STS 11

PEOPLE AND THE

EARTH’S ECOSYSTEM
Course Module
Course Description

This course looks into the impacts of human activities on the environment and analyze
the consequences of environmental modification on human activity

Course Learning Objectives

1. Introduce the students to the ways that humans have altered and modified the natural
environment throughout history
2. Trace the causes of environmental degradation
3. Determine the impacts of various anthropogenic activities to different aspects of the
natural environment
4. Analyze the impacts of human-modified environments to human activities
5. Project future scenarios for various aspects of the natural environment
Module 4
Human Impacts on Soil
Humans live close to and depend on the soil. It is one of the thinnest and most vulnerable
human resources and is one upon which humans have had major impacts. Moreover, such
impacts can occur with great rapidity in response to land-use change, new technologies or waves
of colonization. Soils modified by human activities are called anthrosols.

Natural soil is the product of a whole range of factors the main of which include regional
climate, the biota, the topography, the parent material, and time (or period of soil formation).
Soils are the product of highly complex interactions of many interdependent variables, and the
soils themselves are not merely a passive and dependent factor in the environment. The effects
humans have had on soil can be detrimental or beneficial.

It will be difficult to follow all the aspects of anthropogenic soil modification thus we
will concentrate on certain highly important changes which humans have brought about,
especially chemical changes (such as salinization), and, perhaps most important of all, soil
erosion.

Lesson 1 Soil Salinity

Learning Outcomes

After completing this lesson, the students are expected to:

1. Define soil salinization;
2. Identify the causes of soil salinization; and
3. Determine the impacts of soil salinization.

Introduction

Soil salinity is the salt content in the soil; the process of increasing the salt content is
known as salinization. Increasing soil salinity has a whole series of consequences that include a
reduction in the availability of potable water (for humans and/or their stock), deterioration in soil
structure, reduction in crop yields and decay of engineering structures and cultural treasures. It
is, therefore, a major environmental issue. Much of the discussion on soil salinity requires a
thorough understanding of the hydrologic (or water cycle). You must have already discussed
this in your elementary or high school science but let’s review it as our Activity for this lesson.
Abstraction

Soil salinity refers to increased concentration of ions (elements that have positive and
negative charges; examples are calcium (Ca2+), sodium (Na+), aluminum (Al3+), chlorine (Cl-),
carbonate (CO2-) in soil that leads to the formation of salts (example is calcium carbonate and
sodium chloride, . There are areas were soil salinity is a natural phenomenon. However, humans
and human activities have contributed much to the occurrence of soil salinity that led to the
deterioration of soil and making it less productive.

Natural sources
Many semi-arid and arid (or dry) areas are, naturally salty. By definition they are areas of
substantial water deficit where
evapotranspiration exceeds
precipitation. In humid or moist areas,
there is sufficient water to percolate
through the soil and to leach soluble
materials from the soil and the rocks
into the rivers and hence into the sea;
but in deserts this is not the case. Salts
therefore tend to accumulate. The
following are the common mechanisms
by which salts accumulate naturally:

1. Some of the salts are brought in Figure 4.1 Saline desert soil
to the deserts by rivers.
2. The atmosphere may be a
source of salt. Rainfall, coastal fogs and dust storms all transport significant quantities of
soluble salts.
3. Soluble salts may be derived from the weathering and eventual dissolution of the
minerals that comprise the bedrock.
4. Volcanic rocks may provide a large source of sodium carbonate to groundwater.
5. The rocks in which groundwater occurs may contain salt because they are themselves
ancient desert sediments.
6. Even in the absence of such localized sources of highly saline ground water, over a
period of time most rocks will provide soluble products to groundwater, and in a closed
hydrological system such salts will eventually accumulate to significant levels.
Human agency and increased salinity
Human activities cause enhanced or secondary salinization in a variety of ways. Human-
induced salinization affects about 77 million hectares on a global basis.

Irrigation salinity

In recent decades there has been a rapid and substantial spread of irrigation across the
world. The irrigated area in 1900 amounted to less than 50 million hectares. By 2000 the total
area amounted to five times that figure. During the 1950s the irrigated area was increasing at
over 4% annually, though this figure has now dropped to only about 1%. This spread of
irrigation has brought about a great deal of salinization and waterlogging. Salinization is the
process of increasing of salt levels in soil; waterlogging is the process of becoming excessive in
amounts of water due to irrigation.

