Introducing the forum and soil diary
Well done! Now let’s move on to the next, more practical exercise. Throughout this course, you will have the opportunity to share your thoughts, insights, as well as photos or videos. You can do this in the discussion forum to connect and exchange ideas with other learners, or by keeping your own soil diary to record discoveries and actions along the way. This diary lets you trace your learning journey from the first to the final day of the MOOC.
What are soil services?
Soils services or – as they are also called – functions are diverse and essential. Soils are closely connected to human well-being, even though many of us are not aware of it. We rely on soils for food, shelter, medicine, and much more – all of which ultimately originates from this vital resource. Have a look at this FAO overview of soil services to understand how soils influence many aspects of human life. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2015). Soils deliver ecosystem services that enable life on Earth – Infographics. https://openknowledge.fao.org/items/314d30e5-6b0c-45e7-9246-3e4786155119 To better grasp the wide range of soil services, we can group them into four main categories: provisioning, regulating, supporting, and cultural services. The provisioning role includes enabling the growth of crops and forests, providing food, wood, and raw materials. Through its regulating functions, soil filters and stores water, recycles nutrients, and hosts organisms that help control diseases, decompose waste, and balance gases like carbon dioxide and nitrogen – key processes for climate stability. Soils also play a supporting role, serving as the physical foundation for buildings, roads, and ecosystems, while giving habitat to countless organisms – from microbes to mammals – that keep the system healthy. Soil formation processes and microbial transformations of nutrients are also considered as supporting services. Finally, soil carries a deep cultural function, shaping traditions, languages, and identities. History shows that soil and society have shaped one another – from affecting the rise and fall of civilisations and the movement of armies to influencing how cultures and countries formed. Soils further inspire art, religion, and storytelling, reflecting humanity’s long relationship with the ground beneath our feet.
The figure about soil functions is small. It's difficult to read the message in it.
What is your connection with soil?
We’ve asked a similar question – What is your connection with soil? – in a Bachelor Soil Geography class at Wageningen University. This is what your fellow students had in mind: Compare the words in the image with your own notes. Did you have similar thoughts? Which of these words feels most new or interesting to you, and why? Share your thoughts in the Forum
Can we include a text box here to answer these questions, or maybe create a link that automatically sends the answers to the forum? The link to the forum is not working.
This section introduces the discussion forum, although learners were already directed to it in the first topic (“What is your connection with soil”). It would be helpful to provide more detailed guidance on how the forum is organized. The section could more clearly highlight the purpose and benefits of using a forum or soil diary in order to motivate learners to actively engage with these resources and choose the option that best fits their preferences.