Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs) are the most commonly known, used, and globally widespread, environmental planning and management tools, with Strategic Environmental Assessments (SEAs) also gaining increasing momentum over the last decade. The objective of these tools is to make sure that…

Sampling and analysis or visual examination of soil to assess its status and use potential is widely practiced from plot to national scales. However, the choice of relevant soil attributes and interpretation of measurements are not straightforward, because of the complexity and site-specificity of…

FuturePolicy.org is an online database designed for forward-thinking policy-makers, to simplify the sharing of existing and proven policy solutions to tackle the world’s most fundamental and urgent problems. Grown from the conviction that solutions exist for the most essential challenges to humanity…

Dryland areas are being seriously affected by degradation processes. The use of organic amendments in ecosystem restoration is an effective technique for accelerating soil regeneration processes in degraded drylands. This recovery is a result of the rapid increment of organic matter and clay…

The Global Soil Biodiversity Atlas was published in 2016 by the European Commission Joint Research Centre and the Global Soil Biodiversity Initiative. More than 120 scientists from around the world contributed to bringing the most current soil ecology and biodiversity knowledge into accessible…

Copper (Cu) distribution in soil is influenced by climatic, geological and pedological factors. Apart from geological sources and industrial pollution, other anthropogenic sources, related to the agricultural activity, may increase copper levels in soils, especially in permanent crops such as olive…

Quick and easy to read, the Climate-Smart Agriculture (CSA) country profiles give an overview of the agricultural challenges in countries around the world, and how CSA can help them adapt to and mitigate climate change. Developed by CIAT and CCAFS, in partnership with the World Bank, Costa Rica’s…

Alternative management practices such as no‐tillage compared to conventional tillage are expected to recover or increase soil quality and productivity, even though all of these aspects are rarely studied together. Long‐term field experiments (LTEs) enable analysis of alternative management practices…

The report — Mechanized: Transforming Africa’s Agriculture Value Chains—summarizes the findings of a systematic analysis of what countries at the forefront of progress in mechanization have done right. It analyzes which policy decisions were taken and which interventions were implemented to…

Take these eight steps to make soils more resilient to drought, produce more food and store emissions, urge Cornelia Rumpel and colleagues.

The importance of soil is placed under the spotlight in this in-depth analysis by the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre (JRC)

According to the November issue of the JRC MARS Crop monitoring in Europe Bulletin, published yesterday, large parts of central Europe still experience dry soil conditions. Strong rainfall deficits hampered field preparations and sowing operations, with consequences on plant emergence and early crop…

Shocking statistics reveal African nations that should be on a 'soil watchlist'

Centre for Land Tenure Studies (CLTS) Working Paper on land tenure reforms and land markets in Africa

In this study authors used the Global Inventory Monitoring and Mapping Studies (GIMMS) dataset to analyze trends in the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) in the world’s semiarid regions, based on 30 years of National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration-Advanced Very High Resolution…

This article summarizes the relevant experiences garnered in “offsetting” regulatory schemes in the areas of wetland preservation, biodiversity, forestry, greenhouse gas emissions mitigation, real estate zoning, and conventional air pollution control. While many of these initiatives take place in…

As a celebration of national and regional efforts and achievements, this panorama of country experiences and good practices will not only help intensify the African agriculture transformation underway, but will also promote active participation of citizenry, enhance mutual accountability, and ensure…

Links to soil and land resources can be found throughout the SDGs. Achieving the agenda as a package – particularly the goals and targets related to poverty eradication, food security, health, gender, water, energy, cities, climate change, and the protection of terrestrial ecosystems – will depend…

The outlook for developing East Asia is expected to remain broadly positive in the next three years, with growth driven by robust domestic demand and a gradual recovery in the global economy and commodity prices. China’s economy will grow 6.5 percent in 2017 and 6.3 percent in 2018, compared with 6…

Ahead of the G7 meeting held in Taormina, Italy, from 26-27 May 2017, the NATO Parliamentary Assembly’s Science and Technology Committee issued a special report titled ‘Food and Water Security in the Middle East and North Africa,’ calling for increased international development support on water and…

Developing East Asia and Pacific is expected to grow at 6.4% in 2017, exceeding expectations. Better global prospects and continued strong domestic demand are supporting this positive outlook. China is expected to grow at 6.7% in 2017, the same pace as in 2016 before slowing gradually in 2018-19.…

Natural solutions such as tree planting, protecting peatlands and better land management could account for 37% of all cuts needed by 2030, says study

Soil pollution implies the presence of chemicals and materials in soil that have a significant adverse effect on any organisms or soil functions. Soil pollutants include inorganic and organic compounds, some organic wastes and the so-called “chemicals of emerging concern” in amendments added to…

Highlights Remote sensing productivity indicators identified improvements in areas with sustainable land management. At least 10 years from the intervention establishment were needed for the impact to be detected. The impacts of some sustainable land management practices were not detected,…

The Puna region, located in NW Argentina, is a dry highland with many endemic species and significant traditional cultural heritage. The Puna was a pilot region for the Land Degradation Assessment in Drylands project (LADA-FAO) which aimed at assessing desertification status in different land use…