Please download the Rapporteurs’ Report for this session here.
Soils are fundamental to ensuring water, energy and food security. Within the context of sustainable food production, it is important to share knowledge on existing and emerging technologies that support land and soil monitoring. Technologies, such as remote sensing, mobile soil testing, and digital soil mapping, have the potential to identify degraded and non- /little-responsive soils, and may also provide a basis for programmes targeting the protection and rehabilitation of soils. In the absence of such information, crop production assessments are often not based on the spatio-temporal variability in soil characteristics. In addition, uncertainties in soil information systems are notable and build up when predictions are used for monitoring soil properties or biophysical modelling. Consequently, interpretations of model-based results have to be done cautiously. As such they provide a scientific, but not always manageable, basis for farmers and/or policymakers. In general, the key incentives for stakeholders to aim for sustainable management of soils and more resilient food systems are complex at farm as well as higher levels. The same is true of drivers of soil degradation. The decisionmaking process aimed at sustainable soil management, be that at farm or higher level, also involves other goals and objectives valued by stakeholders, e.g. land governance, improved environmental quality, climate change adaptation and mitigation etc. In this dialogue session we will share ideas on recent developments in the discourse on soils, their functions and the role of soil and land information in enhancing food system resilience.
You may also be interested in the following Lunch Break Forum (LBF) contributions:
–> LBF-20: Wageningen Soil Network
–> LBF-25: Soil data: Modelling and good datasets in landscape planning
Download the session description here.
Programme
Contact: Wakene Chewaka