The value and use of soil and landscape in relation to life quality - two sides of the same coin | Hodnota a využívanie pôdy a krajiny vo vzťahu ku kvalite života - dve strany jednej mince

Land use immediately affects the quality of environmental compartments and thus affects also the human life conditions and quality of his life. Economic benefits emerging from soil use significantly affects the way of soil and its functions use. Until now, at agricultural soil use attention was focused on soil capacity to produce biomass and its economic utilisation. More significant benefit is connected with soil in urban and industrial areas and with agricultural (forest) soil permanently consumed for economy human activities. Soil ecological functions do not have direct influence on GDP, economic development of regions and related employment rate of rural population. More significantly affect the stability or quality of environment that intermediately affects also the formation of health state of rural population and life quality. Soil ecological functions are still used without regard to societal awareness their services. Soil use is subordinated to human interests and needs that usually have economic background - safeguarding of life and economic prosperity. Economic valuation of soil ecological functions can serve as expert solution for definition of payments at permanent land consumption as well as base for determination of location coefficient but financial values should not to be used as a ground for forming ethical values, which are imminently connected with human approach towards soil and its degradation, and which are essentially needed by global society. Opinions, life values and attitudes of human to surroundings and environment significantly affect the way of use of natural resources and thus significantly create human environment and life quality. As follows from questionnaire survey, countryside population is aware of importance of health environment. Despite of that employment (employment opportunities), financial safeguarding, availability of services, technical endowment, housing questions and level of health service belong to significant factors that immediately affect the life quality of rural population.