World’s Soil Resources

Industrial effluents (for example, sulphur and nitrogen oxide gases dissolved in atmospheric precipitation
or transformed to particles, or acidic wastewaters) and nitrogenous fertilizers, such as urea, are typical
anthropogenic inputs of acidity to soils. If these two acidic inputs exceed about 15 percent of the capacity of
soil to neutralize them, acidification increases markedly, with a variety of serious problems arising for both
plant and microbial growth. The potential for generating polluted runoff or drainage water also increases
markedly. Over a 20 year period Guo et al. (2010) documented such increases of acidity in Chinese topsoils,
caused by nitrogen fertilization and acidic deposition. The topsoils investigated showed an average pH
decrease of 0.50, which is quite serious. Other long-term studies document decadal changes in soil acidity
that are even larger (Richter and Markewitz, 2001). Acidic deposition is an important problem in China, but
the acidification caused by nitrogen fertilization was found to be 10 to 100 times greater than that caused by
acid rain. In the principal double-cropping cereal systems of China (wheat-maize, rice-wheat, and rice-rice),
nitrogen fertilizer use efficiencies are only 30 to 50 percent. The progressive acidification of topsoil – as well
as nitrogen pollution of agricultural runoff and drainage – will remain unchecked as long as this low nitrogen
use efficiency is not addressed. Guo et al. (2010) noted that optimal nutrient-management strategies can
significantly reduce nitrogen fertilization rates without decreasing crop yield, thus providing benefits to both
agriculture and water quality.
7.5.3 | Filtering of reused grey water
Nearly 80 percent of urban ‘blue water’ becomes wastewater. At about 100 m3yr -1 per household in the
developed world, wastewater thus represents a rapidly expanding environmental and health challenge,
particularly in urban centres. The ecological footprint of untreated wastewater is unsustainable even in
regions where water is plentiful (e.g. South East Asia), as it may either increase nutrient loads in rivers and
coastal regions or represent a direct hazard to human health. By contrast, arid regions increasingly rely on
treated wastewater for irrigation, often practiced with little consideration of long-term impacts on the soil,
hydrology and ecology of the producing area. The sustainability of this coupled agro-urban hydrological cycle
hinges on proper management to mitigate adverse impacts of long-term wastewater use and avoid potential
collapse of soil ecological functions. Various studies (e.g. Bond, 1998; Assouline and Narkis, 2013) have shown
that, over the long term, even irrigation with wastewater results in significantly increased soil ESP that can
adversely impact soil structure and hydraulic properties. In the absence of proper regulation, irrigation with
wastewater may pose a range of human health and other ecological risks associated with introduction
of pathogenic microorganism into the soil and crop (del Mar et al., 2012). The sustainable management of
wastewater irrigation requires new management strategies including water source mixing, proper selection
and rotation of crops, and avoidance of sensitive soils.
7.5.4 | Processes impacting service provision
Trace elements
Elevated concentrations of potentially toxic trace elements can affect provision of the services that depend
on soils. Trace elements – such as arsenic, cadmium, chromium, lead, mercury, and selenium – naturally occur
in low quantities within soils. They may also be introduced and concentrated through anthropogenic activities
like waste disposal, fertilizer and pesticide application, and atmospheric particulate emission and deposition
(Sparks, 2003; Pierzynski, Vance and Sims, 2005). Even when at low concentrations in soils, they can have
pronounced impacts on water quality. This is particularly the case where the capacity of soils to store trace
elements is exceeded or where there are changes in the soil chemical, physical and/or biological environment
that influence the partitioning of trace elements between the solid and aqueous phases.
Status of the World’s Soil Resources | Main Report The impact of soil change on ecosystem services
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