SOIL ATLAS Facts and Fi Gures About Earth, Land and Fi Elds 2015
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1 SOIL ATLAS Facts and fi gures about earth, land and fi elds 2015 Second Edition 2 IMPRINT The SOIL ATLAS 2015 is jointly published by the Heinrich Böll Foundation, Berlin, Germany, and the Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies, Potsdam, Germany Executive editors: Christine Chemnitz, Heinrich Böll Foundation Jes Weigelt, Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies Managing editor: Dietmar Bartz Art director: Ellen Stockmar English editor: Paul Mundy Senior research editors: Reinhild Benning, Ingo Valentin Research editors: Bernd Cornely, Stefan Mahlke Copy editor: Elisabeth Schmidt-Landenberger Proofreader: Maria Lanman Contributors: Dietmar Bartz, Andrea Beste, Zoe Brent, Christine Chemnitz, Martha Bonnet Dunbar, Knut Ehlers, Heidi Feldt, Lili Fuhr, Jörg Gerke, Amy Green, Heike Holdinghausen, Johannes Kotschi, Rattan Lal, Philip Lymbery, Evelyn Mathias, Luca Montanarella, Paul Mundy, Heike Nolte, María Daniela Núñez Burbano de Lara, Martin Ostermeier, Hannes Peinl, Ariadna Rodrigo, Ramesh Sharma, Carolin Sperk, Karolina Tomiak, Jes Weigelt, Kathy Jo Wetter, John Wilson With thanks to ISRIC World Soil Information in Wageningen (NL) for the map on page 13 Editorial responsibility (V. i. S. d. P.): Annette Maennel, Heinrich Böll Foundation This publication is written in International English. Second Edition, June 2015 This publication is produced with the financial assistance of the European Union. The contents of this document are the sole responsibility of the Heinrich Boell Foundation and IASS and can under no circumstances be regarded as reflecting the position of the European Union. Printed by Phoenix Print GmbH, Würzburg, Germany Climate-neutral printing on 100 percent recycled paper. Except for the copyrighted work indicated on pp.64–65, this material is licensed under Creative Commons “Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported“ (CC BY-SA 3.0). For the licence agreement, see http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/legalcode, and a summary (not a substitute) at http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/deed.en. FOR ORDERS AND DOWNLOAD Heinrich Böll Foundation, Schumannstr. 8, 10117 Berlin, Germany, www.boell.de/soilatlas Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies e.V., Berliner Straße 130, 14467 Potsdam, Germany, www.iass-potsdam.de/en/publications/soilatlas 3 SOIL ATLAS Facts and figures about earth, land and fields SECOND EDITION 2015 4 TABLE OF CONTENTS 2 IMPRINT 22 MINERAL FERTILIZERS AN EMPTY PROMISE TO END 6 INTRODUCTION GLOBAL HUNGER Fertilizers are often seen as a vital means to in- creasing food production and crop yields worldwide. But the long-term damage they cause to the soil is often forgotten. 24 THE FERTILIZER INDUSTRY PLANT FOOD IN A BAG, FIRMS WITH A COMMON CAUSE Producing and marketing nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium take a lot of investment, so the industry is dominated by big business. 26 FODDER CROPS FEEDING FACTORY FARMS 8 LESSONS TO LEARN Is industrial livestock production really an ABOUT SOIL AND THE WORLD efficient way to produce meat and milk? The fodder needed to feed confined animals 10 WORDS AND CULTURE must be imported – and the manure has to go ON UNSTEADY GROUND somewhere. A look at history reveals deep-rooted changes in our views about the earth beneath our 28 CLIMATE feet – and helps us understand who we are. THE GIVE AND TAKE OF AIR AND EARTH Climate and soil influence each other in 12 BENEATH THE GROUND many ways: the climate helps form the soil, and THE INVISIBLE ECOSYSTEM the soil in turn affects the composition of Soil fertility depends on several factors: the the atmosphere – in particular the amount soil age, its parent material, its organic of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases. matter content, the climate – and people. 30 ENERGY 14 ABOVE THE GROUND DIGGING FOR FUELS LIVING ON A POSTAGE STAMP, Can alternative fuels save the planet? Some, such EATING FROM A THIMBLE as tar sands, are obviously dirty. But growing The world is a big place – but we are biofuels takes lots of land, and they may not be as rapidly running out of room to grow our food, climate-neutral as once hoped. and we are using it in the wrong way. 32 MINING 16 MEMORY ADDING UP THE COSTS OF A HOLE IN THE ARCHIVE OF THE ANTHROPOCENE THE GROUND Soils preserve the history of the landscape Less than one percent of the world’s land is and the people who live there. They will reveal used for mineral extraction – a tiny amount to future generations how good our compared to agriculture. But mining has current stewardship of the planet has been. a disproportionate effect on the environment. 