Resumen
In the past decades, soils in South Africa as well as The Netherlands have become increasingly deteriorated as a result of chemical and physical factors. Soil contamination, acidification, desiccation and erosion have caused negative impacts on land surfaces which are still on the increase. Soil functions like primary plant production, natural soil water clean up, basis and substrate for the above ground biodiversity and food chains, have become completely or partially impaired. The awareness, that soil is a vital and living system has to become the basis of soil policy and soil management. This paper is a plea for such an approach. It describes the various threats, what a vital soil is and which factors play a key role in this vital system: soil structure, buffer capacity, organic matter content, and the variety of soil organisms. It also indicates how the vitality of the soil should be monitored.