Chemistry Reference
In-Depth Information
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Soil Physical Degradation:
Threats and Opportunities to
Food Security
PAUL D. HALLETT*
a
, KENNETH W. LOADES
a
AND
JULIA KR
¨
MMELBEIN
b
a
The James Hutton Institute, Invergowrie, Dundee, DD2 5DA, United
Kingdom;
b
Lehrstuhl Geopedologie und Landschaftsentwicklung,
Brandenburgische Technische Universit¨ t, Konrad-Wachsmann-Allee 6,
03046 Cottbus, Germany
*E-mail: paul.hallett@hutton.ac.uk
ABSTRACT
Soil physical degradation affects over 1000 million ha of land globally.
It includes compaction, erosion, and the slumping, capping and
hardsetting of seedbeds. Trends in recent years are promising. The
widespread adoption of reduced tillage systems has decreased erosion
and other physical stresses on soils considerably in some regions. New
technologies such as satellite navigation and Controlled Traffic Farming
offer potential to decrease soil damage by limiting wheelings to specific
locations.
Nevertheless, the threat of soil physical damage continues and many
soils are already degraded. Soil compaction is a recognised threat that
could worsen given increasing trends in machinery weight. Simple
problems such as the deterioration of seedbed physical structure after
