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Soils: The Foundation of Life: Proceedings of a Workshop–in Brief
Proceedings of a Workshop
August 2017
Soils: The Foundation of Life
Proceedings of a Workshop—in Brief
On World Soils Day, December 5, 2016, the U.S.
National Committee for Soil Sciences convened a
workshop on Soils: The Foundation of Life in Washington,
DC. The purpose of the workshop was to increase
awareness of the complexity of the roles and great
importance of soils to national security, food and
nutritional security, water quality and renewability,
climate change mitigation and adaptation, human
health, biological diversity, and more. In each of these
areas, presenters spoke on the incorporation of scientific
concepts in decisions made at different scales, from
national and state policy to the choices that consumers
make every day. A panel discussion followed on how
soil science can meet the challenges of today and the
future. In afternoon breakout sessions, participants
discussed opportunities to bring soil-related issues to the
forefront and engage policy makers, the public, and other
stakeholders.
Expanding beyond the traditional discipline of
soil science, the workshop drew about 160 participants in
person and virtually from academia, government, research
and nonprofit institutions, and industry. It was sponsored
by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Delaware
Environmental Institute, METER Group, and Soil Science
Society of America.
Copyright National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.
IN BRIEF
In the opening session, Donald Sparks
(University of Delaware; chair of the U.S. National
Committee for Soil Sciences) welcomed participants to
the workshop, shared its objectives, and laid out the
agenda for the day.
“The study of soils has never been more important.
If we look at all these major challenges that we are
facing today, in terms of climate change, sea-level
rise, contamination, food security, infrastructure
needs, national and international security, soils are at
the middle of every one of those topics.”—Donald
Sparks
SOILS AND SOCIETY
“Those of us who study soils recognize the myriad ways
they touch our everyday lives, but for many people,
the intersections with nature and human-built systems
are surprising,” said Patrick Megonigal (Smithsonian
Environmental Research Center) as he opened the
morning session. Nine presenters then expanded on what
Megonigal described as “the intersections between soils
and some of the things that as a society we consider most
important."
Soils: The Foundation of Life: Proceedings of a Workshop–in Brief

National Security “The intersections between nature and human-built

Jo Handelsman (White House Office of Science and
Technology Policy) highlighted the value of soil to food
security, climate mitigation, water quality and availability,
bioenergy, human health, and biodiversity.1 Despite the
importance of healthy soil,2 global policies and plans
devote little attention to the resource. For example, soil is
the single largest filter of water, yet it rarely comes up in
discussions about water quality. Soil captures and stores
carbon (C); through decomposition, a portion of this
C is released into the atmosphere—thus, an important
consideration in climate change. In relation to human
health, two-thirds of our antibiotics come from the soil.
Discoveries of new compounds may be a solution for
antibiotic resistance, which the World Health Organization
calls “one of the biggest threats to global health, food
security, and development today.”
Challenges that threaten soils include changes
in land use and cover, unsustainable land-management
and agricultural practices, and climate and environmental
changes. Sharing data from Iowa, Handelsman showed
that estimates of projected soil loss range from 5 tons per
acre per year to as much as 100 tons—at this extreme
rate, she said, Iowa’s soil would be depleted by 2025.
Handelsman observed that an airplane flight over the
middle of the United States during many months of the
year shows that soil in the Midwest frequently lies open
and uncropped, leading to soil degradation and loss.
Planting cover crops is a simple but important way to
conserve soil.
Handelsman stated that policies to stem the
loss of soil have had success, but more effort is needed.
She announced the release of The State and Future of
U.S. Soils, a framework for a strategic plan that spells
out future priorities and commitments by agencies and
collaborating organizations to achieve them.3 “We have
a lot to celebrate in terms of the breadth and depth of
commitment to soil in the past few years, but we must
redouble our efforts,” she concluded.
systems are fundamentally at the base of some of the
things that we as a society consider most important—
the security of food and water, our national security
and the viability of the natural systems on which we
depend.” —Patrick Megonigal
Climate Change and Sea-Level Rise
To provide context for the rest of the discussions, Susan
Trumbore (Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry
and University of California, Irvine) explained how soils
form and function. Soils develop when rocks interact
with air, water, and biota (microorganisms and other
living things). They decompose organic matter, supply
energy, and recycle nutrients. Soil properties vary greatly,
given the Earth’s range of rocks, plants, and climates. For
example, soils in the tropics are characterized by high
inputs, fast decomposition, and efficient recycling, while
boreal soils in colder climates have moderate inputs, slow
decomposition, and inefficient recycling in terms of how
quickly or in which proportion the nutrients in litter and/
or peat are taken up by soil biota.
Soils play a key role in the global C cycle.
Trumbore explained that more than 1,500 billion metric
tons (Gt) of C are stored in the top meter of soil alone.
The amount of C stored in soil is more than the amount of
C in the atmosphere and vegetation combined. Given this
massive quantity of C, humans’ soil usage affects climate
change. Land management contributes to climate change
through conversion of forestland to cropland and pasture,
which can decrease soil C storage by up to 50 percent
over 30 years,4 she said. The amount of C released to the
atmosphere increases when land is tilled or left fallow after
harvesting crops. Livestock practices can compact soil and
the livestock byproducts/waste products increase methane
(CH4) emissions, and it has been shown that improperly
used synthetic N fertilizers add nitrous oxide (N2O) to the
atmosphere.5 Both CH4 and N2O are potent greenhouse
gases, with 21 to 310 times higher global warming
potential than carbon dioxide (CO2) over 20-year time

