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Notes III re FAO’s VGSSM
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Notes relevant to FAO’s (draft):
‘VOLUNTARY GUIDELINES TO
SUSTAINABLE SOIL MANAGEMENT’ – ‘VGSSM’
(2016)
by T.F.Shaxson
[A short CV of TFS’s career: 1958: Appointed to Nyasaland Govt. as Soil
Conservation Officer 1958 - 1961. / 1962-68: Soil conservation and agronomy at
Tea Research Station, Nyasaland. / 1968-76: Returned into Govt. Nyasaland
(now Malawi) 1968-76 as Principal Land Husbandry Officer. 1976-80/ Operational
Research in small-farm agronomy, C. India. / 1980-88 / FAO/UN
Tech.Cooperation Officer/Soil cons. adviser in Brazil / 1988-2009 technical
consultancies in several countries. 1998-2002: writing technical publications for
FAO]. To present: technical writings in the same subjects.)
A. BACKGROUND COMMENTS BY T.F.SHAXSON
A.1. FEATURES OF THE LIKELY FUTURE SCENARIO FOR LAND
AND SOIL
a. Greater extremes of climate/weather across continents – greater
rainfall extremes - volumes x intensities - across the 3-D
catchments that form landscapes.
b. Rising global human numbers, and/or ongoing damages to
present and potentially-productive land areas, will hinder the
growth-rate of more agricultural production - from crops,
pastures, forests - as demands increase for food, feed, fibre, wood,
water from areas of LAND (not just ‘soils’ alone).
A.2. ‘SUSTAINABLE SOIL MANAGEMENT’:
a. It sounds like a good idea, but – while being a worthy aim – is a
‘woolly’ description. It would be more precise if re-phrased as
‘SOIL MANAGEMENT FOR SELF-SUSTAINABILITY’. Achieving
improvement ‘on average’ across large areas is less likely to be as
safe or successful as treating each land sub-unit of specific
characteristics according to its requirements, in order
sustain/improve their particular capacities of sustained output under
varying conditions of climate and/or management skills.
A.3. ‘SOIL’ OR ‘LAND’?
Many / most areas of soils in good condition already taken-up for
types of agricultural production.
Implications:
 Further spread of human activity will be into those land areas
which will be less-easily managed/ more-difficult to maintain/
have less-productive soils.
 They will pose more problems to management of ‘conventional’
forms of tillage agriculture in order to prevent their degradation
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Notes III re FAO’s VGSSM
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over time without degradation by damage to soil structure and
loss of topsoil.
In addition, such land includes areas designated for protection of
native/indigenous plant and animal species, but which will likely
become encroached and their purpose degraded.
Those areas already in use likely to be - in future – to come
under ‘pressure’ of greater frequency of use/intensity of
production, entailing more-severe, more-frequent damage from
tillage, grazing etc.
A4. GRAVITY – POSING PROBLEMS FOR ‘SUSTAINABILITY’
Rainwater, disturbed soil, uprooted debris, etc. all respond to the
all-pervasive effects of gravity. Both wind and water shape
landscapes a various scales of action, and needs to be taken into
account at all stages of planning and implementation of plans for
improved land–us and management.
More roads, buildings etc. on a landscape cover a greater
proportion of a given area with more-or-less sealed surfaces = each
unit areas of such land producing more runoff per unit rainfall, and
contributing to the causing of linear erosion by channeling and
gullying along natural – and any artificial - drainage lines, on a
landscape.
Need to appreciate, map, measure such areas to plan
appropriate locations for:
 Roads, buildings, drainageways
 Steep slopes (a/c agreed definitions of classes).
This invokes the need for identification, pre-planning of
physical measures for avoidance/control/management of such
runoff from
 compacted sites: roads, buildings, rocky areas etc.
 shallow soils quickly waterlogged.
 areas of steep slopes
To an extent, these concerns are implied (rather than specified) in
Principle 2 of the Revised World Soil Charter (p.6 of your Zero Draft
of VGSSM). My field experience suggests a need for greater
proportional emphasis, relative to considering soils alone.
A5. BENEFITS OF ‘CONSERVATION AGRICULTURE’
i. A mitigating situation is: increased total area of ‘Conservation
Agriculture’ promoting and combining: no tillage, good soil-cover,
crop rotations with legumes. (FAO, 2013). The method has been
spreading widely – but is as yet by no means universal – providing
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benefits of improving soils’ capacities for absorbing water,
improving conditions for plants’ rooting, and minimizing runoff of
water and erosional losses of soil. (Kassam et al., 2013).
