Soil Science Challenges in a New Era: A Transdisciplinary Overview of Relevant Topics

 

Our review paper by Jesús Rodrigo-Comino et al. entitled 'Soil Science Challenges in a New Era: A Transdisciplinary Overview of Relevant Topics' has been published in the journal Air, Soil and Water Research. We give an overview on the prospects, challenges, technological advances and hot topics of soil science. The paper was written by the editorial board of the journal, and the twenty authors from various disciplines offer perspectives on research directions.

Citation

Rodrigo-Comino, J., López-Vicente, M., Kumar, V., Rodríguez-Seijo, A., Valkó, O., Rojas, C., Pourghasemi, H.R., Salvati, L., Bakr, N., Vaudour, E., Brevik, E.C., Radziemska, M., Pulido, M., Di Prima, S., Dondini, M., de Vries, W., Santos, E.S., Mendonça-Santos, M. de L., Yu, Y., Panagos, P., 2020. Soil Science Challenges in a New Era: A Transdisciplinary Overview of Relevant Topics. Air, Soil and Water Research 13: 1178622120977491. doi: 10.1177/1178622120977491

The paper is open access and it is freely accessible by, clicking here.

Abstract

Transdisciplinary approaches that provide holistic views are essential to properly understand soil processes and the importance of soil to society and will be crucial in the future to integrate distinct disciplines into soil studies. A myriad of challenges faces soil science at the beginning of the 2020s. The main aim of this overview is to assess past achievements and current challenges regarding soil threats such as ero-sion and soil contamination related to different United Nations sustainable development goals (SDGs) including (1) sustainable food production, (2) ensure healthy lives and reduce environmental risks (SDG3), (3) ensure water availability (SDG6), and (4) enhanced soil carbon sequestration because of climate change (SDG13). Twenty experts from different disciplines related to soil sciences offer perspectives on important research directions. Special attention must be paid to some concerns such as (1) effective soil conservation strategies; (2) new computational technologies, models, and in situ measurements that will bring new insights to in-soil process at spatiotemporal scales, their relationships, dynamics, and thresholds; (3) impacts of human activities, wildfires, and climate change on soil microorganisms and thereby on biogeochemical cycles and water relationships; (4) microplastics as a new potential pollutant; (5) the development of green technologies for soil rehabilitation; and (6) the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by simultaneous soil carbon sequestration and reduction in nitrous oxide emission. Manuscripts on topics such as these are particularly welcomed in Air, Soil and Water Research