1
Rapporteur’s note: Soil is important to national security because the ability of the soil system to sustain biological productivity and all the
other factors listed by Handelsman are at the core of a nation’s concerns for its well-being. Degradation of the soil resource and compromise
of the ability of the soil system to support human communities is likely to lead to or exacerbate conflicts over resources such as food, water,
and nutrients (especially phosphorus).
2
Soil health has been defined as “the continued capacity of soil to function as a vital living system, within ecosystem and land-use boundaries,
to sustain biological productivity, promote the quality of air and water environments, and maintain plant, animal, and human health.”
3
Subcommittee on Ecological Systems, Committee on Environment, Natural Resources, and Sustainability of the National Science and
Technology Council. (2016). The State and Future of U.S. Soils: Framework for a Federal Strategic Plan for Soil Science.
4
Amundson, R. 2001. The carbon budget in soils. Annual Review of Earth and Planetary Sciences, 29: 535-562.
5
Millar, N., J.E. Doll, and G.P. Robertson. 2014. Management of nitrogen fertilizer to reduce nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions from field crops.
Extension Bulletin E3152. East Lansing, MI, USA: Michigan State University.
2
Copyright National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.
Soils: The Foundation of Life: Proceedings of a Workshop–in Brief

horizons.6 Analyses of gas trapped in ice bubbles indicate

a rapid rise in these three greenhouse gases—CO2, CH4,
and N2O—especially since the 1950s.

But the news is not all bad, Trumbore said.

Soils also can recapture a significant percentage of C
released into the atmosphere. Researchers are working
to understand these processes better, which seem to
occur through forest regrowth and improved agricultural
practices. This capability presents opportunities, Trumbore
said. An increase of just four parts per thousand (0.4
percent) in the quantity of C already captured in soil could
halt the annual increase of CO2 in the atmosphere. She
pointed to the launch of a global, voluntary initiative with
this goal in mind.7 Practices such as applying fertilizers
more efficiently and using crop methods that minimize
CH4 emissions can help meet the global demand for food
while mitigating climate change.

Yet what will happen to soils in a warmer world

remains uncertain. Arctic warming has the potential
to release large stores of frozen organic C from soils
into the atmosphere. Trumbore cited one study which
concluded that 5 to 15 percent of C in the permafrost
zone is vulnerable to release as greenhouse gas within
this century.8 Since food will need to be grown under
Figure 1. Severe soil erosion in a wheat field near Wash-
more challenging circumstances, more care will need to
ington State University.
be taken to prevent the release of additional CO2 to the
Photo credit: Jack Dykinga
atmosphere by intensive cultivation operations.

“Our challenge for the next decade is to use the best
science to balance the increased demand for growing
food with the consequences of climate change.”
—Susan Trumbore
Torbjörn Törnqvist (Tulane University)
reported on research showing that coastal wetlands are
vulnerable to disappearing as sea levels rise. Why the
concern about wetlands and their soils? “Coastal wetlands
are a foundation of life,” Törnqvist explained, in that they
function as a nursery for marine life, provide storm surge
reduction, are used for recreation, serve as a C sink, and
provide support for pipelines and other infrastructure.
In economic terms, these ecosystem services provide an
estimated $200,000 per hectare per year.
Louisiana is home to 40 percent of the coastal
wetlands in the contiguous United States. The state
is losing wetlands at a rate of about one football field
(about 1 acre, or about 2/5 of a hectare) per hour, as
measured through the Coastwide Reference Monitoring
System.9 The research conducted by Törnqvist and his
colleagues focuses on how soils are evolving in coastal
Louisiana as the sea level rises. They have been using
several monitoring techniques on close to 400 sites in
the Mississippi Delta and Chenier Plain in southwestern
Louisiana. “These wetlands are dynamic, so you can
measure changes over relatively short time scales,” he
explained. They concluded that the Chenier Plain, which
has limited sediment input, will likely disappear by 2050
with accelerated sea-level rise. The Delta, which has high
sediment input, shows some promise in the short term
but resilience is likely to be limited.

