Soil security—Strategizing a sustainable future for soil

A transdisciplinary approach for assessing connections between soil, food, and people in Aotearoa New Zealand

“…There is a growing disconnection between soil and people as the global population becomes increasingly urbanised Goburdhone & Dombroski, 2023;Harrison et al, 2012;Kannemeyer et al, 2022;Knight & Riggs, 2010). A number of soil scientists have discussed the importance of reestablishing these connections, particularly in urban populations, recognising the need to value the soil resource, and contributing to its sustainable use (Evangelista et al, 2024;Koch et al, 2013;Lal et al, 2021;McBratney et al, 2014). Understanding connectivity between people and soil is complex and multi-dimensional (Ball et al, 2018;Evangelista et al, 2024), requiring innovative approaches that extend beyond disciplinary boundaries to understand and address the (dis)connections Steffan et al, 2018).…”

“…There is an expanding body of research that seeks to understand soil connectivity from a variety of different academic perspectives. These include evaluating the plurality of values placed on soil (Kannemeyer et al, 2022), introducing concepts such as soil security (Evangelista et al, 2024;McBratney et al, 2014), engaging with agrifood systems (Field, 2020;McGreevy et al, 2022), enquiries of human-soil relations and cultures of care in the ecological humanities (Puig de la Bellacasa, 2019), and soil-centred education (Field, 2020;Lobry de Bruyn et al, 2017;McElwee, 2021). Many of these focus on connecting people to soil; however, there is a paucity in understanding what these connections look like for consumers, particularly in place-based contexts, applying generalist approaches.…”