Soil degradation status in China

Abstract

Soil degradation can be described as either erosion or salinization, depending on the type of soil and the degree of depletion of organic matter in the soil. A fundamental understanding of soil degradation is that its expressions are as diverse as its causes.   China has an area of arable land that is more than 40% degraded, which represents a major problem. There are a number of direct and indirect consequences of soil degradation in China that are reviewed in this paper. As a consequence of soil degradation, nutrient content in soil is lost, salinity increases, acidification increases, and desertification occurs. The importance of soil resources will only increase in the future as the world's population increases to around eight billion. By 2020, the global population will be one-third higher than in 1995, yet food and fiber demand will increase by even greater proportions than in 1995, despite growing incomes, a more diverse diet, and rapid urbanization. As a result of the loss of soil layers that contain organic matter and nutrients, there will be a reduction in the amount of land that can be used for agriculture and a decrease in the amount of land that will produce crops, since the soil will be less fertile and less capable of retaining moisture. In China, the amount of arable land that has been degraded exceeds 40%. As a result of soil degradation, several negative impacts are observed and measured, such as soil nutrient loss, salinization, acidification, and desertification, among others