6
Available at https://www.epa.gov/ghgemissions/understanding-global-warming-potentials.
7
For more information, see “4 per 1000,” http://4p1000.org/understand.
8
Schuur, E.A.G., et al. (2015). Climate change and the permafrost carbon feedback. Nature 520 (7546):171-179.
9
For more information, see Coastwide Reference Monitoring System, USGS in the Gulf of Mexico, https://gom.usgs.gov/web/Projects/View/2.

3
Copyright National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.
Soils: The Foundation of Life: Proceedings of a Workshop–in Brief
Figure 2. Surface-elevation measurement in a marsh near Myrtle Grove, Louisiana.
Photo credit: Torbjörn Törnqvist
This dataset is the most detailed of its kind,
Megonigal explained when Törnqvist concluded his
presentation. Although it focuses on a specific region,
“what you see here is occurring elsewhere.”
Water, Health, and Food Security
Starting with water security, Henry Lin (Pennsylvania
State University) explained the link between soils and
water quantity and quality. Water is classified as blue
(e.g., rivers, streams, ponds, reservoirs, other bodies of
water), gray (e.g., wastewater, along streets, in utility
corridors), or green (e.g., contained in soils in forests,
agricultural lands and buffers, and other areas). Lin shared
his vision of what he termed a Brown Evolution (i.e. to
care for, maintain, and create healthy soils through the
implementation of a comprehensive soil conservation
policy). This approach should be combined with a Blue
Evolution (i.e., combating the looming global freshwater
crisis and preventing water pollution to achieve water
sustainability in ways that are environmentally sound and
economically feasible).
Soil and plants absorb more than 60 percent of
total precipitation, most of which is released back into the
air through evapotranspiration and is normally unavailable
for withdrawal. Of every 13 gallons (the capacity of
a compact car’s fuel tank) of water on Earth, only 10
4
Copyright National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.
drops are fresh water. Thus, “how we manage water is
very important,” Lin said. While most water use comes
from “blue” sites, he suggested an integrated green-
blue-gray approach to provide freshwater and manage
pollution through such measures as green and eco-roofs,
stormwater wetlands, and bioswales. “Green water is an
overlooked resource,” Lin stated.
Too little water in soils can result in dust-bowl
conditions; too much water, in massive landslides.
Droughts are expected to intensify in the coming
decades. Adoption of precision irrigation in agriculture,
which targets irrigation as needed, is slow. Faced with
challenges such as these, Lin suggested five paths to
securing a foundation of sustainability through resource
management: (1) moving from a blue-only to a green-
blue-gray approach in land-water management; (2)
basing planning and consumption of the planet’s water
footprint (i.e., water-dependent economic activities
encouraged in water-rich areas and discouraged in
water-short areas); (3) advancing the scientific frontiers
of hydropedology (integrated water and soil sciences);
(4) promoting interdisciplinary science in observatories
that study the Earth’s critical zone (the layer of the planet
from treetops to groundwater); and (5) cultivating a land-
water ethic to realize the dream of the Brown and Blue
Evolutions.
Soils: The Foundation of Life: Proceedings of a Workshop–in Brief
Figure 3. Aerial view of degrading marsh in southeastern Louisiana.
Photo credit: United States Geological Survey
Turning to health, José Centeno (International
Medical Geology Association) discussed how his discipline
focuses on the intersection of medicine, geology, and
geography. One aspect of the field is to understand the
interrelationship between soils and human health. Soils
are important to human health in numerous ways: the
crops and water humans consume are grown in or have
been in contact with soil, as have livestock and other
animals; the air humans breathe may contain dust,
which is largely composed of soil; some children and
adults eat soil; and many medicines fundamental for
human health are derived from organisms within soil.
Deficiencies in minerals and trace elements in soil affect
human health: while healthy soils support human and
ecosystem health, selenium-deficient and iodine-deficient
soils negatively influence human health. About 2 billion
people are at risk of iodine deficiency disorders caused
by a lack of naturally occurring iodine in soils; millions of
others live in areas with low-selenium soils. Dust creates
hazards that range from impaired visibility to transmittal
of harmful physical, chemical, or biological substances.
Soil-generated dust has led to disease and infections, for
example, the reemergence of the infectious Valley Fever
in the southwestern U.S. and elsewhere. Centeno urged
greater interaction between the soil science and public
health communities.
5
Copyright National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.
The third speaker in this portion of the workshop
focused on food security. As Pedro Sánchez (University
of Florida) explained, food security is a state in which all
people in a certain geographical area have physical, social,
and economic access to sufficient, safe, and nutritious
food that meets their dietary needs and food preferences
for an active and healthy life. While pockets of hunger
persist today, especially in South Asia and Africa, food
insecurity has declined over the past 25 years, even as the
population has grown.
Sánchez touched on four challenges that
remain. First, nutrition security is the next big challenge,
to ensure people consume not only sufficient calories, but
also sufficient proteins, fats, and micronutrients. More
than 2 billion people suffer “hidden hunger,” in which a
chronic lack of vitamins and minerals can lead to mental
impairment, poor health and productivity, and possible
death. Second, choices must be made about sustainable
intensification (more intensively using current agricultural
land) versus extensification (expanding to new lands,
including clearing of forests). Third, research on tropical
soils, which were once considered useless for agriculture
because of their acidity, has shown promise, and further
work needs to be supported.
Soils: The Foundation of Life: Proceedings of a Workshop–in Brief

