True or False
Physics and Chemistry
Geography
Human Impact
100
Timber harvesting has NO effect on soil sustainability. True or False?
False
Timber harvests can negatively impact soil and affect long-term productivity due to the use of heavy machinery and harvest operations which can compress the soil (compaction), displace or mix the surface organic matter with the mineral soil, or expose low-productivity subsoil
https://www.fs.fed.us/rm/pubs_series/rmrs/gtr/rmrs_gtr421.pdf
100
What is meant by organic content in soil?
Organic material is anything that was alive and is now in or on the soil. For it to become organic matter, it must be decomposed into humus. Leaves, litter of plants and animal droppings decomposed make up organic material
100
What percentage of top soil in the US is degraded (less than 3% organic content)?
100
By when do we expect 90% of Earth's soil degraded?
2050
We have only 60 years of Soil left - UNFAO. 95% of human food is soil based.
200
Our grandparents got as much vitamin A from one orange as we do today from eight .True or False?
Soil depletion has robbed our food of nutrients Quality of our soil has a direct impact on the quality of our food.
● 60% drop in protein in Indian vegetables
● 87% drop in mineral nutrients in US vegetables
● 2 billion people suffer from nutrition deficiency worldwide.
Healthy Soil = Healthy Food = Healthy People
200
What makes up soil?
Soil is composed of both biotic—living and once-living things, like plants and insects—and abiotic materials—nonliving factors, like minerals, water, and air.
Soil is a material composed of five ingredients — minerals, soil organic matter, living organisms, gas, and water
The typical soil consists of approximately 45% mineral, 5% organic matter, 20-30% water, and 20-30% air. These percentages are only generalizations at best. In reality, the soil is very complex and dynamic.
https://www.nationalgeographic.org/encyclopedia/soil-composition/
200
Does Europe do better than America when it comes to soil health?
In Europe, 75% of the soil has an organic content of less than 2%
https://www.eea.europa.eu/data-and-maps/indicators/soil-organic-carbon-1/assessment
200
How does soil help with arresting climate change?
Floods, droughts, global warming
When soil gets degraded, it releases carbon into the air, significantly warming the planet. It loses ability to hold water and increases cost of agriculture with forced irrigation.
300
2 billion people suffer from nutrition deficiency worldwide.True or False
When children do not get enough iron in their food, the results are heartbreaking. They are slower to acquire language, struggle with short-term memory, have poor attention spans and ultimately do less well at school.
300
What is the minimum % of organic content needed in soil for agricultural purposes?
For soil to be used for agricultural purposes, it must have a minimum of 3% organic content.
300
What is the % of soil degradation worldwide?
52% of agricultural soils are already degraded - ELD initiative, 2015. By 2050, 90% of Earth's soil could be degraded - UNCCD, 2020
300
What is the basis of livelihood for 75% of the worlds poor?
Agriculture
Reviving soil quality will increase the income of 75% of the world’s poor who rely on agriculture - World Bank
400
87% of all life on planet Earth depends on soil. True or False
“Essentially, all life depends upon the soil ... There can be no life without soil and no soil without life; they have evolved together.” - Charles E. Kellogg, USDA Yearbook of Agriculture, 1938
400
What is the primary particular matter in soil?
The particles that make up soil are categorized into three groups by size: sand, silt, and clay. Sand particles are the largest and clay particles the smallest. Although a soil could be all sand, all clay, or all silt, that's rare. Instead most soils are a combination of the three.
400
How does Africa fare when it comes to soil degradation?
Currently, 40% of soil in Africa is degraded
Two thirds of Africa is well on track to losing its arable lands by 2030
400
How many species go extinct every year?
27,000 species are getting extinct every year
500
Four billion people experience severe water scarcity for at least one month each year. True or False
- Half of the world’s population could be living in areas facing water scarcity by as early as 2025.
- Some 700 million people could be displaced by intense water scarcity by 2030.
- By 2040, roughly 1 in 4 children worldwide will be living in areas of extremely high water stress.
500
What is largest carbon sink on the planet?
Soil.
A carbon sink is anything that absorbs more carbon from the atmosphere than it releases – for example, plants, the ocean and soil. In contrast, a carbon source is anything that releases more carbon into the atmosphere than it absorbs – for example, the burning of fossil fuels or volcanic eruptions.
500
Is India better than the rest of the world when it comes to soil health?
62% of India’s soil has an organic content of less than 0.5%.
Extractive farm practices such as higher use of chemicals and burning of crop residues are degrading Indian soil and jeopardizing the health of its citizens
500
What are the major global issues we are facing now?
Food Security
Nutritional deficiency
Biodiversity
Climate change
Water Security
Livelihood