Combinations of well-planned infrastructure layouts on 3-d land
surfaces, together with effective and self-sustaining CA farming, will
provide the optimum conditions for landscape stability and plant
growth as well as minimising effects of more extreme adverse
climatic conditions.
B. COMMENTS ON THE
‘REVISED WORLD SOIL CHARTER‘ (2015)
vs.
THE ORIGINAL ‘WORLD SOIL CHARTER’ (1982).
B1.The first World Soil Charter (FAO,1982) was drafted by Dr.
R.G.Downes – in which he states important Principles
(1,2,5,6,7,10,11,13), putting particular emphasis on ‘land’ (of which ‘soils’
form an important part). ‘Land’ may be considered as groupings of threedimensional units of area – comprising one or more ‘landscapes’ within
any geographical area, which may change in various ways –
hydrologically, pedologically, ecologically, and for better or worse- over the fourth dimension of time.
This later version (‘Revised World Soil Charter’ – FAO (2015) is not
as useful a practical guide as the former version in terms of being a set of
guidelines to practical actions.
In this context, I would suggest greater emphasis in ‘unpacking’ of
Principle 4 of the 2015 version of the Charter- for use in the Voluntary
Guidelines - to read: “Good soil governance requires that land use
which respects the range of capabilities AND LIMITATIONS be
encouraged…”.
In the first version (1982) the drafter – Dr. Downes, (whom I knew and
whose views I greatly respect in view of the successful outcomes of the
approaches he favoured) - included in his Principle 7 the phrase
‘….adoption of measures of good land husbandry’ . He recommended –
and I concur with - his Principles 10-13 in that document.
However, in the Revised World Soil Charter (2015) there is no indication
of this concept, nor of the ways in which it could contribute to moresuccessful outcomes from the adoption of the current version.
B2.- In place of ‘sustainable management of soils’ I suggest substitute:
‘Management of land and its soils for sustainability/improvement
of its productive potentials, and for improvement of its resilience
to damaging forces’.
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A crucial aspect of ‘land’ (by contrast with ‘soil’ alone) is that it has Shape
in three dimensions, which may become altered over the fourth dimension
of Time, under the influence of gravity and its action on water and soil
(and much else), both tending towards a more horizontal condition in
valleys and plains/flat lands. This effect of gravity is a basic feature
which contributes significantly to the processes of soil erosion and
downstream flooding and sedimentation.
Awareness of the possibility of this process occurring on almost any parcel
of land indicates a need to plan in advance to minimize such (unwanted)
changes.
B3- The word ‘SOIL’ should not be considered interchangeable with the
word ‘LAND’. The latter implies the likely presence of soil, but the word
‘SOIL’ does not automatically imply a three-dimensional feature –
including slopes – which may become changed by gravity, or by man,
over the fourth dimension of Time.
B4. I would like to propose that this topic be interwoven with – and
appropriate actions recommended – in the ‘Voluntary Guidelines for
Sustainable Soil Management’ (VGSSM - 2016) to encourage ment
of sustainability of land and it’s soils’ productive and protective potentials.
C. QUOTATIONS RELEVANT TO
‘SOIL CONSERVATION’ AND ‘LAND HUSBANDRY‘.
C1. “For a number of developing and developed countries alike, land degradation emerged
as one of the major constraints to the further expansion of agriculture both across the land
surface as well as in terms of yields per unit/area.” Saouma E., (1982)
C2. ‘Conservation is a state of harmony between men and land. …. . “A land ethic, then, reflects
the existence of an ecological conscience, and this in turn reflects the conviction of an individual
responsibility for the health of the land. Health is the capacity of the land for self-renewal.
Conservation is our effort to understand and preserve this capacity”. ) …. “There is, lastly, a fifth
component: the sense of husbandry…. It is realized only when some art of management is applied
to land by some person of perception”. . (Leopold, (1948). Pp. 176, 236. 267.
C3 “The different kinds of upsetting the ecological equilibrium are indicators of the inherent
weaknesses of the different environments. In some places highly specialized vegetation could not
stand up to the imposed conditions; in others, poorly-structured soils collapsed completely under
cultivation and the pounding action of rain, and in others, naturally unstable topographic
conditions have become even more unstable…” ………………………………..
“Farm planning is the co-ordination of technical knowledge into a system of land husbandry, in
which each part of the farm is put to its best and proper use. Ideally, good farming represents a
situation in which man and his [plants and] animals have established a dynamically balanced
ecological unit”. ( Downes (1959), pp. 474; 484.
