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News & Perspectives

SSSA President's Message

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Jan

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Tn .y column in the Februa ry CSA f Ncrus magazine,r I suggested that Ithe soil science community should

at the same time pushing huge quantities of

respond to this challenging time SSSA Presrdenr peak soil, that is, the world is ipproaching because of the broad societal interest jwhopmans@ucdavis.edu its maximum land surface area available for in issues that strongly relate to soil Twitter: @janwhopmans agricultural production in the future. science, such as a changing climate, Staggering is the amount of water re_ availability of fresh drinking water, quired for producing food. Though largely depending on environmental footprint of humans, and the future need for the relative proportion of animal and plant o.i,"rr-, .or-,_ safe and healthy food. This month, I would like to hieh_ sumption, a typical daily diet requires about 1 L of water light the food security topic, and make the case that iil for each kilocalorie of food intake, corresponding to a total science research will be crucial in meeting our future food of 2,000 L (near 600 gal) of water for a 2,0b0 kcal daily diet. demands. I do this, realizing that so much attention is paid In rainfed agriculture, most of that water is ,,green water,,, to constraints of water and effects of a changing ctimatl coming from soil water storage by rainfall. However, in on crop production, as well as to its environmental foot_ many of the world's hydro-climatic regions, there is just not print. Rightly so, yet the general discussion and literature enough rainfall, and additional irrigation water is required is largely absent of the enormous relevance of soils and -or from either pumping groundwater reservoir storase. As the biophysical limitations that soil may present towards a result, about 15% of the world,s agriculture is irrigited, achieving the higher crop yields that are called for. producing nearly 45% of the global food production, but Let me start with reviewing the context of the need using about 70% of this developed ,,biue water,', globally. to feed two billion peopi" in the coming 40 years. Therefore, much emphasis recently has been on availabiiity -o.e First and foremost, essential inputs to crop pioduction are of blue water, either regionally or globally. However, with provided by land, energy, water, and nutrients. With the iew exceptions, there isn't much more water to develop. In exception of solar energy driving photosynthesis, their com_ many irrigated regions of the world,s river basins, stream bined availability is determined by soil physical, chemical, flows have been decimated, beyond to what would be and biological processes, as well as by eflective soil man_ environmentally acceptable. To make matters worse, recent agement practices that minimize land degradation (such as studies confirm the yietd-reducing effects of increasing by erosion or salinization) and protect thJ natural envi_ temperatures by climatic change and the need to ronment. Much innovative soil research will be recuired. irrigated crop area to maintain crop productivity "rpurld leveis. including collaborations with our colleagues in the crop and animal sciences, as well as with hydrologists and ecologists, to crack the immensely complicated fooJ security code.

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Peak Soil
Much of the agricultural land is converted to urban and industrial use. According to the UN, over the past 40 years, about 2 billion ha of soil, making up 30% of thl world,s cropland, has been degraded and is now unproductive. A recent USDA report states that between I9B2 and200Z, close to 10 million ha of U.S. agriculturai land has been converted for development. In other parts of the world, produc_ tive soiis are available, however, at the expense of natural grasslands, savannas, and forests. Opening these soils for agriculture is likeiy to have huge ecological impacts, while
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See www.soils.orglpublications /csa4 arl.icles/59/2/20

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Agricultural lntensification
Considering all of the above, the most likely solution is found in agricultural intensification, meaning that increasing global food production can only happen by way of producing more food per unit land and per unit of avail-

Connect with Jan Hopmansl "#?wset @janwhopmans

is iikely that some parts of the world will need to develop freshwater resources, especially in sub-Saharan Africa, and that other parts of the world wili expand their land area into agricuitural production. However, much of the required increased food production in regions with constraints in land and water resources will have to come from

will have to become more productive, and soil management practices will have to be developed that are both more efficient and effective and reduce nutrient and water losses. Much can be said about the need to increase crop nutrient use efficiency (i.e., nitrate and phosphorus), so as to reduce groundwater and surface water contamination, as well to largely reduce the energy footprints of production agriculture. But there is also a need for more efficient use of soil-stored water (both green and blue water) by minimizing soil evaporation in low-productive agricultural systems. Some 80% of the worid's croP water use comes from the green water that is stored in soils by rainfall. Therefore, huge investments in soil and agronomic research must be anticipated, to realistically achieve the global goal of the projected doubling of required agricultural production. Without question, this involves advancing the biotechnology field-seeking crop phenotypes that are more drought, salt, or heat tolerant-but it will also need an integrated approach that considers soil science holistically.
able water. Agricultural soils

In summary, there is no silver bullet that will ensure that future generations will be free from poverty and hunger. It

agricultural intensification, requiring more efficient use of nutrient and water inputs on avaiiable land' This will not happen by business-as-usual agronomic practices but will require innovative soil research, coupled with technoiogies in plant science and engineering. Various sessions of the 2014 AAAS 2014 meeting in Chicago presented the enormity of the global challenges in agriculture, but few addressed the limitations of soils. I ask that you advocate for the importance of soils and soils research using similar arguments as I presented above, whenever the opportunity presents itself (e'g., when arguing for soil faculty expertise at your home institution, collaborating

with

an

interdisciplinary research team, or speaking about

the relevance of science and soil science in policymaking).

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