Save Soil!

Our 4th grade class is learning about the importance of soil and soil erosion. In this unit we learned about many different types of soil. For instance, we learned about soil, the importance of soil, different layers of soil, and types of soil. These are just a few paragraphs about soil and soil erosion.

What is soil? Many have asked this question. Soil is 45% minerals, 25% air, 25% water, and 5% organic matter (humus, tiny living organisms, and sometimes plant residue). Some types of soil are sandy, clay, loamy, peaty, and chalky. Soil is blown away by wind, washed away by water, and broken down by temperature.

Soil is very important for our lives. For example, soil provides food for everyone, shelter for our animals, and it is the material we build our houses on top of. Soil has many other uses, such as where farmers grow crops. It also supports plant life. We think everyone should save soil from erosion because we all need it.

There are 6 different horizons in soil. The O-Horizon is the top layer of soil that is usually a dark brown color with tiny roots and grass. It contains dead leaves and decomposed trees. The O-Horizon is surprisingly made up of 20% of organic matter. The A-Horizon is the second layer of soil. It contains these 3 different soils: sand, silt, clay. The E-Horizon has a brighter color than the other horizons. It’s usually under the O-Horizon and A-Horizon.

The B-Horizon is similar to the E-Horizon. The B-Horizon is mostly made out of clay, iron, aluminum, and carbonates. The C-Horizon is mostly made out of broken bedrock and no organic material. The R-Horizon is an unweathered parent material. This is made out of granite, basalt, and limestone. These are the six main soil horizons.

There are many different types of soils. Here are two, just to name a few. One of the types of soil is called loamy. It is great for growing crops and retains water. Therefore, if it doesn’t rain, the water is kept in the soil so the plants can still survive. Another soil is peaty. It does not have good decomposition. It is dark in color. It is rich in organic matter.

Some things that the soil ecosystems depend on can be nutrients, moisture, air, and temperature. However, they depend on fungi and bacteria to protect them. Roots are a biotic factor. Tiny animals, such as arthropods, shredders, weeverils, millipedes, termites and worms, provide nutrients and air. Together, they all depend on moisture and air to live in soil.

We need to conserve soil because soil is a very important natural resource to our world. Kids can help conserve soil by planting vegetation so the soil isn’t eroded and you have an elegant garden space. Scientists are helping by building terraces to slow down water. Over watering is not necessary; over watering causes soil erosion. Your lawn is recommended only to have one inch of water per week, this way you won’t over water to erode soil. These are just a few ways to help our soil from eroding.

After reading this article, did you realize how you could help save soil? Soil is very important to our Earth and without it we cannot survive. Without soil, we wouldn’t have shelter or food. Now go out and make a difference; save soil!