The International Year of Soils, 2015 (IYS 2015) was declared by the Sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly on December 20th, 2013 after recognizing December 5th as World Soil Day.

Soil is a finite natural resource. On a human time-scale it is non-renewable. However, despite the essential role that soil plays for human livelihoods, worldwide there is increasing degradation of soil resources.  Recognizing the importance of soils, the International Union of Soil Sciences (IUSS), in 2002, made a resolution proposing the 5^th of December as World Soil Day. This day is aimed to celebrate the importance of soil as a critical component of the natural system and as a vital contributor to the human wellbeing. 

http://criticalzone.org/luquillo/news/story/this-friday-december-5th-is-world-soil-day/

Who is credited for laying the foundation of Soil Science / Pedology.

Vasily Vasil'evich Dokuchaev is commonly regarded as the father of pedology, the study of soils in its natural setting. He developed soil science in Russia, and was, perhaps the first person to make wide geographical investigations of different soil types. His great contribution to science was, figuratively, to "put soils on the map".

Soil Formation

Soil fertility is greatly influenced by the factors of soil formation. As soils form, nutrients are being continually removed from and added to the soil with time. The conditions that are present during soil formation ultimately determine how much and what kind of nutrients the soil can naturally supply and hold.

Soil profiles vary from place to place and the differences in soil make-up cause soils to behave and perform in many different ways. We have mentioned the process of weathering when we discussed soil mineral composition. Now, we will discuss the processes of weathering in terms of soil formation. We will begin by looking at the 5 factors of soil formation that cause great differences in the development of soil profiles.

http://soilweb.landfood.ubc.ca/landscape/soil-formation

The soil is Life

A nation that destroys its soils destroys itself. Forests are the lungs of our land, purifying the air and giving fresh strength to our people.

Franklin D. Roosevelt