18 HOTSPOTS 34 URBANIZATION BAD STEWARDSHIP FLOCKING TOGETHER: LIVING IN A CROWD 20 INTENSIVE CROPPING Humans are a gregarious species. As more A TROUBLED FUTURE and more of us move into cities, we are paving FOR INDUSTRIAL FARMING over big chunks of the planet. Less humus means lower fertility – something that no amount of fertilizer can solve. And 36 HOTSPOTS new cultivation methods bring new problems. STRUGGLE AND STRIFE 4 SOIL ATLAS 2015 5 38 LAND INVESTMENTS 54 THE COMMONS A NEW TYPE OF TERRITORIAL THIS LAND IS OUR LAND EXPANSION Who controls the land: private individuals, the As foreigners snap up farmland around the world, government, or the community? Without it is hard to know who is investing in what, and private ownership, people have little incentive what the effects on local people might be. An inter- to invest. But community-managed national database is throwing light on the murk. commons are vital for billions of people. 40 EUROPEAN LAND IMPORTS 56 DRYLANDS CONSUMING MORE THAN OUR FAIR KEEPING LIVESTOCK ON THE MOVE SHARE Until recently, drylands were thought to be When we consume products, we are using land fragile and unproductive, and the pastoralists – and that land may well be in another country. who live there were criticized for harming Our consumption patterns have big effects on the the environment. But these views are changing. economy, society and ecology of the producing areas. 58 TRADITIONAL SYSTEMS REHABILITATING THE SOIL: 42 BIG BUSINESS WHAT FARMERS CAN DO FIGHTING BACK AGAINST FOREIGN Years of overuse have left soils compacted, ACQUISITIONS eroded and depleted of nutrients. What can Large investors are buying up land in small-scale farmers do to restore the soil? developing countries. The locals often suffer as a result. They lose their land and access to food. 60 ORGANIC FARMING FEEDING CROPS BY FEEDING THE SOIL 44 LANDOWNING Conventional farming relies on fertilizer to BUY AN ESTATE AND HARVEST THE feed the crops, but in doing so it wrecks the SUBSIDIES soil. Organic farming sees the soil as the basis of Europe’s small-scale family farmers are subject sustainable production. to many of the same pressures as those in the rest of the world. In addition, the cards are 62 GREEN CITIES stacked against them by government policies. FROM URBAN GARDENING TO AQUAPONICS 46 LAND REFORM By 2050, two-thirds of humanity will live in THE POWER OF PROPERTY: A PRIVILEGE urban areas. Our quality of life depends on how FOR A FEW liveable our cities are. Gardens have multiple The feudal lord, the local squire, the village chief, functions: they produce a surprising amount the hacienda owner, the rancher and the of food, help prevent floods, cool the air – plantation baron. They owned, or own, expansive and are a pleasant place to relax away from the acres, and they pull the strings of power. city bustle. 48 LAND POLICY ACCELERATING OFF A CLIFF Soils are scarcely mentioned in international agreements. The neglect has not been benign. 50 HOT SPOTS BRIGHTENING UP 52 GENDER A PIECE OF LAND TO CALL HER OWN Land is important for women not just because it enables them to grow food. It is also a form of wealth, somewhere to live, a source of independence and bargaining power, and a 64 AUTHORS AND SOURCES means to get credit and government services. FOR DATA AND GRAPHICS SOIL ATLAS 2015 5 6 INTRO INTRODUCTION he soil seems to be inexhaustible. It is The international community has set just there, beneath our feet. Under itself three important goals: to stop the loss T the fields, grass and trees. We live on of biodiversity, keep global warming and from the soil, but we pay it scant to 2° Celsius, and ensure everyone has the attention. A few wine lovers say that each right to adequate food. Without fertile soil has its own bouquet, but how many soil, none of these objectives will be of us can actually taste it? When we sit achieved. For the soil can do its job only if down to dine, who thinks of the soil where the life it contains is intact, the humus most of our food grows? layer is healthy, and land rights are protected. Despite the vital functions it It is important to do exactly that. Soils are performs, we fail to protect the soil. the basis of our food production. They Through misuse, we lose something like supply plants with nutrients and water. 24 billion tonnes of fertile soil every year. Those nutrients are an ingredient in every potato, every loaf of bread, every grain There are various reasons for this loss. of rice and every plate of cornmeal we eat – Cities and roads are spreading. Asphalt and in every pork chop and roast and concrete seal the surface and chicken too. Without healthy soils, it is not damage fertile soil irreparably. A falling possible to produce healthy food. population does not stop the damage: in Germany, 77 hectares of soil lose some or But soils do not just produce food: they all of their functions every day. That do many other things too. They filter is the size of 100 football pitches that are rainwater and turn it into clean drinking no longer available to grow food.