India, Sept. 2 -- The loss of soil biodiversity is among the most deteriorating soil threats globally, although confidence in the trend remains low, according to the latest global assessment of the world's soils by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.

Released last week at the 17th Conference of Parties (COP17) of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, the landmark Status of the World's Soil Resources 2026 report builds on its inaugural 2015 edition. It has been prepared under FAO's Global Soil Partnership and the Intergovernmental Technical Panel on Soils.

The report assesses the status of major threats to soil function, bringing together scientific evidence and...