C.4“Soil conservation is the positive task of devising of land use and management so that there will
be no loss of stability, or of usefulness for the chosen purpose. Although the aim is to prevent soil
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erosion from occurring, the erosion which is occurring at present must be controlled, and if
possible, land which has been damaged should be reclaimed”. (Downes, 1971), p.46.
C5“”To achieve conservation it is necessary to have a philosophy on which to base policy and to
adopt procedures fort making decisions about the use and management of those systems to provide
for the needs of the community in a manner which ‘prolongs usefulness”. (Downes, 1978) p.3.
C.5 “Farm planning is the co-ordination of technical knowledge into a system of land husbandry, in
which each part of the farm is put to its best and proper use. Ideally, good farming represents a
situation in which man and his plants and animals have established a dynamically balanced
ecological unit.’ (p.484). Downes R.G. (1959).
C6.“The major subdivision is based on separation of land classes, since these areas will need
different treatment and management because of the different problems and hazards which they
represent”.
C7. “Husbandry: the business of a farmer : tillage : economical management ; thrift . Old English:
‘Husbonda’ – ‘hus’: a house’; ‘buandi’ : inhabiting, (pr.p. of Old Norse. ‘ Bua’: to dwell”. (Chambers
20th Century Dictionary, 1983).
“DEFINITION: Good husbandry is the active process of implementing and managing preferred
systems of land use in such ways that there will be increase – or at least no loss – of productivity, of
stability or of usefulness for the chosen purpose; also, in particular situations: existing uses or
management may need to be changed so as to halt rapid degradation and to return the land to a
condition where good land husbandry can have fullest effect. * Shaxson T.F., Douglas M.G.,
Downes R.G. 2005.
[Note particular emphasis on land (which may be considered as groupings of threedimensional units which – comprise one or more ‘landscapes’ within any geographical area,
which may change in various ways – hydrologically, pedologically, ecologically - over the fourth
dimension of TIME.]
Among the ‘Principles’:
*6 “………………… achieve good land use”. p.3
*7 “………………….encourage adoption of measures of good land husbandry”.
(Downes 1982, p.4)
C8.“The most important requirement is for everybody to be made to understand that soil
conservation is more than erosion control and that it is not just an agricultural problem. Soil
conservation is really a matter of applying the appropriate uses to different types of land”.
(Downes. 1982) pp. 1, 3.[personal emphases by TFS].
C9. Comment: ‘Soils’ are components of landscapes, not substitutes for the word ‘land’.
REFERENCES
Carver A.J. (1981). Air Photography for Land Use Planners. Dept. Conservation &
Extension, Salisbury/Harare, S.Rhodesia /Zimbabwe. 76pp.
Downes R.G. (1959) The ecology and prevention of soil erosion. Chapter 29 in :
Monographiae Biologicae vol. VIII (1959) .The Hague (Neth.) Dr. Junk. (Extracts from pp. 472486).
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Notes III re FAO’s VGSSM
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Downes R.G. (1971). Land, land use and soil conservation’. in: Costin A.B & Frith H.J. (eds.)
‘Conservation’. Penguin Books (Australia). ISBN 014 02.13139 . pp.43-70. (p.46)
Downes R.G. (1978). The use and management of resources – a philosophy and concept for
decision making. Keynote address to Soc. of Engineers’ W.Australia Divn. Proc. Symposium ‘A
fragile region – land-use conflicts in the southwest region of the State of Victoria (Australia)’.
4pp.
Downes R.G. (1982) Consultant Report to Project FAO/UNDP/BRA/82/011. Dec. 1982. (in
FAO archives) (I have a re-typed copy – TFS).
F.A.O. (1982) WORLD SOIL CHARTER. . Foreword; World Soil Charter. http://www.fao.org.
docrep/T0389E/T0389E0b.htm. 5pp. (typed); 8pp. (printed). The World Soil Charter’ was
drafted by R.G. Downes . [Note particular emphasis on land (which may be considered as
groupings of three-dimensional units which – comprise one or more ‘landscapes’ within any
geographical area, which may change in various ways – hydrologically, pedologically, ecologically
- over the fourth dimension of TIME.]
FAO, (2013). Policy support guidelines for the promotion and sustainable production
intensification and ecosystems services. Rome: FAO. Integrated Crop Management . vol. 19, 2013.
42pp. ISBN 978-92-5-108019-1.
F.A.O. (2014). Revised World Soil Charter. http://www.fao.org
FAO, (2005) Drought-resistant soils. FAO Land & Water Bulletin 11. (eds: A.Bot, J.Benites).