The amount of salinized irrigated land varies from area to area, but in general ranges
between 10 and 50% of the total. Irrigation causes secondary salinization in a variety of ways:

Figure 4.2 Salinization and water-logging induced by irrigation

 1. The application of irrigation water to the soil leads to a rise in the water table so that it
may become near enough to the ground surface. When groundwater comes within 3 m of
the surface in, capillary forces bring moisture to the surface where evaporation occurs.

2. Many irrigation schemes, being in areas of high temperatures and high rates of
evaporation, suffer from the fact that the water applied over the soil surface is readily
concentrated in terms of any dissolved salts it may contain. This is especially true for
crops with a high demand for water such as rice paddies.

3. The construction of large dams and barrages creates extensive water bodies from which
further evaporation can take place, once again leading to the concentration of dissolved
solutes.

Urban salinity

Drylands (defined as an arid area, or area with little rainfall) have seen rapid rates of
urbanization. Urbanization can cause a rise in groundwater levels by affecting the amount of
moisture lost by evapotranspiration. Many elements of urbanization, and in particular the spread
of impermeable surfaces (roads, buildings, car parks, etc.), interrupt the soil evaporation process.

Urbanization can
lead to other changes in
groundwater conditions that
can aggravate salinization. In
some large desert cities, the
importation of water, its
usage, wastage and leakage,
can produce the ingredients to
feed this phenomenon. This
has, for example, been
identified as a problem in
Cairo, Egypt and its
immediate environs. The
very rapid expansion of Figure 4.3 Cairo, Egypt is a prime example of a highly urbanized
Cairo’s population has dryland
outstripped the development of
an adequate municipal infrastructure. In particular, leakage losses from water pipes and sewers
have led to a substantial rise in the groundwater level and have subjected many buildings to
attack by sulfate and chloride-rich water.
Figure 4.4 Saltwater intrusion

Coastal zone salinity

Another prime cause of the spread of saline conditions is the intrusion of seawater
brought about by the overpumping of groundwater. Saltwater displaces less saline groundwater
through a mechanism called the Ghyben–Herzberg principle. The problem presents itself
particularly along coastal areas and island cities.

Saltwater intrusion is the movement of saline water into freshwater aquifers, which can
lead to contamination of drinking water sources and other consequences. Saltwater intrusion
occurs naturally to some degree in most coastal aquifers, owing to the hydraulic connection
between groundwater and seawater. Because saline water has a higher mineral content than
freshwater, it is denser and has a higher water pressure. As a result, saltwater can push inland
beneath the freshwater. Certain human activities, especially groundwater pumping from coastal
freshwater wells, have increased saltwater intrusion in many coastal areas. Water extraction
drops the level of fresh groundwater, reducing its water pressure and allowing saltwater to flow
further inland. 

Consequences of salinity
The following are the consequences of increasing soil salinity:
 1. Salts are concentrated in
irrigation areas due to
evaporation; nitrate can be
particularly high. When
these irrigation waters
flow to rivers, they can
make the water
undesirable for human
consumption.

2. Irrigation water is
concentrated by
Figure 4.5 Agricultural soil with high salinity
evapotranspiration such
that calcium and
magnesium components tend to precipitate as carbonates, leaving sodium ions
dominant in the soil solution. The sodium ions tend to be absorbed by colloidal clay
particles, leaving the resultant soil almost impermeable to water and unfavorable to
root development.

3. When a water solution containing large quantities of dissolved salts comes into
contact with a plant cell it causes a shrinkage. The cell collapses and the plant
succumbs. Crop yields fall.

4. Saline soil is also directly toxic to plants. The toxicity effect varies with different
plants and different salts. Sodium carbonate, by creating highly alkaline soil
conditions, may damage plants by a direct caustic effect; high nitrate, meanwhile,
may promote undesirable vegetative growth in grapes or sugar beets at the expense of
sugar content.

5. The death of vegetation in areas of saline patches creates bare ground, which becomes
a focal point for erosion by wind and water.

