There are more living organisms in a tablespoon of soil than there are people on Earth.
Dig deeper and you will find that one cubic metre of healthy soil can retain over 250 litres of water. More than 95% of our food comes from soils, yet 33% of the world’s soils are degraded.
Degradation prevents soils from providing key ecosystem services, such as improved air quality and composition, temperature regulation, carbon nutrient cycling, water cycling and quality and habitat for most living things and their food. Degradation can also negatively affect the livelihoods of millions of people.
World Soil Day (WSD) is held annually on 5 December to highlight the importance of healthy soil and promote the sustainable management of soil resources.
An international day to celebrate soil was first recommended by the International Union of Soil Sciences in 2002. Under the leadership of Thailand, and within the framework of the Global Soil Partnership, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations supported the formal establishment of WSD as a global awareness-raising platform.
WSD 2023, with this year’s theme, “Soil and water, a source of life,” champions the role of these vital resources in achieving sustainable and resilient agrifood systems.
This HillNote discusses the status of soil health in Canada, how sustainably managed soils contribute to the United Nations (UN) Global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and what actions the Government of Canada has taken to support these goals.
Soil Health in Canada
Canada is an agricultural country. The livelihood of farmers and ranchers depends on healthy soil to grow crops and raise livestock to feed Canadians and the world.
The vastness of our country suggests an abundance of soil, yet a report from 2016 deemed only 7% of Canada’s soil suitable for agricultural use.
Since the 1980s, Canadian farmers and ranchers have improved soil quality and conditions by adopting conservation, or regenerative, agricultural practices such as no-tillage seeding. This practice involves planting crops without conventional plowing or extensive soil disturbance.
Regenerative practices also include cover cropping, intercropping and use of biochar – a carbon-rich material made up of organic residues such as plants and wood waste – among others. They have been used by Indigenous communities for thousands of years.
The 2021 Census of Agriculture notes that no-tillage has been ubiquitously adopted in much of western Canada, at rates of between 40% and 75% of cropland acreage in Alberta and more than 75% in most of Saskatchewan (see Figure 1). This practice fosters carbon sequestration in agricultural soils. No-tillage has been adopted to a lesser degree in Eastern Canada, at around 30% to 40% in Ontario, and up to 30% in Quebec and even less in other provinces (see Figure 2). Comparatively, wetter climatic conditions in the East increase soil compaction and, thus, the need for tilling; differences in the size and type of agricultural production systems may also explain these trends. (In Figures 1 and 2, the term “ecumene” refers to the geographic areas where Canada’s main agricultural activities take place.)
Figure 1 – Percentage of All Prepared Seeding Area that is Not Tilled: Western Canada
Sources: Map prepared by the Library of Parliament, 2023, obtained from Statistics Canada, “Table 32-10-0367-01 Tillage and seeding practices, Census of Agriculture, 2021”, Database, accessed 28 November 2023; and Statistics Canada, 2021 Census Boundary files. Contains information licensed under Statistics Canada Open Licence. The following software was used: Esri, ArcGIS Pro, version 3.1.3. Contains information licensed under Statistics Canada Open Licence.
Figure 2 –Percentage of All Prepared Seeding area that is Not Tilled: Eastern Canada
Sources: Map prepared by the Library of Parliament, 2023, using data from Statistics Canada, “Table 32-10-0367-01 Tillage and seeding practices, Census of Agriculture, 2021”, Database, accessed 28 November 2023; Statistics Canada, 2021 Census Boundary files. Contains information licensed under Statistics Canada Open Licence. The following software was used: Esri, ArcGIS Pro, version 3.1.3.
Comparatively, wetter climatic conditions in eastern Canada increase soil compaction and, thus, the need for tilling; differences in the size and type of agricultural production systems may also explain these trends, among many other variables.
No-tillage also increases soil organic carbon and plays a crucial role in mitigating climate change by enhancing carbon sequestration through the capture, removal and storage of carbon dioxide from the Earth’s atmosphere in soils. In 2016, Canadian agricultural soils removed 11.2 million tonnes of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
The Prairie provinces have seen significant improvements in levels of soil organic carbon and have a low risk of degradation overall (Figure 3), whereas in eastern Ontario, southern Quebec and parts of the Maritimes, levels of soil organic carbon have decreased and soils are, thus, at higher risk of degradation (see Figure 4). Land management and land-use changes, most notably the conversion from perennial crops – which provide year-round coverage of soils – to annual crops, may explain this trend in eastern Canada.
