Farmers can save the world’s soils and feed humanity for more than 10,000 years if they embrace soil conservation practices, suggests recent research from Lancaster University in the United Kingdom, Chang’an University in China, and KU Leuven in Belgium.

“Urgent action worldwide is needed to prevent the thinning of soil profiles and the subsequent collapse of…food production,” Dan Evans, first author on the paper and a research fellow at Cranfield University in the U.K., tells Food Tank. “By adopting appropriate soil conservation methods, we can slow rates of erosion and, in some cases, cause soils to grow. This is fundamental if we are to protect and enhance our soils and sustain the food system for future generations.”

Soil erosion is outpacing soil formation, impairing the earth’s storage of vital nutrients, water, and carbon. The U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has warned that the planet has less than 60 harvests left. Evans’ team wanted to verify this forecast.

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