Topic 2.9. (Abst. on p.25, Full text on accompanying CD) ISBN 92-5-105358-8. 83pp+CD.
Kassam A. , Basch G., Friedrich T., Shaxson F., Goddard T., Amado T., Crabtree B.,
Hongwen L.,Mello I., Pisante M., Mkomwa S. Sustainable soil management is more
than what and how crops are grown. In: Pprinciples of Sustainable Soil Management in
Agroecosystems. (eds. Lal R and Stewart B.A.). Boca Raton: CRC Press. 552pp. ISBN 9781-4665-1346-4.
Leopold A. (1948). A Sand County Almanac, with other essays on conservation from ‘Round
River’. (compiled posthumously by C.C. and L.B. Leopold. copyright Oxford Univ. Press, 1953.
Lib. Cong. Card no. 66-28871. (269pp). Quotes from pages indicated.
Saouma, E. (1982) Foreword to World Soil Charter. Rome: FAO/UN. (p.1)
Shaxson T.F., Hudson N.W., Sanders D.W, Roose E , Moldenhauer W.C. (1989).
‘Land Husbandry: A Framework for Soil and Water Conservation’. (Ankeny, Iowa (USA): Soil &
Water Conservation Soc., ISBN 0-935734-20-1. 64pp.
Shaxson T.F., Douglas M.G., Downes R.G. (2005). Principles of good land husbandry :
achieving conservation of land’s productive potentials.
“Husbandry: the business of a farmer : tillage : economical management ; thrift . Old English:
‘Husbonda – hus: a house; buandi: inhabiting, (pr.p. of Old Norse. Bua: to dwell”. (Chambers 20th
Century Dictionary, 1983).
“DEFINITION: Good husbandry is the active process of implementing and managing preferred
systems of land use in such ways that there will be increase – or at least no loss – of productivity,
of stability or of usefulness for the chosen purpose; also, in particular situations: existing uses or
management may need to be changed so as to halt rapid degradation and to return the land to a
condition where good land husbandry can have fullest effect. (derived from Downes 1982”.
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Shaxson F., Alder J., Jackson T, Hunter N. (2014). Land husbandry: an agro-ecological
approach to land use and management – Part 1: Considerations of landscape conditions. Internatl.
Soil and Water Conservation Res., vol. 2, no. 3, Sept. 2014. 22-35. ISSN 2095-6339 – CN 101107P.
.Shaxson, T.F. Williams A.R. , Kassam A.H. (2014). Land husbandry: an agro-ecological
approach to land use and management – Part 2: Considerations of soil conditions. Internatl. Soil
and Water Conservation Res., vol. 2, no. 4, Dec. 2014. 64-80. ISSN: 2095-6339 – CN 10-1107/P
* United Nations Environment Programme (1982). World Soils Policy. UNEP. Na.82-5947 –
1553C. 6pp.
.oOo.
CONTD.
RESPONSES TO QUESTIONS GIVEN IN V.G.S.S.M.
“1.
Does the zero draft sufficiently outline a way to achieve
sustainable soil management worldwide?”
No.
The document doesn’t make sufficiently clear the distinction between the
physical and geological characteristics of three-dimensional
LAND/landscapes on the one hand, and on the other, the SOILS that
clothe them (which was brought to focus in Principles 1 and 2 (and
thenceforward) in the first version of the World Soil Charter FAO (1982).
This is important because both land-shape and soil characteristics change
over the fourth dimension of time.
This is a significant omission, because it doesn’t take into account the
influence of land shape/slope on the effects of gravity on (a) differential
raindrop-splash upslope:downslope vfrom bare soil surfaces on sloping
land; (b) the speed and potential erosive velocity of any surface runoff
water; (c) the relative difference between effects of soil-tillage actions
up-slope/down-slope, vs. across-slope, on rates of erosional loss of soil.
(This consideration may be seen as a necessary specific/specialized aspect
of Land Evaluation surveys).
This doesn’t invalidate Land-Use Capability Classification (‘LUCC’) but
provides a means of providing a extra sub division in each Class according
to Hazard of Erosion.
Regarding the background concept and nature of ‘Land’, refer to e.g.:
Leopold (1948); Downes (1959), (1971) (1982); Shaxson et al.
(1989); FAO (2005).
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“2. Have all the key technical elements to achieve sustainable soil
management been included in the Guidelines?”
Not sufficiently.
