Editorial: Conservation agriculture: knowledge frontiers around the world

Conservation agriculture (CA) has its roots in the dramatic events which happened in the 1930s caused by wind erosion of agricultural soils, resulting from several years of severe drought on overtilled land in the central plains of the United States (southern Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, northern Texas), known as the Dust Bowl. This period was then marked by the destruction of grasslands and crops (covered in a few hours by a thick layer of fine soil), the ruin of farmers, the rural exodus of millions of people and the aggravation of the economic crisis. The direct consequence was the creation of the Soil Conservation Service (now named the Natural Resources Conservation Service). World Soil Day was established in 2014 to highlight the need to improve soil quality and to encourage action for the sustainable management of soil resources.