beneficial microbes as a biofertilizer has become paramount importance in agriculture sector for their potential role in food safety and sustainable crop production. Biofertilizers are known to play a number of vital roles in soil fertility, crop productivity and production in agriculture as they are eco-friendly and cannot at any cost replace chemical fertilizers that are indispensable for getting maximum crop yields.
Biofertilizers (chemical free products for farming) function as key player in sustainable agriculture by improving soil fertility, plant tolerance and crop productivity. Soil management strategies are mainly dependent on inorganic chemical-based fertilizers, which caused a serious threat to human health and environment. The exploitation of beneficial microbes as a biofertilizer has become paramount importance in agriculture sector for their potential role in food safety and sustainable crop production. The eco-friendly approaches inspire a wide range of application of Plant Growth Promoting Rhizobacteria (PGPRs), endo- and ectomycorrhizal fungi, cyanobacteria and many other useful microscopic organisms led to improved nutrient uptake, plant growth and plant tolerance to abiotic and biotic stress. The knowledge gained from the literature will help us to understand the physiological bases of biofertlizers towards sustainable agriculture in reducing problems associated with the use of chemicals fertilizers.
Organic farming is one of such strategies that not only ensures food safety but also adds to the biodiversity of soil. The additional advantages of biofertilizers include longer shelf life causing no adverse effects to ecosystem. Organic farming is mostly dependent on the natural microflora of the soil which constitutes all kinds of useful bacteria and fungi including the Arbuscular Mycorrhiza Fungi (AMF) called Plant Growth Promoting Rhizobacteria(PGPR). Biofertilizers keep the soil environment rich in all kinds of micro- and macro-nutrients via nitrogen fixation, phosphate and potassium solubilisation or mineralization, release of plant growth regulating substances, production of antibiotics and biodegradation of organic matter in the soil. When biofertilizers are applied as seed or soil inoculants, they multiply and participate in nutrient cycling and benefit crop productivity. In general,60% to 90% of the total applied fertilizer is lost and there maining 10% to 40% is taken up by plants. In this regard, microbial inoculants have paramount significance in integrated nutrient management systems to sustain agricultural productivity and healthy environment.
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations has been nominated to implement the IYS 2015, within the framework of the Global Soil Partnership and in collaboration with Governments and the secretariat of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification. The IYS 2015 aims to increase awareness and understanding of the importance of soil for food security and essential ecosystem functions.
