Sustainable utilization of agricultural soils, in a climate change scenario

Soils underpin >90% of global food production and represent one of the most critical and fragile natural resources for sustaining human societies. However, soil worldwide is experiencing severe degradation; in fact, 33% of Earth’s soils are already degraded, and >90% could become degraded by 2050 (FAO and ITPS, 2015). Organic carbon loss is one of the main causes of soil degradation; the progressive and incessant depletion of soil organic carbon (SOC) compromises many ecosystem services, ultimately reducing soil fertility (and agricultural productivity) as well as the ability of soil to act as a carbon sink. Moreover, unsustainable management practices and land-use change have accelerated SOC loss, threatening both ecosystem stability and agriculture resilience. Climate change further exacerbates these challenges. Rising temperatures, altered precipitation patterns, and increased frequency of extreme weather events are expected to intensify SOC mineralization and nutrient imbalances, in a feedback loop in which soil degradation contributes to greenhouse gas emissions, while climate change accelerates further SOC depletion. Thus, preserving and restoring SOC in agricultural soils becomes an imperative, as it represents a win-win strategy that allows both mitigating climate change and enhancing global food security.