Figure 4. A dust storm near Lubbock, Texas, in June 2010. When strong winds carry away soil, microbes in the soil
can act like hitchhikers and go along for the ride. ARS scientists are studying the soil microbes carried in the wind and
shedding light on wind erosion effects on soil quality.
Photo credit: Scott Van Pelt

The fourth challenge involves increasing crop
yields in Africa. Cereal yields in Africa remain the lowest
in the world: an estimated 1 ton per hectare versus 3
tons in south and east Asia and 10 tons in North America,
Europe, and Japan. Poor soils result in these low yields,
reducing capital available to African households. This
lack of capital prevents investments in soil nutrients, thus
perpetuating the problem. A broken or nonexistent value
chain, from the soil inputs through production, processing
and storage, and marketing further hampers progress.
Increases in crop yield will require a major political
commitment, improvements in market and infrastructure,
awareness, and many other factors.
Biodiversity
New tools have led to greater understanding of the
biodiversity within soils in recent years, according to
Diana Wall (Colorado State University). This biodiversity
benefits humanity and ecosystems. Soils are at the center
of global agendas—relevant to health, water, climate
change, and other concerns—yet the life in soil itself is
often ignored. The Global Soil Biodiversity Initiative
(GSBI) has accelerated knowledge on soils and increased
recognition about the importance of soil biodiversity.
Soil is a dynamic habitat. One-quarter of the
Earth’s diversity lies below ground, as many as 100 million
different organisms. As an example, an area of about
3.5 km2 in New York City’s Central Park revealed almost
200,000 bacterial and eukaryotic species, most previously
unknown.10 Most organisms are found in a single or
in very few places. They provide food for wildlife and
humans, suppress pathogens, regulate decomposition,
enhance above-ground decomposition, filter water, and
serve as a reservoir for new pharmaceuticals.
Threats to soil biodiversity include land-use
change, climate change, desertification, invasive species,
sealing (paving over soil), pollution, soil compaction, and
erosion. Reduced soil biodiversity, Wall pointed out, affects
human, animal, and plant health. Wall called attention to
the June 2016 publication of the Global Soil Biodiversity
Atlas11 (freely available online), which compiles data
and methods to integrate soil biodiversity in land
management. “We can’t breathe, eat, drink, or be healthy
without sustainably managing soils,” she concluded.

