Soil Resilience (Is soil a renewable natural resource?)

1. Soil Resilience (Is soil a renewable natural resource?) György VÁRALLYAY Research Institute for Soil Science and Agricultural Chemistry (RISSAC) of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Budapest, Hungary „Environmental consequences of sustainability” VI. Alps-Adria Scientific Workshop, Obersvellach, Austria 30 April–5 May, 2007

2. Sustainable development (SD) Development: „Process to grow larger, fuller or complete” Sustainable: „Enable to keep up (from falling or sinking); „To maintain a certain situation, level, or quality for a longer period” (The Advanced Learner’s Dictionary of Current English)

3. SD milestones I. World Conference on Environmental Protection (Stockholm, 1972):  II. Rio Summit 1992.most frequent term global objective: – each decision-making level – every country – each branch of economy AGENDA 21. World Conference on „Soil resilience and sustainable land use” (Budapest, 2002) • World Conference on Sustainable Development (Johannesburg, 2002)

5. SD concept – FAO I. SD is the management of the naturalresource base and conservation and the orientation of technological change and institutional in such a manner as to ensure the attainment and continued satisfaction of human needs for present generations and future

6. SD concept – FAO II. • Sustainable development • conserves land • water plant • animal • environmentally non-degrading; • technically appropriate; • economically viable; • socially acceptable. resources genetic

8. Definitions Renewable: „That can be renewed or being renewed”; renew: „as good as new”; restore to the original condition.” Resilience: „Quality or property of (quickly) recovering the original shape and conditions after being stressed (pulled, pressed, crushed etc.)” (The Advanced Learner’s Dictionary of Current English) Soil resilience: „The soil’s ability to recover after disturbance; or to return to a new dynamic equilibrium” (Greenland and Szabolcs, 1994)

10. Clusters of soil sustainability

11. Glossary of soil multifunctionality – sustainability system I.

12. Glossary of soil multifunctionality – sustainability system II.

13. Is sustainable land use and soil management a real task? Yes! Because soils are renewable but conditionally renewable they have the unique property: soil resilience natural resources ! !

14. Soil resilience I. Soils worldwide are being subjected to increasing degrees of physical, chemical and/or biological; natural or human-induced stresses): • extreme climatological or hydrological situations; • inappropriate agricultural management (irrational land use and cropping pattern; inadequate tillage operations, plant nutrition or plant protection technology, irrigation practice; over-sized and over-concentrated livestock farms); • industry, mining, infrastructure,rural and urban development with their unavoidable „waste production”.

15. Soil resilience II. Risk = Stress (load)  vulnerability Soil resilience may prevent or moderate (reduce) environmental the risk of unfavourable economical social of stresses vulnerability by decreasing soil sensitivity susceptibility consequences

16. Soil resilience III. recovery • The resilience of some soils allows natural and rapid • The resilience of some other soils may require assistance: – regulation of moisture regime; – regulation of biogeochemical cycles of plant nutrients and pollutants; – proper agrotechnics; – reclamation, remediation. degree of reversibility possible:renewable?? not possible: non-renewable? soils are conditionally renewable natural resources ?

17. Threats to soil resilience Society used natural resources multifunctionality of soils with an increasing manner: – for various purposes – with higher intensity (it does notnecessarily lead to the reduction of „soil quality” and to limitations in soil multifunctionality) but the ensurance of the conditions of soil resilience (renewability) have sometimes been forgotten, which leads to: – nearly irreversible, non- or hardly correctable environmental changes; – in acute cases: catastrophic events

18. Main threats to soil resources Erosion Organic matter Compaction Decline in biodiversity Floods and landslides Contamination local and diffuse Salinization Sealing EU Thematic Strategy for Soil Protection

19. Conclusions Soils are conditionally renewable natural resources: their sustainable use is possible but needs continuous actions and permanent care • for the maintenance of their resilience, • helping their maximum renewal, • keeping or increasing their sustainable multifunctionality.

20. Main measures for sustainable land use and soil management • rational land use and cropping pattern; • proper agrotechnics (tillage, fertilization, pest and weed control practice); • regulation of moisture regime for the prevention or at least moderation of extreme hydrological events (floods, waterlogging, over-moistening or drought); • prevention ofsoil degradation processes and soil pollution; and minimize their unfavourable environmental/ecological consequences; • recycling of plant residues and „favourable wastes”.

21. Sustainable land use and soil management (maintenance of soil resilience) • preparedness • early warning • prediction/forecast / prognosis • prevention correction of consequencescrisis management risk management !!!

22. Thank you for your kind attention!