The Search for the Meaning of Soil Health: Lessons from Human Health and Ecosystem Health

Ee Ling Ng and Junling Zhang
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Ee Ling Ng: School of Agriculture and Food, Faculty of Veterinary and Agricultural Sciences, The University of Melbourne, Victoria 3010, Australia
Junling Zhang: Centre for Resources, Environment and Food Security, College of Resources and Environmental Sciences, Key Laboratory of Plant-Soil Interactions, Ministry of Education, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China

Sustainability, 2019, vol. 11, issue 13, 1-6

Abstract: Soil is central to human wellbeing through its provision of critical ecosystem services, including food and clean water. These services emerge through the self-organising nature of the soil system. Here, we consider the lessons learnt from the evolution of the understanding of human and ecosystem health for the conceptualisation and application of soil health. We share the fundamental and practical challenges of managing the land with respect to soil health, and the need for policy to drive the protection of soil as one of our most important non-renewable natural resources.

Keywords: sustainability; agriculture systems; soil quality; soil fertility; sustainable development goal; smallholder farmers (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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