10
Ramirez, K.S. et al. 2014. Biogeographic patterns in below-ground diversity in New York City’s Central Park are similar to those observed
globally. Proc. R. Soc. B 281: 20141988. http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2014.1988.
11
Available at https://globalsoilbiodiversity.org/node/271.
6
Copyright National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.
Soils: The Foundation of Life: Proceedings of a Workshop–in Brief
“There’s so much new knowledge coming along. For
example, related to soil biodiversity, how it relates to
ecosystem function, how the organisms in soil support
our everyday lives, our health, the food we eat, what we
drink.” —Diana Wall
Cities and Built Infrastructure
The last segment of the session on soils and society looked
at soils in urban environments and at the relationship of
soils to built infrastructure throughout the country.
Peter Groffman (City University of New York)
focused on soils in the urban environment and the field
of urban systems science. “To address problems, we must
address humans as part of the system, not external to
it,” Groffman said. Fundamental human-environment
interactions occur every day, in people’s yards and
neighborhoods in urban, suburban, and exurban areas
across the country.
Land use changes have led to the “ecological
homogenization” of the country in which development
creates similar residential landscapes. Research funded
by the National Science Foundation (NSF) is looking
at the effects of this homogenization on biodiversity,
C and N levels, water, microclimates, quality of life,
and other factors in six metropolitan areas with very
different climates: Baltimore, Boston, Los Angeles, Miami,
Minneapolis, and Phoenix. One aspect of the study is
to understand why people make the land-use choices
they do—for example, to maintain lawns rather than
landscaping in keeping with natural conditions—and the
ecological implications that may result. Residential land
use, Groffman suggested, is often behavior–based. Social
and ecological sciences need to work together in cities
and other areas where human-environment interactions
are so crucial.
Christopher Meehan (University of Delaware)
looked at the role of soils in the built environment—
including roads, bridges, levees, building construction,
and other infrastructure. The current state of infrastructure
in the United States is poor, with an estimated $3.6 trillion
needed to improve it.12 The 2007 Mississippi River bridge
collapse near Minneapolis, the 2005 Hurricane Katrina
levee failures in New Orleans, and the 2008 TVA Kingston
slurry spill in Roane County, TN are just some examples
of infrastructure failures that had disastrous ecological
and economic consequences. Soil is the source of most
2013 Report Card for America’s Infrastructure, American Society of Civil Engineers. http://www.infrastructurereportcard.org/a/#p/home.
12
Mann, C. “Our Good Earth: The future rests on the soil beneath our feet (Special Issue: “Where Food Begins”)” National Geographic
13
Magazine, September 2008: 80-107.
7
Copyright National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.
construction materials (either by itself or as an ingredient
of other materials). It serves as a support on which
building foundations, roads, pilings, and other structures
rest. Soils and soil-lining systems are critical to landfills and
other waste containment systems, including hazardous
waste.
Earthquakes, landslides, and other phenomena
affect the built environment. “People need to understand
the built environment’s interface with soil,” Meehan
said. In their work, engineers look at the strength,
compressibility, and permeability of soil. Emerging
areas focus on innovative techniques to improve the
engineering behavior of soils in a cost-efficient way,
and on soil behavior at the micro scale. Soil chemical
and biological modifications, as well as research into
geothermal energy, represent new opportunities for the
infrastructure of the future.
“The solution to a lot of problems we face is good
dialogue between scientists, engineers, and policy
makers. That is the three-legged stool on which change
is built.” —Christopher Meehan
BUILDING BRIDGES TO THE PUBLIC
Photojournalism is a powerful way to present
environmental issues to the public, suggested Dennis
Dimick (a former editor at National Geographic). As
an example, he discussed a special issue of the 2008
magazine that he coordinated, entitled “Where Food
Begins.”13 Images powerfully depicted the importance
of soil to people’s well-being. Throughout the rest of
the workshop, participants returned to the need to find
the best way to communicate with policymakers and
the general public through images and stories like those
shared by Dimick.
PANEL DISCUSSION ON SOILS: THE DISCIPLINE
AND THE RESOURCE
Asmeret Asefaw Berhe (University of California,
Merced) posed a series of questions to launch
the afternoon panel session: What should the soil
community’s future goals be? How can we keep the issues
of soils at the forefront? How can we align the visions
of the soil science community with those of the wider
community going forward? A panel consisting of Richard
Pouyat (White House Office of Science and Technology
Soils: The Foundation of Life: Proceedings of a Workshop–in Brief

Box 1-1. Sample of Statistics Presented by the Workshop Speakers

• Estimates of projected soil depletion in the state of Iowa range from a loss of 5 tons/acre/year to as much as
100 tons/acre/year. (Jo Handelsman)
• An increase by 0.4 percent in the quantity of C contained in soils—through improved agriculture and other
techniques—could halt the annual increase of CO2 in the atmosphere. (Susan Trumbore)
• The economic value of coastal wetland ecosystems is estimated at $200,000/hectare/year. (Torbjörn Törnqvist)
• Of every 13 gallons of water on Earth, only 10 drops are fresh water. (Henry Lin)
• About 2 billion people are at risk of iodine deficiency disorders caused by a lack of naturally occurring iodine in
soils; millions of others live in areas with low-selenium soils. (José Centeno)
• While pockets of hunger persist today, especially in South Asia and Africa, food insecurity has declined over the
past 25 years. (Pedro Sánchez)
• One-quarter of the Earth’s biodiversity lives below ground, with millions of unique organisms. (Diana Wall)

