Soil Science in Face of New Challenges: Quo Vadis Soil Science?

Authors: Bašić Ferdo

Volume 2, Issue 3

Abstract

Soil is a media of a harmonious flow of matter and energy in terrestrial ecosystems, a condition-ally renewable resource and a unique natural entity. As a “young science” of twentieth century Soil science started and developed dominantly within agricultural and forest sciences. Recently is on crossroads; to stay within agriculture and forestry worrying on soil fertility and other aspects of biomass production in a sustainable way, or orientation on environmental life-sciences, studying of soil-originated terrestrial ecosystem out-puts (SOEE), including of agro ecosystem, as opened and permanent evolution exposed system inspired by needs of ever-higher yields for feeding of increasingly population. We are witnesses of consequences of omnipresence anthropocentric position resulted by terms like; (soil) functions and/or (ecosystem) services, which suggests an unnatural, inferior position of soil/ecosystem, putting them in position “to serve”... or to be “in function” of... We find it is wrong position! If is anybody in these relations in position to be service, it is man – Homo sapiens. Output or effect (instead of service) of soil and/or ecosystem, especially agro ecosystem is multiple and based on “input – output” principles. We are speaking on Soil Originated Ecosystem Effects (SOEE): productive, regulatory; storage; spatial; social and theological effects; Very impressive: all what we see as bio-richness and biodiversity including of some anthropogenic structures and landscape/anthroscape, our body, as well as what we are eating, drinking, breathing and filling (our soul) is soil-inspired, soil-originated and/or soil related/oriented. Quo vadis Soil science? Let us to conclude; the right and correct position of Soil science is within Ecological sciences! 

Keywords: Soil Originated Ecosystem Effects (SOEE)

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