Application

1. In your own words, what are the short term and long-term impacts of increasing soil
salinity to agricultural land?
2. What do you think should be done to prevent problems related to soil salinity?
Closure

Great job for finishing this lesson! That was our first salvo for our discussions on human
impacts to soil. It’s quite a dilemma for us because on one hand, we need irrigation to supply
our food requirements but at the same time, it may well cause food insecurity in the near future
because soils become less productive. Keep in mind that we need to always be on the lookout
for how we can balance our own needs and that of the environment.
Lesson 2 Soil Fertilization

Learning Outcomes

After completing this lesson, the students are expected to:

1. Define soil fertilization; and
2. Understand the short and long-term impacts of using inorganic fertilizers to soil.

Introduction

The chemistry of soils has been changed deliberately by the introduction of chemical
fertilizers. The employment of chemical fertilizers on a large scale is little more than 150 years
old. In the early nineteenth century, nitrates were first used and sulfate of ammonia was
produced only after the 1820s as a by-product of coal gas manufacture. For a long time,
superphosphates were the only manufactured fertilizers in use. In the twentieth century, synthetic
fertilizers, particularly nitrates, were developed. Nowadays, it seems that food could hardly be
grown without fertilizers. But we are also becoming increasingly aware of the harm this brings.
Some farms are shifting or organic fertilizers
but admittedly, synthetic or manufactured
chemical fertilizers are still generally
preferred especially as soils are not as
productive as they once were.

Activity and Analysis

Refer to the picture to the right. Do

you know what this is? It’s a hydroponic
system! What’s hydroponics? Put simply, it
is a method for growing plants without soil.
The plants are placed in a system that allows
them to come into contact with nutrients
they need for growth through the water that
flows through the system (see the diagram).

What do you think are the

advantages and disadvantages of this
system? As we face potential soil
degradation in the near future, so you think
that we can harness this system for
sustainable growing of crops?
Abstraction

Global fertilizer consumption in 2000 was around 141 million tons of nutrient of which
around 61% was nitrogen, 23% phosphate and
16% potash. The use of synthetic fertilizers has
greatly increased agricultural productivity in
many parts of the world, and remarkable
increases in yields have been achieved. It is also
true that in some circumstances proper fertilizer
use can help minimize erosion by ensuring an
ample supply of roots and plant residues,
particularly on infertile or partially degraded
soils.

Figure 4.6 A farmer pouring chemical fertilizer.

On the other hand, the increasing use of
synthetic fertilizers can create environmental problems such as water pollution, while their
substitution for more traditional fertilizers may accelerate soil structure deterioration and soil
erosion. The following are the negative impacts of using fertilizers:

1. Fertilizers can increase the water repellency of some surface soil materials. This in turn
can reduce soil infiltration rates and a consequential increase in erosion by overland flow.

2. Fertilizers can also promote soil acidity and may lead to deficiencies or toxic excesses of
major nutrients and trace elements.

3. Fertilizers may also contain impurities, such as fluoride, lead, cadmium, zinc and
uranium. Some of these heavy metals can inhibit water uptake and plant growth.

4. Fertilizers may also become concentrated in food crops, which can have important
implications for human health.

Harmful Effects of Chemical Fertilizers

Manufactured chemical fertilizers have aided farmers in increasing crop production since
the 1930's. While chemical fertilizers have their place increasing plant nutrients in adverse
weather conditions or during times when plants need additional nutrients, there are also several
harmful effects of chemical fertilizers. Some of the harm chemical fertilizers may cause include
waterway pollution, chemical burn to crops, increased air pollution, acidification of the soil and
mineral depletion of the soil.
Waterway Pollution

The chemical fertilizers used on

crops can run off and drain to waterways.
The over-abundance of nutrients in the
lakes and rivers reduces the amount of
oxygen in the water. The existing organisms
living in the water use up the oxygen that is
left and the result is oxygen depletion,
which causes fish to die.
Figure 4.7 Water polluted by chemical fertilizers
Chemical Burn

Chemical fertilizers are high in nutrient

content such as nitrogen. Over-application of
chemical fertilizer to plants may cause the
leaves to turn yellow or brown. This condition
is known as chemical leaf scorch. Leaf scorch
can cause the leaves of the plant to wither and
may cause the plant to die.