Policy), Sally Brown (University of Washington), Colin Bringing in new stakeholders is one way to promote soil
Campbell (METER Group), and Steven Shafer (Soil science, and he pointed to an initiative that has placed
Health Institute) responded to Berhe’s questions, followed 10,000 weather stations in schools across Africa as a step
by a discussion session. in the right direction.

Looking to the future, Pouyat called for a “soil

movement” and consistent messaging that resonates
beyond agriculture. Eighty percent of the U.S. population
lives in urban areas, he pointed out, and they can link to
soils where they live—from parks to backyards to a patch
of soil alongside the pavement. He also stressed the value
in engaging people to collect data and promote food
security. We need to collaborate, he stressed, because
solutions will not come from just one sector of society.

Brown suggested greater involvement with the

food industry and environmental groups. For example,
the Soil Health Roadmap, a partnership between General
Mills and The Nature Conservancy, outlines steps related
to science, economics, and policy to expand soil
management across more U.S. land.14 She also referred
participants to efforts to monetize the value of soil
conservation and other environmental improvements,
such as by Earth Economics, an organization based
in Tacoma, WA, that applies economic tools to
environmental decision making.15

Campbell stressed the need to involve soil

Figure 5. Sally Brown in her Washington garden with
science in land-use decisions. He lamented that the
onions grown in a soil fertilized with biosolids.
government did not turn to soil science in the aftermath
Photo credit: Sally Brown
of Japan’s Fukushima nuclear reactor disaster in 2011.
14
“Healthy soils could deliver nearly $50 billion in benefits annually.” The Nature Conservancy, November 1, 2016. http://www.nature.org/
newsfeatures/pressreleases/healthy-soils-could-deliver-nearly-50b-in-benefits-annually.xml.
15
For more information, see http://www.eartheconomics.org/about-us.

