December 5th is World Soil Day! It’s a great opportunity to reflect on the importance of soils – to agronomists, of course, but also to the whole Earth.
Iowans are proud of our state’s soils in all of their diversity. Did you know that Iowa’s soils include Mollisols, Alfisols, Inceptisols, Entisols, and Histosols? In our learning and teaching about soils at ISU, we recognize and honor soils as the “living skin of the earth,” where minerals, water, the atmosphere, and a host of organisms collaborate to sustain life.
Today we celebrate not only Iowa’s soils, but we also reflect on the magnificent diversity of soils around the globe. “Red and yellow, black and white, they are all precious in our sight!”
Please take a few minutes to check out the FAO’s World Soil Day website (Campaign Materials | World Soil Day, 5 December | Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations at fao.org), where you can find social media cards, educational posters about soil and water, as well as comics and videos about soils. They will brighten your day and broaden your appreciation for the global significance of soils to the health of our planet.
Key Messages for World Soil Day 2023
- Soils provide the foundation for terrestrial ecosystem functions, environmental health, and human well-being.
- Healthy soils are tightly interconnected with the storage of carbon, nutrient cycling, water quality, and water availability.
- Soil management affects soil health, and thus the land’s capacity to withstand extreme climate events such as droughts, floods, and sand/dust storms.
- Recognizing that we work with soils as integral partners for life on Earth, we must take proactive measures to protect them for future generations.
The logos above and in additional languages can be found on the FAO website.
By Bradley Miller, Michael Thompson, and Mary Tiedeman, ISU Agronomy