Increased Air Pollution Figure 4.8 Chemical leaf scorch can cause the plant to
wither and die
Excess nitrogen used in crop
fertilization can contribute to the release of
greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide and
nitrous oxide into the atmosphere. This effect
is caused by using a greater amount of
chemical fertilizer than the plants can readily
absorb. Excess greenhouse gases trapped in
the atmosphere have contributed to global
warming and climate change. Some climate
change impacts include melting of polar ice
caps, sea level rise, and sever weather Figure 4.9 An ice berg melting due to increased water
disturbances. surface temperature
Soil Acidification

The over-use of chemical fertilizers can

lead to soil acidification. Nitrogen applied to
fields in large amounts over time damages
topsoil, resulting in reduced crop yields. Sandy
soils are much more prone to soil acidification
than are clay soils. Clay soils have an ability to
buffer the effects of excess chemical
fertilization. Figure 4.10 Clay soil buffers excess chemical
fertilization better than others
Mineral Depletion
There is an increasing concern that
continuous use of chemical fertilizers on soil
depletes the soil of essential nutrients. As a
result, the food produced in these soils have
less vitamin and mineral content. Foods grown
in soils that were chemically fertilized were
found to have less magnesium, potassium and
calcium content.

Application Figure 4.11 Increasing chemical fertilizers can deplete

the soil of essential nutrients

1. Do you believe that chemical

fertilizers are absolutely necessary for growing and sustaining agricultural crops?
Why or why not?
2. Do you think organic fertilizers can replace chemical fertilizers completely and
ensure food security? Why or why not?

Closure

Great job for finishing this lesson!

Lesson 3 Soil Erosion

Learning Outcomes

After completing this lesson, the students are expected to:

1. Define soil erosion;
2. Identify the causes of soil erosion; and
3. Understand the impacts of soil erosion.

Introduction

Since the development of agriculture some 12,000 years ago, soil erosion is said by some
to have ruined 4.3 million km2 of agricultural lands, or an area equivalent to rather more than
one-third of today’s crop-lands. The amount of agricultural land now being lost through soil
erosion, in conjunction with other forms of degradation, can already be put at a minimum of
200,000 km2 per year.

Activity and Analysis

Have a look at the picture below. What do you is this? What is your impression about
the photo? What do you think caused this? What do you think would be its impacts, if any?
Have you personally seen something similar to this (i.e., seen in real life and not just videos or
photos)? If so, kindly describe it.
Abstraction
The 1930s Dust Bowl
Soil erosion is a naturally occurring process that The Dust Bowl was a
affects all landforms. In agriculture, soil erosion refers to period of severe dust storms that
the wearing away of a field's topsoil by the natural physical greatly damaged the ecology
forces of water and wind or through forces associated with and agriculture of the American
and Canadian prairies during the
farming activities such as tillage.
1930s; severe drought and a failure
to apply dryland farming methods
Although construction, urbanization, war, mining to prevent the aeolian
and other such activities are often significant in accelerating processes (wind erosion) caused
the problem, the prime causes of soil erosion are the phenomenon.
deforestation and farming. In the USA, it has been With insufficient
estimated that soil erosion on agricultural land operates at an understanding of the ecology of
average rate of about 30 tons per hectare per year, which is the plains, farmers had conducted
approximately eight times quicker than topsoil is formed. extensive deep plowing of the
Further, water runoff delivers around 4 billion tons of soil virgin topsoil of the Great
Plains during the previous decade;
each year to the rivers of the 48 contiguous states and that
this had displaced the native, deep
three-quarters of this comes from agricultural land. Another
rooted grasses that normally
billion tons of soil is eroded by the wind, a process which trapped soil and moisture even
created the Dust Bowl of the 1930s. during periods of drought and high
winds. The rapid mechanization of
There are several serious consequences of farm equipment, especially small
accelerated erosion: gasoline tractors, and widespread
use of the combine
1. Sedimentation in reservoirs, which shorten their lives harvester contributed to farmers'
and reducing their capacity. Many small reservoirs, decisions to convert arid grassland
especially in semi-arid areas and in areas with (much of which received no more
than 10 inches (~250 mm) of
erodible sediments in their catchments appear to
precipitation per year) to cultivated
have an expected life of only 30 years or even less.
cropland.

During the drought of the

1930s, the unanchored soil turned
to dust, which the prevailing winds
blew away in huge clouds that
sometimes blackened the sky.
These choking billows of dust –
named "black blizzards" or "black
rollers" – traveled cross country,
reaching as far as the East Coast
and striking such cities as New York
City and Washington, D.C. On the
plains, they often reduced visibility
Figure 4.12 Dust storm approaching Stratford, Texas in 1935
to 3 feet (1 m) or less.
 2. Soil erosion also has serious implications for soil productivity. A reduction in soil
thickness reduces available water capacity and the depth through which root development
can occur.

