Frontiers in earth observation for global soil properties assessment linked to environmental and socio-economic factors

verfasst von

José A.M. Demattê, Raul R. Poppiel, Jean Jesus Macedo Novais, Nícolas Augusto Rosin, Budiman Minasny, Igor Y. Savin, Sabine Grunwald, Songchao Chen, Yongsheng Hong, Jingyi Huang, Sabine Chabrillat, Quirijn de Jong van Lier, Eyal Ben-Dor, Cecile Gomez, Zhang Ganlin, Merilyn Taynara Accorsi Amorim, Letícia Guadagnin Vogel, Jorge Tadeu Fim Rosas, Robert Milewski, Asa Gholizadeh, Arseniy V. Zhogolev, José Padarian Campusano, Yuxin Ma, Ho Jun Jang, Rudiyanto, Changkun Wang, Rodnei Rizzo, Nikolaos Tziolas, Nikolaos Tsakiridis, Masakazu Kodaira, D. Nagesh Kumar, Subramanian Dharumarajan, Yufeng Ge, Emmanuelle Vaudour, Shamsollah Ayoubi, James Kobina Mensah Biney, Abdelaziz Belal, Salman Naimi Marandi, Najmeh Asgari Hafshejani, Eleni Kalopesa, Danilo Cesar Mello, Marcio Rocha Francelino, Elsayed Said Mohamed Salama, Asmaa Abdelbaki

Abstract

Soil has garnered global attention for its role in food security and climate change. Fine-scale soil-mapping techniques are urgently needed to support food, water, and biodiversity services. A global soil dataset integrated into an Earth observation system and supported by cloud computing enabled the development of the first global soil grid of six key properties at a 90-m spatial resolution. Assessing them from environmental and socio-economic perspectives, we demonstrated that 64% of the world's topsoils are primarily sandy, with low fertility and high susceptibility to degradation. These conditions limit crop productivity and highlight potential risks to food security. Results reveal that approximately 900 Gt of soil organic carbon (SOC) is stored up to 20 cm deep. Arid biomes store three times more SOC than mangroves based on total areas. SOC content in agricultural soils is reduced by at least 60% compared to soils under natural vegetation. Most agricultural areas are being fertilized while simultaneously experiencing a depletion of the carbon pool. By integrating soil capacity with economic and social factors, we highlight the critical role of soil in supporting societal prosperity. The top 10 largest countries in area per continent store 75% of the global SOC stock. However, the poorest countries face rapid organic matter degradation. We indicate an interconnection between societal growth and spatially explicit mapping of soil properties. This soil-human nexus establishes a geographically based link between soil health and human development. It underscores the importance of soil management in enhancing agricultural productivity and promotes sustainable-land-use planning.

Organisationseinheit(en)

Institut für Bodenkunde

Externe Organisation(en)

Universidade de Sao Paulo
Universität Sydney
Dokuchaev Soil Science Institute (SSI)
Peoples' Friendship University of Russia (RUDN)
University of Florida (UF)
ZJU-Hangzhou Global Scientific and Technological Innovation Center (HIC-ZJU)
Zhejiang University (ZJU)
Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS)
University of Wisconsin
GFZ Helmholtz-Zentrum für Geoforschung
Tel Aviv University
Universität Montpellier
Indian Institute of Science (IISc)
Czech University of Life Sciences Prague
New South Wales Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (DCCEEW)
Universiti Malaysia Terengganu
Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (A.U.Th.)
Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology
Indian Institute of Science Bangalore
National Bureau of Soil Survey and Land Use Planning, Nagpur (ICAR)
University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL)
Universität Paris-Saclay
Isfahan University of Technology
University of Manitoba
National Authority for Remote Sensing And Space Sciences
Universidade Federal de Vicosa
Fayoum University (FU)

Typ

Artikel

Journal

Innovation

Band

6

Publikationsdatum

08.09.2025

Publikationsstatus

Veröffentlicht

Peer-reviewed

Ja

ASJC Scopus Sachgebiete

Allgemein

Ziele für nachhaltige Entwicklung

SDG 2 – Kein Hunger, SDG 3 – Gute Gesundheit und Wohlergehen, SDG 13 – Klimaschutzmaßnahmen, SDG 15 – Lebensraum Land

Elektronische Version(en)

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.xinn.2025.100985 (Zugang: Offen)