Laws of sustainable soil management

Abstract - The challenge of doubling the world's food grain production by 2030 is even more daunting because of the decrease in per capita arable land area and renewable fresh water resources; increase in risks of soil and environmental degradation; and threat of decrease in use efficiency of inputs because of the projected climate change. Thus, the need for identifying processes, practices and policies that govern sustainable management of soil resources is more critical now than ever before. The goal is to minimize risks of soil degradation by enhancing its resilience and improving ecosystem services of the finite and fragile soil resource. Here, 10 principles are given for sustainable management of soil. This report is an introductory article of the book Sustainable Agriculture, published by Springer, EDP Sciences (Lichtfouse et al., 2009).