Healthy soil as a foundation for safe food and feed
December 5th marks World Soil Day and this year’s theme is “Caring for Soils: Measure, Monitor, Manage”.
But when is our soil happy and healthy? This may be difficult to measure, yet there are many signs of happy and healthy soil.
- One indicator is the soil organic matter, impacting the availability of nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus in the soil. .
- Another indicator is a great variety of micro-organisms and plants, which help in preventing diseases and pest Issues commonly found in monocultures.
Healthy soil enables plants to thrive robustly, ideally leading to a good harvest and, naturally, safe food and feed.
Challenges
Nonetheless, there are several factors that may pose a threat to a happy and healthy soil.
One of those threats is the changes caused by climate change. Climate change leads to several alterations, such as rising temperatures, more rainfall or more dry periods. These could cause extra events to happen, which may be viewed as indirect effects of climate change.
Understanding these changes is essential for HOLiFOOD’s work, as drivers of change play a great role in, for instance, developing prediction models. These prediction models should assist identifying and predicting emerging risks, which could even be more important as climate change becomes more prominent. One potential risk that may emerge is the prevalence of mycotoxins. Mycotoxins are produced by various fungi and can be quite harmful to both livestock and humans when consumed. Elevated temperatures are already expected to influence fungal species and mycotoxins: for instance, novel fungal genotypes may emerge, or existing fungi producing mycotoxins may start migrating to other areas.
Increase in rainfall can impact in various ways. For instance, extreme precipitation can result in erosion and leaching, leading to a decline in soil quality. When the soil is highly saturated with water, restricted gas transfer between the roots and the atmosphere can cause an aggregation of minerals around the roots, resulting in plant damage. As a result, the plant may become weaker and more vulnerable to insects and bacteria attacks such as Salmonella and E. coli. Ultimately, flooding events might remobilize persistent organic pollutants (POPs) and transport them to uncontaminated areas. Higher temperatures may also have different effects on soil. For instance, rice can bioaccumulate arsenic from soil, which may double with the projected increase in soil temperatures. The prevalence of these hazards also highlights the importance of monitoring not only the soil, but also drivers of change that could affect the soil’s well-being.
Conclusion
Since soil really is the foundation of safe food and feed, we should focus on soil well-being. Fortunately, the recognition of soil’s significance is growing, which is why we aimed to celebrate World Soil Day as well.
Increased awareness fosters support for research and innovations that can enhance soil quality and its vitality. Methods like crop rotation and cover crops could play a role in maintaining or managing soil vitality, while reducing harmful chemicals is another important development regarding soil health.
By spreading the message of celebrating soils, we hope to increase awareness on joyful and thriving soils, while also sparking inspiration and ideas for more research and developments, ensuring the continuity of food safety.
Don’t forget the three pillars of soil care: measuring, monitoring, and managing.
