The use of terms relating to ‘land’ and ‘soil’ has become increasingly common in technical and policy settings as concern grows for the condition of natural and productive land resources and their capacity to help address food security and climate change challenges. Global response to these concerns has also seen related terminology extend into public media and community discourse, and in parallel with the wide usage and diversity of areas of interest there has inevitably been adoption of some variation in the way specific terms are applied and loss of clarity in their intended meaning. These inconsistencies are increasingly resulting in difficulties in interpretation and shared understanding which can act as a barrier to collaboration, effective investment to address knowledge gaps and support for improved management. This Soil Carbon Note aims to clarify the ‘land’ vs ‘soil’ terminology as applied to goals for more sustainable and regenerative management of agricultural (cropping and pastoral), forestry and natural resources and to provide some guidance on improving consistency for better understanding and land management decisions.
The international "4 per 1000" Initiative
Soils for Food Security and Climate