610
effects on crop yields can be alleviated by plant growth-promoting bacteria
(Shrivastava and Kumar 2015). Soil biological degradation involves decline in
activity and species diversity of soil biota, especially those of microorganisms,
which play critical roles in cycling of nutrients, decomposition of wastes, and
denaturing of pollutants (Sims 1990). Severe biological degradation can lead to
drastic reduction/depletion of soil organic carbon (SOC) concentration, with
strong impact on the global C cycle (Lal 2004). Biological degradation is exacerbated by a combination of environmental factors (e.g., soil temperature, moisture regimes, acidity, and salinity) and anthropogenic activities (Mishra and
Dhar 2004).
Aggravation of soil degradation by physical, chemical, and biological processes (Fig. 1) leads to ecological degradation. The latter includes disruption in
cycling of water and elements and decoupling of the coupled cycling of carbon
with that of water, nitrogen, phosphorus, and sulfur. The anthropogenic global
warming (Lal 2010) can aggravate such a decoupling with severe implications to
provisioning of essential ecosystem services or creation of disservices. Therefore,
sustainable management of soil resources is essential to reversing the degradation trends and strengthening of the coupled cycling. Enhancing SOC concentration to above the threshold level of ~2% in the root zone is critical to restoration
of degraded soils and ecosystems. Restoration of the depleted SOC stock of 135
Pg, since the dawn of settled agriculture, can have a strong drawdown of atmospheric CO 2 and generate numerous co-benefits (Lal et al. 2018a, b; Lal 2018). A
widespread adoption of a system-based conservation agriculture (Lal 2015), and
other systems that create a positive soil/ecosystem C budget, can restore soil
health and reverse the degradation trend. The strategy is to reconcile the need for
meeting the growing demands of increasing and progressively affluent world
population with the necessity of restoring degraded soils and ecosystems and
improving the environment.
Fig. 1 Types of soil degradation (SOC = soil organic carbon). (Redrawn and adapted from Lal
et al. 1989, Lal 2020)
B. R. Singh et al.
effects on crop yields can be alleviated by plant growth-promoting bacteria
(Shrivastava and Kumar 2015). Soil biological degradation involves decline in
activity and species diversity of soil biota, especially those of microorganisms,
which play critical roles in cycling of nutrients, decomposition of wastes, and
denaturing of pollutants (Sims 1990). Severe biological degradation can lead to
drastic reduction/depletion of soil organic carbon (SOC) concentration, with
strong impact on the global C cycle (Lal 2004). Biological degradation is exacerbated by a combination of environmental factors (e.g., soil temperature, moisture regimes, acidity, and salinity) and anthropogenic activities (Mishra and
Dhar 2004).
Aggravation of soil degradation by physical, chemical, and biological processes (Fig. 1) leads to ecological degradation. The latter includes disruption in
cycling of water and elements and decoupling of the coupled cycling of carbon
with that of water, nitrogen, phosphorus, and sulfur. The anthropogenic global
warming (Lal 2010) can aggravate such a decoupling with severe implications to
provisioning of essential ecosystem services or creation of disservices. Therefore,
sustainable management of soil resources is essential to reversing the degradation trends and strengthening of the coupled cycling. Enhancing SOC concentration to above the threshold level of ~2% in the root zone is critical to restoration
of degraded soils and ecosystems. Restoration of the depleted SOC stock of 135
Pg, since the dawn of settled agriculture, can have a strong drawdown of atmospheric CO 2 and generate numerous co-benefits (Lal et al. 2018a, b; Lal 2018). A
widespread adoption of a system-based conservation agriculture (Lal 2015), and
other systems that create a positive soil/ecosystem C budget, can restore soil
health and reverse the degradation trend. The strategy is to reconcile the need for
meeting the growing demands of increasing and progressively affluent world
population with the necessity of restoring degraded soils and ecosystems and
improving the environment.
Fig. 1 Types of soil degradation (SOC = soil organic carbon). (Redrawn and adapted from Lal
et al. 1989, Lal 2020)
B. R. Singh et al.