Recent publications proposing new definitions of “soil” and “soil science” have stimulated active debate within the Soil Science Society of Indonesia. While these definitions offer valuable planetary, and mechanistic perspectives, our discussions revealed challenges in communicating them to students, practitioners, and policymakers, particularly in regions where soils are primarily understood as biologically active systems central to food security, land stewardship, and livelihood. Motivated by these reflections, we propose a concise and accessible definition of soil science as “the study of soil as a dynamic living ecosystem and resource, examining its formation, properties, and functions within Earth systems to support life and human well-being.”
Husnain et al. (Thu,) studied this question.