8
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Soils: The Foundation of Life: Proceedings of a Workshop–in Brief
To Shafer, “soil health is a great integrating
principle” because, as the morning speakers highlighted,
it affects humans in so many ways. The general public
may not want to or need to understand all the technical
aspects, he said, but they do want to know about the
problems and the impact of possible solutions. Economic
analysis is critical because it can lead to policies and soil-
related incentives and disincentives.
Issues raised during the discussion session
included the importance of messages, the opportunities
and limitations of urban agriculture, and the need to
teach soil science in other disciplines, at all grade levels,
and in different settings. A participant noted the power
of stories related to soil. Urban agriculture social media
were suggested as ways to bring home the message
that “soil is the foundation of food.” Berhe noted that
many of her students have connected with the message
about the antibiotics discovered from soils. Community
composting and outdoor education for young children
can also provide valuable experiences. Dimick agreed with
the need to appeal to people’s enlightened self-interest
as an entry point to other issues related to soil health.
The geoscience community should work together on
earth science-related topics; collaboration is important,
suggested one participant. Another noted that people
tend to react to a public health crisis, such as drinking-
water contamination in Flint, MI, while “soil in crisis is
a longer game.” The message must transcend political
divisions, another participant pointed out: “We have to
care [about soil] no matter who we are; it is a question of
our future.”
BREAKOUT SESSIONS
Participants divided into five small breakout groups
organized by the topics addressed in the morning plenary
session: climate change and sea-level rise; water, health,
and food security; biodiversity; cities and built infrastructure
(urban); and national security. The breakout groups
considered the same set of questions and then reported
to the plenary at the end of the afternoon. Sample
comments are provided below.
1) What are the most compelling issues to address
in the next decade?
Several participants of the biodiversity breakout
group, moderated by Mary Beth Adams (USDA-Forest
Service), mentioned the value of more data linking soil
biodiversity with soil health and ecosystem services,
along with a better understanding of the variability across
scales or when changes occur. Multiple participants in
9
Copyright National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.
the climate change and sea-level rise group, moderated by
Rodrigo Vargas (University of Delaware), stated that
changes in temperature and precipitation will affect soils;
and that, conversely, healthy soils can help buffer against
some of the impacts of climate change. Some added that
soil erosion will worsen without action to stop it because
climate change leads to more intense rain events that
likely mobilize considerable amounts of topsoil, especially
on lands under intensive cultivation. Several participants
of the urban breakout group, moderated by Alain Plante
(University of Pennsylvania), mentioned that Goal 11 of
the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals—“Making cities
inclusive, safe, resilient, and sustainable”—requires healthy
soil and soil ecosystem services; and that because the
study of soils in built environments is recent, knowledge
of the basic functions, processes, and properties is lacking.
Some of the participants in the national security breakout
group, whose moderator was Ronald Checkai (U.S.
Army Edgewood Chemical Biological Center), stated that
food and water insecurity lead to political disruption such
as war and migration; and that, conversely, economic
and political stability depend on access to land and land
tenure. A few participants also said that the effect of
climate change on soils near military facilities, including
the cost of cleanup, and the ability to deploy in an
emergency, is important. Several participants in the
water, food, and health breakout group, moderated by
Alfred Hartemink (University of Wisconsin, Madison),
said that improved agricultural techniques, management
of freshwater resources, integrating science into the
regulatory landscape, and sustainable agriculture will
affect soil health and water and food security, as well as
human health.
2) What topics do you find surprise the public,
regulators, or politicians, and how can the science-
policy-perception gaps be bridged?
Participants of the climate change breakout group
discussed the fact that soil is alive, and it forms very
slowly. Sea levels are rising because of climate change, but
problems can be mitigated with action. A few participants
in the national security breakout group mentioned that
soils and national security are related through droughts,
dams, and other issues. In the biodiversity breakout group,
one participant said that “Soil can kill you and cure
you”—on the one hand, pathogenic organisms can harm
humans, but the next treatment for antibiotic-resistant
infections that comes from soils could be just around the
corner. Members of the water, food, and health breakout
group suggested that moving from research to practice
takes time—more time than most non-scientists expect—
and the challenge to bridge the gap between science
and policy remains. Science often deals in nuance, but
Soils: The Foundation of Life: Proceedings of a Workshop–in Brief
policymakers need more clear-cut answers. Weather
forecasting may provide a good example of how to
communicate uncertainty, some suggested.
3) How can the support and resources needed be
mobilized, and interests of agencies, industry,
foundations, and others be leveraged more
effectively?
Several participants from the climate-change
breakout group indicated that farmers see the changes
created by climate change, whatever the cause, and are
receptive to the need to adapt their practices. Scientists
should communicate with them and other stakeholders
through social media, extension services, and other
means to deliver messages about soil health, they said.
Several participants in the urban breakout group talked
about how the public is increasingly interested in urban
agriculture, green infrastructure, and green spaces. There
are scientific frontiers to explore related to soil formation
and rates, sourcing of materials, paradigms for mapping
urban soils, soil contamination and remediation, and
spatial variability. In the national security breakout group,
some of the participants noted that partners include
multinationals who want to protect their investments,
private-sector research and development, philanthropic
foundations, citizen engagement, and others, and that the
messages need to be simplified. A few participants in the
biodiversity breakout group mentioned that citizen science
projects can help in broad sampling and understanding
of the microbiome in many places, and that programs in
which soil scientists serve as policy interns in professional
societies, universities, and other programs are important
to frame information about soils. Some of the water, food
security, and health breakout group participants mentioned
that it is essential to explain why the research being
undertaken matters. Scientists and other groups need to
engage in the applied transfer of research outcomes and
discoveries, they said.
4) Does the workforce exist to address the issues,
and what innovative outreach vehicles can deliver
the soils message to the wider public?
Several participants in the urban breakout group
observed that historically, “farm kids” populated soil
science programs in universities, and that these programs
need to evolve to address the interdisciplinary aspects
of urban systems to reach new student populations. A
few participants from the national security breakout group
suggested that infographics can convey information
about soils to the wider public and that partnerships
For more background on this topic, Amundson referred participants to an Arthur M. Sackler colloquium, convened in 2012 by the National
16
Academy of Sciences, on the Science of Science Communication. http://www.nasonline.org/programs/sackler-colloquia/about-the-sackler-
colloquia.html.
10
Copyright National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.
between researchers and other stakeholders can provide
firm information on the science. Some of the biodiversity
breakout group participants noted that many young
scientists from other disciplines are interested in soils—
their microbiology, their organisms, and how they
function. Participants in the water, food security, and health
breakout group discussed connections with the public,
perhaps starting with early adopters in both rural and
urban communities, who could be leveraged to gain
greater impact.
COMMUNICATE LIKE A ROCK STAR
Ronald Amundson (University of California, Berkeley)
closed the workshop, underscoring the fact that soil is a
complex system, a system of cycles that exist in balance.
Human interventions through agriculture, development,
and other activities disrupt these cycles. Presenters
throughout the workshop, he noted, discussed ways
to deal with human-induced disruptions in the system.
Convincing people about the important linkages between
soils and other issues of concern requires communication.
Polls consistently show that the public perceives
the economy, distrust of government, and other issues
with a far higher priority than the environment, noted
Amundson. Communication with diverse populations
about the importance of soil security goes beyond
educating with facts. Research into the “science of science
communications” has shown that most people can hear
facts and argue them away if they do not fit with their
existing beliefs, values, and community connections.16 He
suggested an alternate approach—“You don’t lead with
facts. You lead with values to give the facts a fighting
chance.” He cited Bono as an example; the rock musician
garners support for issues, such as debt relief for Africa,
by finding common ground with others, no matter their
political points of view or other beliefs. “We have to
know what is important to our audiences and connect on
points of commonality, explaining issues in terms of their
values systems,” Amundson urged. He made the following
suggestions:
1. In the long term, universities need to
change. Different academic disciplines
are often in separate silos, but science
departments need to connect with policy
and economics.
Soils: The Foundation of Life: Proceedings of a Workshop–in Brief

