Human security at risk as depletion of soil accelerates, scientists warn

Steadily and alarmingly, humans have been depleting Earth's soil resources faster than the nutrients can be replenished. If this trajectory does not change, soil erosion, combined with the effects of climate change, will present a huge risk to global food security over the next century, warns a review paper authored by some of the top soil scientists in the country. Scientists warn that humans have been depleting soil at rates that are orders of magnitude greater than our current ability to replenish it. They say that fixing this imbalance is critical to global food security over the next century. (iStockphoto) The paper singles out farming, which accelerates erosion and nutrient removal, as the primary game changer in soil health. "Ever since humans developed agriculture, we've been transforming the planet and throwing the soil's nutrient cycle out of balance,” said the paper's lead author, Ronald Amundson, a UC Berkeley professor of environmental science, policy and management. "Because the changes happen slowly, often taking two to three generations to be noticed, people are not cognizant of the geological transformation taking place.