Rethinking Global Soil Degradation: Drivers, Impacts, and Solutions

Abstract The increasing threat of soil degradation presents significant challenges to soil health, especially within agroecosystems that are vital for food security, climate regulation, and economic stability. This growing concern arises from intricate interactions between land use practices and climatic conditions, which, if not addressed, could jeopardize sustainable development and environmental resilience. This review offers a comprehensive examination of soil degradation, including its definitions, global prevalence, underlying mechanisms, and methods of measurement. It underscores the connections between soil degradation and land use, with a focus on socio‐economic consequences. Current assessment methods frequently depend on insufficient data, concentrate on singular factors, and utilize arbitrary thresholds, potentially resulting in misclassification and misguided decisions. We analyze these shortcomings and investigate emerging methodologies that provide scalable and objective evaluations, offering a more accurate representation of soil vulnerability. Additionally, the review assesses both physical and biological indicators, as well as the potential of technologies such as remote sensing, artificial intelligence, and big data analytics for enhanced monitoring and forecasting. Key factors driving soil degradation, including unsustainable agricultural practices, deforestation, industrial activities, and extreme climate events, are thoroughly examined. The review emphasizes the importance of healthy soils in achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, particularly concerning food and water security, ecosystem health, poverty alleviation, and climate action. It suggests future research directions that prioritize standardized metrics, interdisciplinary collaboration, and predictive modeling to facilitate more integrated and effective management of soil degradation in the context of global environmental changes.

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Publication Details

Journal
Reviews of Geophysics
Published
2025-12-01
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1029/2025rg000883
Citations
5
Primary Topic
Soil erosion and sediment transport
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
5.93
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article

Rethinking Global Soil Degradation: Drivers, Impacts, and Solutions

Remus Prăvălie, Philipp Saggau, Kaveh Madani, Christine Alewell et al.
5 citations
Reviews of Geophysics
Soil erosion and sediment transport
5.93
article

Rethinking Global Soil Degradation: Drivers, Impacts, and Solutions

Remus Prăvălie, Philipp Saggau, Kaveh Madani, Christine Alewell, Nils Broothaerts, Inma Lebron, Francis Matthews, Emmanuel Arthur, Pete Smith, David A. Robinson, Amy Thomas, Surya Gupta, Dani Or, Lina Eklund, Panos Panagos, Attila Nemes, Thomas Keller, Tshilidzi Marwala, Matthias C. Rillig, Cathy Hohenegger, Lis Wollesen de Jonge, Per Møldrup, Nima Shokri, Milad Aminzadeh, R.J. Harper, Amirhossein Hassani, Grant L. Campbell, Salomé M. S. Shokri‐Kuehni, Maximilian Kiener, Marziyeh Abbass Zadeh Afshar
article en
5 citations

Abstract

Abstract The increasing threat of soil degradation presents significant challenges to soil health, especially within agroecosystems that are vital for food security, climate regulation, and economic stability. This growing concern arises from intricate interactions between land use practices and climatic conditions, which, if not addressed, could jeopardize sustainable development and environmental resilience. This review offers a comprehensive examination of soil degradation, including its definitions, global prevalence, underlying mechanisms, and methods of measurement. It underscores the connections between soil degradation and land use, with a focus on socio‐economic consequences. Current assessment methods frequently depend on insufficient data, concentrate on singular factors, and utilize arbitrary thresholds, potentially resulting in misclassification and misguided decisions. We analyze these shortcomings and investigate emerging methodologies that provide scalable and objective evaluations, offering a more accurate representation of soil vulnerability. Additionally, the review assesses both physical and biological indicators, as well as the potential of technologies such as remote sensing, artificial intelligence, and big data analytics for enhanced monitoring and forecasting. Key factors driving soil degradation, including unsustainable agricultural practices, deforestation, industrial activities, and extreme climate events, are thoroughly examined. The review emphasizes the importance of healthy soils in achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, particularly concerning food and water security, ecosystem health, poverty alleviation, and climate action. It suggests future research directions that prioritize standardized metrics, interdisciplinary collaboration, and predictive modeling to facilitate more integrated and effective management of soil degradation in the context of global environmental changes.

Reviews of GeophysicsVol. 63(4)
Roma Tre University (IT), University of Nevada, Reno (US), University of Bucharest (RO), Universität Hamburg (DE), Murdoch University (AU), University of Basel (CH), Norsk Hydro (Germany) (DE), Lund University (SE), University of Aberdeen (GB), Aarhus University (DK), Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SE), Academia Oamenilor de Știință din România (RO), UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (GB), United Nations University (JP), Berlin Brandenburg Institute of Advanced Biodiversity Research (DE), Joint Research Centre (IT), United Nations University Institute for Water, Environment, and Health (CA), Agroscope (CH), Norwegian Institute of Bioeconomy Research (NO), United Nations University (DE), Max Planck Institute for Meteorology (DE), Environmental Earth Sciences (AU), Norwegian University of Life Sciences (NO), NILU (NO), Freie Universität Berlin (DE), Hamburg University of Technology (DE), Aalborg University (DK), KU Leuven (BE)
Openalex Percentile: Top 4%
Soil erosion and sediment transport
5.93
DOIOpen Access PDFOpenAlex
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