Soil resources at the centre of a web of conflicting issues

Soil is the foundation of all human activities, particularly agriculture. But there is a growing need among today's industrial, energy, urban and mining sectors for more space and more primary resources such as water, materials, mineral resources and energy. This places soil resources at the centre of a web of often conflicting issues. International competition has given rise to a host of questions in this area, primarily relating to soil governance and competition for land use but also concerning the potential retroactive effects on climate regulation owing to the key role of soil in the water cycle and in the storage of organic matter, especially carbon. In this context the 68th UN General Assembly declared 2015 the International Year of Soils (IYS). On the occasion of the Global Soil Week, spotlight on ANR’s activities related to that issue.

430 research teams supported for a total sum of nearly €50 million

Since it was set up in 2005, the French National Research Agency (ANR) has supported research into these issues by launching several thematic calls for proposals ("Ecosystems, Territories, Living Resources and Agriculture", "Vulnerability: Environments, Climate and Societies", "Global Environmental Changes and Societies", "Contaminants and Environments", "EcoTechnologies", "Adaptation: From Genes to Populations", "Transdisciplinary Studies on the Future of the Mediterranean") and other non-thematic calls. ANR has funded around a hundred projects, representing a total sum of nearly €50 million.

These projects have mainly focused on the environmental services that the soil provides:

Some projects have also looked at the threats to these services as a result of land pressure or interactions with the climate system: the physical deterioration of soil through subsidence, erosion or soil sealing, and contamination from point source or diffuse pollution.

Since 2014, these thematic areas have been covered by Challenges 1 (Efficient resource management and adaptation to climate change), 3 (Industrial renewal) and 5 (Food security and demographic challenges) in ANR's Work Programme.

2015, the International Year of Soils

In 2015, ANR will showcase some of the research it has supported on this topic through the presentation of “research highlights” throughout the year. You will also find events and symposia related to the International Year of Soils in our Agenda. 

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