Title Soil Health and War
Author(s) Rattan Lal
Affiliation CFAES Rattan Lal Center for Carbon Management and Sequestration, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio 43210
Country United States of America
Contribution type Conceptual paper
Thematic area • Theory, Methodology, and Evidence• War and Soil Systems• War and Freshwater Systems
Conference framework connection • Analytical Track AT-01 — provisional title to be defined• Analytical Track AT-02 — provisional title to be defined• Analytical Track AT-03 — provisional title to be defined• Analytical Track AT-04 — provisional title to be defined• Analytical Track AT-05 — provisional title to be defined• Analytical Track AT-06 — provisional title to be defined• Analytical Track AT-07 — provisional title to be defined
Abstract War represents a catastrophic disturbance to soil, water, air, wildlife, humans, and planetary health. It contaminates soil, pollutes water and air, destroys habitats, and degrades landscapes. Environmental destruction and the degradation of terrestrial ecosystems are long-term legacies of armed conflict; residues of war-related pollutants remain detectable in soils affected by World War I and the Vietnam War. This paper synthesizes evidence on the effects of war on soil health, with attention to four main processes: (i) physical disturbance through compaction, cratering, and churning; (ii) chemical contamination through oil spills and the addition of potentially toxic elements, including As, Cd, Cu, Fe, Mn, Pb, U, and Zn, together with phosphorus- and sulfur-containing residues; (iii) desertification and erosion; and (iv) alteration or loss of soil cover. Elevated concentrations of depleted uranium and dioxins in war-damaged soils may increase risks to human health, including risks of breast and lung cancer, leukemia, and lymphoma. The mobility and bioavailability of contaminants depend on soil texture, clay content, organic carbon content, surface area, charge density, and hydrological connectivity. Oil contamination and chemical residues, including sulfur mustard, dioxins, and other toxic compounds, adversely affect soil biota, reduce biological activity and species diversity, and impair terrestrial ecosystem functions. War-polluted and war-damaged soils are often removed from agricultural production, reducing the natural resource base and threatening food security. The paper argues that the international community, including relevant UN organizations, should develop science-based guidelines for assessment, monitoring, risk analysis, remediation, and long-term restoration of contaminated soils and associated freshwater systems.
Key points ● War causes long-term degradation of soil health through compaction, cratering, churning, erosion, habitat destruction, disruption of soil biota, and alteration or loss of soil cover.● War-related contaminants, including oil residues, depleted uranium, dioxins, sulfur mustard, and potentially toxic elements, can persist in soils and move through soil-water-food and soil-water-health pathways.● Post-conflict recovery requires science-based guidelines for assessment, monitoring, risk analysis, remediation, and restoration of war-affected soils and associated freshwater systems.
Keywords soil health; war; armed conflict; soil contamination; depleted uranium; dioxins; oil-contaminated soils; remediation; freshwater systems; food security
Main discussion question ● What science-based protocols are needed to assess, monitor, remediate, and restore war-affected soils and associated freshwater systems in order to protect food security, ecosystem functions, and human health?
OJS publication link https://pollution-diseases-ojs.org/index.php/pd/article/view/21
Note. Analytical TracksIn addition to the main thematic areas, the conference programme will include several cross-cutting analytical tracks. These tracks will be defined during the preparation of the programme, based on the submitted abstracts and the emerging links between presentations.At the preliminary stage, abstracts may be assigned to provisional analytical tracks marked as AT-01 to AT-07. Final track titles will be announced after the Scientific Committee has reviewed the submitted materials.