3. Loss of soil humus, whether as a result of fire, drainage, deforestation or plowing, is an

especially serious manifestation of human alteration of soil. Humus has many beneficial
effects on both the chemical and the physical properties of soil.

4. The water-holding properties of the soil may be lessened as a result of the preferential
removal of organic material and fine sediment.

5. Erosion also removes nutrients preferentially from the soil. Some damage may be caused
by associated excessive sedimentation, while wind erosion may lead to the direct
sandblasting of crops.

6. Finally, extreme erosion may lead to wholesale removal of both seeds and fertilizer.

Soil erosion associated with deforestation and agriculture

Forests protect the

underlying soil from the
direct effects of rainfall,
generating what is generally
an environment in which
erosion rates tend to be low.
This is due to the following:

1. The canopy plays an

important role by
shortening the fall of Figure 4.13 Guatemala's soil erosion due to deforestation
raindrops, decreasing their velocity and thus reducing kinetic energy.

2. Possibly more important than the canopy in reducing erosion rates in forest is the
presence of humus in forest soils. This both absorbs the impact of raindrops and has an
extremely high permeability. Thus forest soils have high infiltration capacities.

3. Deep-rooted trees help to stabilize steep slopes by increasing the total shear strength of
the soils.

It is therefore to be expected that with the removal of forest rates of soil loss will rise,
rock will be exposed to create a phenomenon called ‘rocky desertification’, and mass movements
will increase in magnitude and frequency.
 Soil erosion resulting from
deforestation and agricultural
practice is often thought to be
especially serious in tropical areas
or semi-arid areas. The following
farming practices have been
identified as contributing to this
developing problem:

1. Plowing up of steep slopes

that were formerly under
grass, in order to increase
the area of arable
cultivation.
Figure 4.14 Soil erosion due to agricultural practices

2. Use of larger and heavier

agricultural machinery, which has a tendency to increase soil compaction.

3. Removal of hedgerows and the associated increase in field size. Larger fields cause an
increase in slope length with a concomitant increase in erosion risk.

4. Declining levels of organic matter resulting intensive cultivation and reliance on

chemical fertilizers, which in turn lead to reduced aggregate stability.

5. Availability of more powerful machinery, which permits cultivation in the direction of

maximum slope rather than along the contour. Rills often develop along tractor and
implement wheelings and along drill lines.

Use of powered harrows in seedbed preparation and the rolling of fields after drilling.

Application

1. Why are forests important for the prevention of soil erosion?

Closure

Hurray for finishing this lesson! But wait, I want you to pause for a moment and try to
appreciate this one very important key take away from this lesson: soil takes a really long time to
form and we are degrading it faster than it can be replenished. The next lesson though takes us
to solutions – it’s not too late!
Lesson 4 Soil Conservation

Learning Outcomes

After completing this lesson, the students are expected to:

1. Identify ways that soil may be conserved.

Introduction

At the start of this module, we identified the factors that helped in the formation of soil:
parent material, organisms, climate, topography – all of which are present at any given time.
And then we also need “time”. Soil takes “time” to form. The parent material (rocks and
minerals) have to be broken down with the aid of organisms, climate and topography. But how
long does it take for these factors to break down the parent material to soil? Try pulverizing a
rock with you own hand. Can you do it? And then there’s the organic component necessary to
make soil. On the other hand, we have the above lessons telling us just how easy it was for
humans to deplete and degrade good soil. If soil is lost, what are our alternatives? Yes, there’s
hydroponics for one but do you really believe that it can be a solution for widespread hunger? I
don’t think so, too. So the best course for action is to take care of what we have now. It’s as
simple as that.

Activity and Analysis

Reflection: in what ways are you contributing to the degradation of soil?

Abstraction

Because of the adverse effects of accelerated erosion a whole array of techniques has now
been widely adopted to conserve soil
resources. Some of the techniques such
as hill slope terracing may be of some
antiquity, and traditional techniques
have both a wide range of types and
have many virtues. The following are
some of the main ways in which soil
cover may be conserved:

1. Revegetation.

Figure 4.15 Revegetation of denuded area

 Revegetation is the process of replanting and rebuilding the soil of disturbed
land. It can be brought about by:

a. Deliberate planting; and

b. Suppression of fire, grazing, etc., to allow regeneration

2. Measures to stop stream bank

erosion.

