Soils protect the natural environment
By Diego Flammini, Farms.com
Through a declaration by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, all of 2015 is being recognized as the International Year of Soils.
Soil gets walked on, played on and tossed around usually without hesitation. What many people aren’t aware of is that soil plays an integral part in everyday life. Organizations including the World Rural Forum and Soil Science Society of America (SSSA) are doing their part to educate the public about soil’s many duties.
To promote all of soil’s responsibilities, SSSA produces a short video each month, celebrating a different theme.
September’s theme is “Soils protect the natural environment”.
“No matter where you live, soils protect the natural environment around you,” said SSSA’s Jim Toomey in September’s video.
Toomey said that when grassland plants die in the winter, their roots act like mulch and help with agricultural production.
“It adds organic matter which keeps the soil fertile and it helps the plain states grow much of the grain crops in the United States.”
Soils also act as a water filtration system and impacts its quality and quantity.
“Every drop of water we drink traveled through soils at one time or another,” Toomey said. “The soils help purify it along the way.”
Be sure to go back and check out the videos from the previous months:
January – Soils Sustain Life
February – Soils Support Urban Life
March – Soils Support Agriculture
April – Soils Clean and Capture Water
May – Soils Support Buildings and Infrastructure
June – Soils Support Recreation
July – Soils are Living
August – Soils Support Health
Join the conversation and tell us the new things you’ve learned during the International Year of Soils.