Summary
Healthy soils contribute to a wide range of ecosystem services and virtually all of the UN Sustainable Development Goals, but most of the world's soil resources are in only fair, poor, or very poor condition, and conditions are getting worse in more cases than they are improving. A total of 33% of all soils are moderately to highly degraded as a result of erosion, loss of organic matter, poor nutrient balance, salinization and alkalinization, contamination, acidification, loss of biodiversity, sealing, compaction, and poor water status. Best management practices are available to limit or mitigate threats to soil health, and many of them mitigate multiple soil threats. In many regions of the world, policies or initiatives to protect or enhance the status of soils are in place, and they need
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