There are many ways soil becomes rich. It invests in rain, hires a biodiverse workforce, creating a good place to start a growing company. However, soil can decline in condition and become incapable of providing services, often caused by events out of its control. Sound familiar to you?

Soil degradation is the change in soil quality due to poor management, often for agricultural or urban purposes. It can be the loss of organic matter, fertility, erosion, changes in salinity, alkalinity, or acidity, or the effects of toxic chemicals. Overall, this causes a decline in soil health and productivity, resulting in large environmental consequences such as flooding and mass migration.

Soil is a living ecosystem that is essential to life. It takes thousands of years to form an inch of topsoil, and many more centuries before it is fertile. In addition, soil is our most significant non-renewable georesource. Each year, around 24 billion metric tons of fertile soil are lost due to erosion. That's 3.4 tons lost a year for every person on the planet. As a way of comparison, forests store 360 million metric tons of carbon as biomass, and the atmosphere stores 800 billion metric tons through CO2.

Many common farming techniques used in industrial crop production can degrade the soil over time. An example is the practice of monocropping, which is the practice of growing the same crop on the same plot of land every year. This process depletes the soil of nutrients, making it less productive over time and causing significant erosion. Monocropping causes a variety of problems, which necessitates the use of synthetic fertilizers that decrease the soil's microbiological diversity. Not only are synthetic fertilizers detrimental to soil and plant growth, but they also contribute to climate change and water pollution through the release of N20 and algae blooms.

Increasing urbanization also has an impact on the soil. The widespread use of tarmac and concrete prevents water from being absorbed into the ground. This results in the deaths of millions of microorganisms and can lead to water runoff, which may cause flooding. Furthermore, from 1989 to 2009, astudy was conducted at 18 study ponds in Phoenix, Arizona. Their ponds were important for cattle grazing before the urbanization boom and for aquatic species. After examination, the factors were not caused by the minimal precipitation the area gets. There was a higher sediment yield in the second decade, indicating that urbanization had increased erosion. The increase in sediment yields in watersheds is polluting vital water sources and decreasing biodiversity.

This is not only in Phoenix, but in areas like India and Africa, indicating soil degradation is a global issue. Around 40% of the planet's land is degraded, while half the world's people are suffering the impacts. Much of the degradation is mostly visible in developing countries. Many people who live in low-income countries could be forced to leave in search of safe and fertile land, resulting in economic and political instability in some areas. With climate change and urbanization increasing, degradation is only going to spread further. By 2050, an area the size of South America will be added to the toll if current rates of harm continue, according to the Global Land Outlook 2 report.

How can we mitigate soil degradation? One solution is by practicing crop rotation, which allows different plants to grow in an area of soil every year. This allows the soil to replenish itself with nutrients that were lacking in the plant before. Additionally, the use of mulch in the food growing process allows the organic material to break down nutrients in the dirt. It is also beneficial to practice permaculture, a form of sustainable farming. It incorporates an integrative space where mutual relationships between organisms can thrive and eliminate waste. Most importantly, it is important to know when your soil is degrading. That is why it is important to invest in technologies that check if your soil is sustainable for plant growth to keep the cycle of healthy soil going. Most importantly, responsible farming is the best way to keep good soil and ensure future generations get rich soil.