What does the Soil wants to tell us?

Abstract

This explicit point of view explains several soil functions, including the least known function of soil as an intergenerational living archive. Well-known scientific approaches are related to their features and functions, in particular to the influence of human activity. However, the importance of productive, environmental and cultural historical heritage sites does not seem to be sufficiently clear and investigated. In the context of global change this function is particularly important, both locally and globally, supporting the management of the sustainable use of land and soil (productive, social and environmental). According to the worldwide proposal of the United Nations, we recommend to nominate the 5th of December as the National Day of the Soil.