Soil Across Sectors and Daily Life

As you have learned in previous modules, the ecosystem services provided by soil functions extend across societal domains, affecting people and systems both directly and indirectly. 

Soils regulate water flows, support biodiversity, influence climate processes, support the construction of infrastructures, and underpin material and food systems. Through these roles, soil is closely connected to urban development, landscape planning, ecosystem management, industry, education, and consumption. 

© Soil across sectors and land uses by Dietmar Rabich / Wikimedia Commons / “Ennigerloh, Zementwerk Elsa -- 2014 -- 8677” / CC BY-SA 4.0 

As a result, responsibility for soil protection is distributed across multiple actors, including: 

• decision-makers 
• planners and designers 
• land managers 
• businesses 
• educators 
• communities 
• citizens 

Soil is neither governed within a single sector nor influenced by a single group.