The Role of Soils in Global Water and Food Security

Developing policies and strategies for global resource security (water and food) are critical to the healthy future of our planet. The world today faces an increase in the amplitude and frequency of dynamic stresses that greatly challenges our ability to provide effective policies and strategies. We believe that one limiting factor for this challenge is the lack of an adequate, standard quantitative representation that incorporates both the nature of the resource and its natural functionality. Such a quantitative representation would enable the establishment of interdisciplinary linkages dealing with the same resource. As an example, we focus on the soil, a vulnerable and non-renewable natural resource that plays an imperative role in building and enhancing national sustainable water and food security programs.