Figure 3 –Soil Organic Carbon Degradation Risk Classification: Western Canada
Sources: Map prepared by the Library of Parliament, 2023, obtained from Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Agri-Environmental Indicator – Soil Organic Matter, 18 January 2021; Statistics Canada, 2021 Census Boundary files; and Natural Earth, 1:10m Cultural Vectors, version 5.1.1. The following software was used: Esri, ArcGIS Pro, version 3.1.3. Contains information licensed under Open Government Licence – Canada and Statistics Canada Open Licence.
Figure 4 – Soil Organic Carbon Degradation Risk Classification: Eastern Canada
Sources: Map prepared by the Library of Parliament, 2023, obtained from Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Agri-Environmental Indicator – Soil Organic Matter, 18 January 2021; Statistics Canada, 2021 Census Boundary files; and Natural Earth, 1:10m Cultural Vectors, version 5.1.1. The following software was used: Esri, ArcGIS Pro, version 3.1.3. Contains information licensed under Open Government Licence – Canada and Statistics Canada Open Licence.
While many challenges remain – the continued loss of arable land, the conversion of pasture and grasslands to crop land, more financing for innovation – achieving sustainable management of soil resources will generate large benefits for all. Soils offer sustainable solutions to climate change mitigation, as well as improving air quality, water cycling and biodiversity.
Sustainably Managed Soils Contribute to Global Sustainable Development Goals
In 2015 a commitment was made by all UN member states, including Canada, to implement a plan of action for sustainable development by 2030 through the SDGs. Seventeen SDGs with 169 associated targets, which are integrated and indivisible, were adopted.
Of the 17 SDGs, four contain targets specifically related to soils:
SDG 2: End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture
Target 2.4 suggests that food be produced sustainably and that that
agricultural practices be used to improve land and soil quality.
Wherever possible, farming following the direction of the slope, which can cause soil erosion, should be substituted with terracing or the construction of grass strips across the slope to follow the elevation contour lines of the land.
Under this goal, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada’s Living Laboratories Initiative brings together farmers, ranchers, scientists and other collaborators to co-develop and test innovative practices and technologies to protect soil and water quality and maximize biodiversity in agricultural landscapes.
SDG 3: Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages
Target 3.9 aims to reduce the number of deaths from soil pollution and contamination. Irresponsible mining, which can result in air, soil and water contamination, should be counterbalanced by waste-water management and dust-control measures. Soil health is human health.
In line with this goal, Health Canada works with Environment and Climate Change Canada to help address environmental health risks through initiatives to:
- regulate chemical substances that can be found in the air, soil, food, water and consumer products; and
- reduce health risks and improve environmental quality through efforts related to air quality, water quality, climate change, environmental assessments, contaminated sites and noise.
SDG 12: Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns
Target 12.4 aims to achieve sustainable chemical management and waste disposal. The irresponsible release of pollutants in the environment can lead to soil contamination. Efforts must be made to educate society and raise the public’s awareness of the impacts of their actions.
Related to this goal and chemicals management, the Government of Canada collaborates with other jurisdictions and international organizations to strengthen protections for Canadians and the environment. These activities also aim to provide guidance and advice on chemicals and air, water and soil pollution, including health and environmental impacts of chemicals.
SDG 15: Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss
Part of Target 15.7 states the need to restore degraded lands and soils. One of the causes of soil degradation is the overuse of agricultural inputs such as chemical fertilizers. Maintaining and increasing the organic content matter of soils should be promoted through crop rotation and diversification.
Under this goal, Canada works with parties to the UN Convention to Combat Desertification, which calls for global action “to combat desertification, restore degraded land and soil, including land affected by desertification, drought and floods, and strive to achieve a land degradation-neutral world.”
The sustainability indicators outlined in The State of Canada’s Forests: Annual Report 2022, published by Natural Resources Canada, also reflect this SDG.
By Joanne Markle Lamontagne, Library of Parliament
Categories: Agriculture, environment, fisheries and natural resources