Following from the above, there is no mention of Land Use Incapability
Classification (‘LUIC’) prior to – or in addition to – any Soil Suitability
Classification of a land area which might be undertaken with regards to its
suitability for growing particular crops. This method - LUIC –aims to
identify, and rank, features of lat yetndscape and soil whose
characteristics, taken singly and together, would downgrade – in specific
manner – expectations that all land within a study-area which is under
study for ‘development’ is equally suitable for the chosen use, in the light
of the hazard of degradation – by natural and/or human forces – in the
light of hazards of different degrees. This might be called ‘Responsible
land-use planning for sustainability’.
Assessment of ‘ Severity of hazard of erosion’ needs to be undertaken
before a chosen form of land use/management is implemented, so that
precautionary measures/ specific conservation-effective actions can be
taken/built-in to the proposed system at the planning stage.
Such forms of assessment should be used as guides to safe and stable
land-use, in the specific processes leading to Land-Use Planning for
ongoing, self-sustainable use of soils under the preferred uses).
The means of undertaking this type of classification, as guides to planning
and setting-out appropriate layouts and actions in the field, can be found
in e.g. Carver (1981); Shaxson et al., (2014a,b).
“3. Do the Guidelines take into account the great variety of
ecosystem services provided by soils?”
Yes.
“4. Will the results of the Guidelines, once implemented, be
sufficient enough to achieve the Sustainable Development
Goals?”
No.
See above.
“5. Do the guidelines identify activities that should be avoided to
achieve multiple benefits through sustainable soil management?”
- Yes, but need complementary sets of more-specific references as
pointers to the more-detailed methodologies etc. which are
suggested/proposed, for follow-up by technical agencies of research,
extension etc. for implementation.
- Definitely needed, 34 years after the 1st World Soil Charter (1982)
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- This later version (‘Revised World Soil Charter’) needed 34 years after
the 1st World Soil Charter (drafted by R.G.Downes), since area of
damaged soils has likely increased.
- But this later version (‘Revised World Soil Charter’) is not as useful as
the former one, showing less evidence of availability of specific and
appropriate recommendations to improve damaged soils’ situations and
to avoid recurrence of damages which have been permitted/induced on
soils in former/recent years.
There don’t seem to have been any ‘conceptual’ advances in
understanding which could have been derived/based on the 1982 version.
(I give some references below). - - - - - - - - - - - - What is an adequate definition of ‘sustainable soil management’ ? A
non-specialist English-speaker would assume that ‘sustainability refers
more to ‘Management’ rather than to ‘soil’. Care needed when
translating this to languages other than English.
- Such a misunderstanding could be avoided by writing it as ‘soil
management for sustainability’; or as: ‘Management of land and its soils
for the sustainability/improvement of their productive potentials, and of
their resilience to being damaged”.
- I would suggest greater emphasis – in the ‘unpacking’ of Revised World
Soil Charter’s Principle 4, for use in the Voluntary Guidelines. To read:
“Good soil governance requires that land use which respects the range of
capabilities AND LIMITATIONS be encouraged…….”.
- The first (1982) version of the World Soil Charter (by Dr. R.G.Downes –
whom I knew and whose views I greatly respect, in view of the successful
outcomes of the approaches that he recommended) included - in his
Principle 7 – the phrase “…adoption of measures of good land
husbandry’). He recommended – and I concur with – Principles 10-13 in
that document. (See below).
- In the second/Revised version (2015) of the World Soil Charter there is
no indication of recommending this concept, nor of the ways in which it
could contribute to more-successful outcomes from adoption of the
present version. (I appreciate that the Revised World Soil Charter has
already been formally adopted – but that doesn’t preclude the introduction
of those principles into the recommendations of the current Voluntary
Guidelines for Sustainable Soil Management.
A crucial aspect of ‘land’ – as compared with that of ‘soil’ alone – is that it
has shape in three dimensions, which may become altered over the fourth
dimension of time, under the influences of physical disturbance and of
gravity, acting on water and soil (and much else) down-slope towards a
stable base-level. This is a key feature of soil erosion and subsequent
deposition.
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-Awareness of the possibility of this process occurring on almost any
parcel of land indicates the need for forward-planning to minimize the
risk of such (unwanted) changes.
The word ‘SOIL’ should not be considered interchangeable with the word
‘LAND’. The latter implies the presence of soil, but the word ‘SOIL’ does
not automatically imply ’LAND’ as a three-dimensional; feature – including
slope – which may become changed by gravity and/ by Man, over the
fourth dimension of time.
I would like to propose that this topic be brought into - and appropriate
actions recommended - to complement the suggestions
/recommendations of the Voluntary Guidelines now in preparation.
.o0
T.F.Shaxson,
francisshaxson@btinternet.com
O0o.