Global Soil Science Education to Address the Soil – Water – Climate Change Nexus

Abstract

Soil is a vital compartment of the ecosystem that supplies us with food, feed, fiber, and fuel. This system is very dynamic, open, and complex, and requires special care for its protection and conservation. Soil has several nexuses that include water, food, energy, ecosystems, and climate change. Soil consists of a unique natural organization, which forms the basis of any water–energy–food nexus system. The soil – water nexus, like other nexuses, includes many interdependent and complex relations and its investigation requires content-specific approaches and concepts (e.g., sustainable development, climate change, governance, resilience, and security of water, food and energy). The management, conservation and maximizing the potential of each component of any nexus is considered a major global concern that have many challenges to be faced in the 21st century. Therefore, the general components of such nexus including health of soil, plants, water, animals, people, and ecosystems is one and indivisible. Therefore, there is a strong need for a nexus approach with a strong focus on soil and water as quite literally the foundation of humanity’s future. Indeed, soil and water sciences are the key foundation of several nexuses due to their strong potential in determining the quantity and quality of foods, water, and energy. There is an urgent need to sustain the human life through the intensive productivity of our managed ecosystems. Therefore, the importance of soils as a nexus tool in addressing many global issues through conceptual modeling framework