2. Nongovernmental organizations, Amundson and Ester Sztein (Board on

foundations, and other groups should invest International Scientific Organizations at the National
in the science of science communications to Academies) concluded the workshop by thanking the
understand how best to connect with the sponsors, presenters, attendees, and staff for their
public on soil and other scientific issues. participation.
3. The National Academy of Sciences, National
Science Foundation, and other agencies can “Talking about science involves understanding people as
provide leadership in breaking down silos. much as the Earth.” —Ronald Amundson
He suggested these institutions recognize
sustainability as a science, across disciplines,
and ensure it receives the funding it needs.
4. Talk about soil like a rock star—like Bono
does; connect with people and their value
systems.

Figure 6. Wedowee soils found on upland ridges and side slopes.

Photo credit: John A. Kelley, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service

Figure 7. Watauga Series - Soilscape.

Photo credit: John A. Kelley, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service
11
Copyright National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.
Soils: The Foundation of Life: Proceedings of a Workshop–in Brief

DISCLAIMER: This Proceedings of a Workshop—in Brief has been prepared by Paula Whitacre and Ester Sztein
as a factual summary of what occurred at the workshop. The planning committee’s role was limited to planning and
convening the workshop. The views contained in this Proceedings of a Workshop—in Brief are those of individual
workshop participants and do not necessarily represent the views of all workshop participants, the planning committee, or
the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.

PLANNING COMMITTEE ON SOILS: THE FOUNDATION OF LIFE WORKSHOP: Donald Sparks (Chair, University of
Delaware), Ronald Amundson (University of California, Berkeley), Asmeret Asefaw Berhe (University of California,
Merced), Patrick Megonigal (Smithsonian Institution), William Schlesinger (Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies,
emeritus), and STAFF: Ester Sztein, Assistant Director; and Pamela Gamble, Administrative Assistant, BISO.

We wish to thank Maeve Boland (American Geosciences Institute), Nancy Cavallaro (USDA), Mary Ann Levan (Dela-
ware Nature Society), and Andrew Sharpley (University of Arkansas) for their help in the breakout groups.

REVIEWERS: To ensure that it meets institutional standards for quality and objectivity, this Proceedings of a Workshop—
in Brief was reviewed in draft form by Sally Brown, University of Washington; Alex McBratney, University of Sydney,
Australia; and Garrison Sposito, University of California, Berkeley. The review comments and draft manuscript remain
confidential to protect the integrity of the process.

SPONSORS: This workshop was supported by the United States Department of Agriculture, the Delaware Environmental
Institute, the METER Group, and the Soil Science Society of America.

Presentations and video recordings from the workshop are available at: http://sites.nationalacademies.org/PGA/biso/SS/
PGA_174671.

Suggested citation: National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2017. Soils: The Foundation of Life: Pro-
ceedings of a Workshop—in Brief. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press, doi: https://doi.org/10.17226/24866.

Board on International Scientific Organizations

Policy and Global Affairs

Copyright 2017 by the National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.

Copyright National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.