The new FAO report “State of knowledge of soil biodiversity – Status, challenges and potentialities”, to which the members of the EUdaphobase consortium contributed, is available for free download from the FAO website.
At the celebration ceremony of World Soils Day, established by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and celebrated on 5 December, the report “State of knowledge of soil biodiversity – Status, challenges and potentialities” was presented. Hundreds of specialists from more than 100 countries around the world have united their efforts for a comprehensive analysis of the state of biological diversity of soils, the sustainability of ecosystem functions performed by soil biota, the most serious threats to the stability of soils and their biological diversity, as well as the prospects for further soil-ecological research. This work was coordinated by experts from FAO and the Global Soil Biodiversity Initiative (GSBI).
Several members of EUdaphobase consortium co-authored this highly influential document. They took part in the work of expert groups assessing the current state of soil biodiversity in the world, as well as studying threats to soil stability and functioning.
“The work of hundreds of fellow soil zoologists and ecologists has made it possible to create a comprehensive analytical document that will be useful not only to the expert community, but also to decision-makers in the development of strategic documents related to agriculture, land use and environmental conservation,” said Dr. Konstantin Gongalsky, EUdaphobase consortium representative from the Institute of Ecology and Evolution, Russian Academy of Sciences, Russia and the member of the GSBI expert council.
“This report is especially attractive because it is an interdisciplinary study covering all aspects of conservation, enhancement, and use of the economic potential of biological diversity of soils”, – said Dr. Andrey Zaitsev, the co-author of the report and EUdaphobase Management Committee member from Germany.
Currently, steps are undertaken to translate the Report into other official UN languages.
Link to the STATE of KNOWLEDGE of SOIL BIODIVERSITY report.
