What is CGIAR doing on soil carbon and climate change?
Soil carbon could help mitigate significant greenhouse gas emissions, while also supporting food production and adaptation to climate change.
Towards a global centre of excellence for mining restoration
The scale of mining activities today is greater than ever but so are its environmental and social impacts. Over the past few decades mining has contributed to millions of hectares of land degradation worldwide. Open-pit mining transforms productive...
Put Soils First, African Soil Seminar concludes
For three days, the World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF) was abuzz with stakeholders concerned about the state and fate of Africa’s soils. Over 150 government, UN and NGO officials, researchers, agricultural technology providers and human rights advocates were attending...
Soil inhabitants hold together the planet’s food system
At the launch of the Global Soil Biodiversity Atlas, experts shone a spotlight on the astonishing biodiversity in the soil, which supports food production, clean water, human health, and environmental sustainability. The Global Soil Biodiversity Atlas— the outstanding...
The Soil Scientists’ Lament
It is true that the functions that soils provide and their degradation are not very visible to the public – what is happening to the soil underfoot is not as visible as say smog due to atmospheric pollution, or algal blooms caused by excess nutrients entering our water bodies.
Shining a light below the surface: digital soil maps support decision making
A healthy soil is one that can deliver the benefits, or ecosystem services, that we all depend on. Until recently, limited knowledge about soil health and degradation has been standing in the way of effective policies and interventions....
Restoring land for and with Kenyan pastoralists
Finding ways to remedy the world’s degraded grasslands
A new tool for making big decisions without perfect information
Authors: Eike Luedeling, Lutz Göhring, Keith Shepherd Big decisions with limited information Deciding on big issues without enough information has just gotten a little bit easier. This step forward is facilitated by the release of the decisionSupport R...
Indonesian agriculture isn’t as ‘green’ as planned
Indonesia’s agricultural policies aim to reduce the environmental footprint but actions are incomplete, creating a gap between aspirations and reality Indonesia has embraced sustainable agriculture through a variety of national strategies, such as National Agenda 21, national...
Soil is more than dirt
A gathering of experts organized by the Scientific Committee on Problems of the Environment: Rapid Assessment argues that the management and amount of carbon in soils is critical to our wellbeing Carbon stored in soil in the form...
New evidence proves diverse forests control erosion
Scientists in China have used a new method to tease apart the causes of erosion in a landscape. The results show that diverse forests reduce erosion dramatically Researchers at the World Agroforestry Centre’s East and Central Asia...
Agriculture can mitigate and adapt to climate change
Separating climate-change mitigation and adaptation in agricultural landscapes is counter-productive but can be fixed, say Minh Ha Hoang, Peter Minang and an international team of researchers Addressing climate change, food security and poverty means we have to...
ICRAF scientist joins global soil body’s advisory team
World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF) scientist Bertin Takoutsing has been nominated to an advisory board of the International Union of Soil Sciences (IUSS). He will serve on the board of the union’s commission on pedometrics. Bertin, an engineering graduate...
Two easy entry points for soil fertility management in East Africa’s highlands
Distance from the homestead and soil fertility classes are clear entry points through which to target soil fertility management technologies. This is according to an article published in the Soil Science Society of America Journal by, including others,...