One use of this information will be to use soil-type distribution as a sample site selection guide for those who are interested in investigating soil biodiversity and the role of soil organisms on ecosystem functions. The effect of human impacts on soil biodiversity is difficult to estimate and directly measure. However, we can all readily recognise that severely degraded land has been stripped of most of its biodiversity. Severely degraded land may be difficult to rehabilitate. It is certainly cheaper to manage and maintain healthy soils than it is to repair degraded landscapes.
Soil management is fundamental to ecosystem management.
Where vegetation has been cleared but the soil resource remains complete, it is much easier to rehabilitate the ecosystem. Once the soil has been significantly degraded through erosion, compaction, salinisation or acidification, and soil organic matter is destroyed, then the job of recovery is much harder. Consider the biodiversity values of the degraded land in the photos with this article. Care and prevention is better than cure. The question of sustainable soil management is often overlooked when biodiversity is discussed.