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You've heard of peak oil ... this is Peak Soil

"Soil is the connection to ourselves ... To be at home with the soil is truly the only way to be at home with ourselves, and therefore the only way we can be at peace with the environment and all of the earth species that are part of it. it is, literally, the common ground on which we all stand." Fred Kirschenmann

Peak soil is the concept that the soil's capacity for production is finite. Like peak oil, which was forecast long ago as the point at which oil production would peak before beginning to decline, peak soil is a major threat to our social and environmental well-being and sustainability.

Peak soil is exacerbated by such factors as:

monoculture
use of artificial pesticides, herbicides and fertilisers
over-grazing
soil erosion
dryland salinity
land clearing

We are familiar with all of these factors in Australia and it is highly possible that in many parts of this country, where unsustainable land managment practices have resulted in land degradation, that our soils have passed the peak and their decline is now irrevocable in terms of agricultural productivity.

The following links will give you more information on the topic, and come back here often for updates on how we can start addressing peak soil in our own local communities.

Culture Change
Peak Soil

At right: The Riverina dust storm of 2005.
Photo from the Sydney Morning Herald. Full article available here.