Stream bank erosion occurs

where streams begin cutting deeper
and wider channels as a
consequence of increased peak
flows or the removal of local
protective vegetation. Many of the
traditional methods for dealing with
stream bank erosion have been Figure 4.16 Soil bio-engineering techniques (use of
expensive to install and maintain. plants) to control stream bank erosion
Solutions such as rock riprap or
gabions (wire baskets filled with
rock) may solve the erosion
problem, but implementation is
possible at the expense of the habitat
and the stream’s natural beauty.
Today there are some promising
developments in the area of stream
bank stabilization and stream
restoration. Natural channel design Figure 4.17 Use of gabions to control stream bank
principles look to nature for the erosion
blueprint to restore a stream to an appropriate dimension, pattern and profile. Soil bio-
engineering practices, native material revetments and in-stream structures help to
stabilize eroding banks. All these techniques combined together can be used to move a
stream toward a healthy, naturally stable and self-maintaining system. The possible
control measures of stream bank erosion are discussed below.

3. Crop management.

Erosion may be prevented by adopting cropping systems, which either prevent the

loss of organic matter, or return organic inputs back into the soil. Organic matter is lost
from the soil by oxidation during tillage and cultivation operations
 a. Maintaining cover at critical times of year.

Maintaining ground cover is critical for reducing the effects of raindrop

impact and aggregate disintegration from slaking. Ground cover prevents
raindrops from directly striking the soil surface and allow rainfall to slowly
penetrate the soil surface. A number of options exist for maintaining vegetation or
residue cover during and between cropping operations. These include sowing a
cover crop, retaining cereal stubble and direct drilling into a stubble mulch.

b. Crop Rotation

Crop rotation is the practice of growing a series of dissimilar or different

types of crops in the
same area in sequenced
seasons. It is done so
that the soil of farms is
not used for only one set
of nutrients. It helps in
reducing soil erosion
and increases soil
fertility and crop yield.

c. Cover crops.

A cover crop can

be sown between
Figure 4.18 Using radishes and turnips as cover crops in
cropping operations or
between rows of corn
as a companion crop
during the early stages of crop development. 

4. Slope runoff control.

In general, the steeper and longer a slope is, the faster water runs off of it, and the
greater potential there is for erosion. But many other factors come into play in
determining what becomes of a slope over time when exposed to storm water runoff. In
some landscapes, extremely steep slopes can be observed with dense vegetation and little
or no erosion, while other locations with more moderate slopes develop into barren
gullies. This is because there are many other factors that come into play -- soil type and
the past uses and management of the slope have a major role to play, as well as the
condition of the land above the slope.
a. Terracing

In agriculture, a
terrace is a pie ce of
sloped plane that has
been cut into a series of
successively receding
flat surfaces or
platforms, which
resemble steps, for the
purposes of more
effective farming. This
type of landscaping is
therefore called Figure 4.19 Terracing
terracing.

b. Deep tillage and application of humus

Deep tillage is performing tillage (or the agricultural preparation of soil by

mechanical agitation of various types, such as digging, stirring, and overturning)
operations below the normal tillage depth to modify the physical or chemical
properties of a soil.

Deep tillage is
accomplished by
fracturing the
compacted soil without
disturbing the top soil,
plants and surface
residue. Deep tillage is
ideal for use in no-till
crop production
systems because the
soil surface not
disturbed. The practice Figure 4.20 Deep tillage
is applied at seeding in no-till systems.
 c. Contour plowing

Contour plowing is
the farming practice of
plowing and/or planting
across a slope following its
elevation contour lines.

Application

1. What is soil conservation? Why is

there a need to practice soil Figure 4.21 Hillside comtour plowing
conservation?
2. Do you know of an area where soil erosion is already a problem? Describe the area and
suggest which of the following soil conservation measures should be applied and why.
3. Other than those mentioned above, what other measures can you suggest to help conserve
soil?

Closure

That’s it for this module! I hope you learned a lot of new things. Soil is something we
often take for granted. It has always been there. We’ve never really stopped to remind ourselves
that good quality soil is crucial for food production. So, I hope this is somewhat of a wakeup
call for all of us to be more mindful of conserving soil.