Healthy soils are the basis for a sustainable food production, yet the role of soils is often neglected and public awareness of soil health and management is generally low. Therefore, 2015 is named the International Year of Soils, an initiative from the UN to reverse this trend and raise widespread understanding about the importance of soils.

Throughout history the rise and fall of human civilizations have been closely connected to the way we treat – or mistreat – the living soils of our planet. The way we manage our soils plays a vital role for ensuring food security, combating climate change and supporting ecosystem functions. However, many soils are still managed unsustainably, resulting in widespread and rapid soil degradation, which puts our capacity to meet the needs of future generations at risk.

Soils are full of ever-changing life. The uppermost meter of the world’s top soil stores more carbon than the global atmosphere and soil management is of crucial importance to ensure that carbon is sequestered in, rather than lost from, soils.

More than one billion people are employed in the agricultural sector, representing one in every three workers worldwide. Their livelihoods depend on productive and nutrient rich soils that can provide enough food and guarantee sustainable incomes. As world population grows and food production demand rises, it is of increasing importance to keep soils healthy, productive and capable of sequestering carbon. So how do we protect global soils from eroding? How do we keep them healthy? This seminar seeks to address these and other soil related questions by allowing scientists to discuss with practitioners, who battle with soil degradation every day.