The need to reinforce soil science research and the information basis to respond toboth gradual and sudden changes in our environment
28 January 2016
Soil Science Subcommittee, Agronomy Committee, Science Council of Japan
1. Background
Soil is one of the most important components of Earth’s surface in terms of its
contribution to the biological environment, the atmosphere, and bodies of water. Thus,
soil’s continuing functioning is essential in agriculture and forestry for crop and wood
production (i.e., its production function) that supply food, clothing, shelter, and, to someextent, energy. The production aspect of soil has improved dramatically since the 19thcentury due to advances in agronomy and forestry and outcomes of the industrial
revolution such as the development of synthetic fertilizer.
Soil is also an integral component of the natural landscape both in nature, including
national parks, and in the urban landscape as the foundation for buildings, ornamentaltrees, and parks. It forms the physical links among all terrestrial landforms, from thehighest mountains and slopes to the lowest floodplains, wetlands, and coastlines (i.e., its
landscape formation ecological service function). Thus, the formation and transport ofsoil is essential for the development of a wide range of ecosystems that harbor diverse
biota (fauna, flora, and microflora).
Although the agricultural productivity varies among regions, soil has been intensively
managed in developed countries and some developing countries to support agricultureand forestry. Whether this management can continue to sustain a world population thathas now reached 7.2 billion remains an open question. Soil science advances during the20th century have contributed greatly to improving soil productivity, but additional
improvements in soil’s production aspects will be needed in the present century.
2. Current status and issues
Looking around the world, we can see risks to agricultural production caused by human
ecosystem modifications and a range of anthropogenic and natural disasters, including
depletion of water resources, soil degradation due to salinization, soil erosion, and pest
outbreaks. Localized extreme weather events such as heat or cold waves, drought, andheavy rain are becoming more common, and are posing a growing threat to agriculturalproduction. In Japan, the intensification of weather phenomena such as typhoons is now
anticipated.
Soil pollution by toxic chemicals in and around urban areas and waste-disposal sites isgradually increasing, thereby preventing the use of this land and creating a need for land
rehabilitation. In addition to these familiar problems, less-familiar problems such as theradioactive fallout from the Fukushima nuclear power plant accident have caused
widespread soil contamination in a form that has made rehabilitation of the land andrestoration of its production function difficult.

Traditionally, soils have changed relatively slowly (e.g., over periods of years ordecades) in response to natural environmental changes, as well as to anthropogenic
changes such as global warming and excesses or shortages of agricultural nutrients.
However, some processes (e.g., landslides) can cause more rapid changes. If such rapidchanges increase in frequency as a result of climate change, soil properties will change
increasingly rapidly, possibly jeopardizing soil’s production and landscape formation
functions.
To cope with both gradual and rapid environmental changes, we need to improve ourability to manage soils so as to (i) increase the stability of ecosystems so that soils canprovide sufficient water and nutrients to support flora, fauna, and microflora; (ii) sustain
agricultural and forest productivity; and (iii) support conservation of the widerenvironment.
Based on the global recognition that soil functions need to be conserved and enhanced
to cope with both slow and rapid environmental changes, the United Nations General
Assembly declared 2015 to be the International Year of Soils and declared 5 December
to be World Soil Day. To support this international effort, we have prepared a series ofproposals to establish a knowledge base for soil science and promote society’sunderstanding of both soil functions and the need for conservation.
3. Contents of the proposals(1) Establish a national soil monitoring network to obtain the data required to update
Japan’s soil information system and reinforce Japan’s contribution to the internationalcommunity.
A primary center for soil resources should be established by the government to monitor
and respond to the slow and rapid environmental changes that will occur throughout
Japan.
A soil monitoring network should be established throughout Japan, with particularattention paid to establishing a strong north-to-south environmental gradient to accountfor the country’s diverse environments. This should be achieved by establishingmultiple research centers in each region and by developing an integrated soil
information system that accounts for human activities, which are major factors thatmodify the environment.
Members of government administrative agencies and researchers at universities andresearch institutes should comprehensively recognize soil as an integrated system rather
than preserving the conventional perspective, in which soils are divided into separate
systems based on land use (e.g., agricultural versus forest versus urban soils). Soil
information in Japan should be updated based on international standards, and Japan
should strengthen its contribution to the global soil science community.
(2) Advance the frontiers of soil science and strengthen soil education.

Soil science, as a field of study, must be renewed by identifying new frontiers andsolving new challenges so we can better understand and conserve Earth’s surface. To doso, it will be necessary to go beyond conventional agricultural science to identify new
frontiers, such as developing global- and landscape-scale perspectives on soil functions
and management that will replace the former site-oriented perspective. This should beachieved by recruiting scientists from related fields to create a more interdisciplinary
approach, and by actively utilizing new ideas and tools generated by advances in soil
physics, soil chemistry, and soil microbiology. At the same time, training of specialists
in soil research and soil education should be strengthened.
In addition, soil education should be expanded at levels from elementary schools to highschools to nourish students’ understanding of the importance of soil and the need for its
conservation. The abovementioned soil monitoring network could support sucheducation.
(3) Establish a Basic National Soil Conservation Act.
Despite clear evidence of soil’s importance and how strongly soil is affected by humanactivities, soil is ignored by most people who are not direct stakeholders, such asfarmers. To improve this situation, to achieve more sustainable soil management andconservation, to clarify the basic principles underlying soil-related policies, and toachieve these goals comprehensively, we strongly recommend the development of a
“Basic National Soil Conservation Act”. This legislation should clearly describe theprinciples of and general rules for soil conservation, including a recognition of the
public nature of soils and their usage, so as to promote efforts to monitor the status ofsoils, obtain and disseminate new knowledge provided by soil monitoring, and topromote soil research and education efforts. This will be accomplished by educating
Japan’s citizens about the importance of their nation’s soils.
Original in Japanese: www.scj.go.jp/ja/info/kohyo/pdf/kohyo-23-t223-1.pdf