Editorial: Soil Evolution and Sustainability

Adequate soil management appears thus as a powerful sustainability lever as (i) managed soil recovery may be much faster than natural recovery (see the rates provided by Fell et al. and Yemefack et al., for managed and natural recovery, respectively) and as (ii) adequate soil management may result in a simultaneous increase in food security or be particularly helpful to recycle organic wastes or mitigate climate change (Asabere et al.). [...]understanding and projecting the impact of land use and management on soils are a prerequisite for sustainable development. Simple empirical equations are proposed by Yemefack et al. to help decision makers in assessing soil quality evolution after land use change. Since future combinations of climate, land use and soil type are unprecedented, purely empirical or statistical predictions—despite being highly appropriate for applied purposes and decision makers—may not be relevant for predicting future states of soils on a long term scale (century or more). Special Report on Climate Change, Desertification, Land Degradation, Sustainable Land Management, Food Security, and Greenhouse gas fluxes in Terrestrial Ecosystems.