What is Soil and Why is it Important?

Why should you care about soil? We 4th graders can tell you why soil is important and how we can conserve it!

Do you know what soil is? Soil is made up of 25% air, 25% water, 45% minerals, and 5% organic matter. Soil also supports plants such as trees, grass, bushes, flowers, and many more. Also, soil is on almost every land that is not covered by water. This paragraph describes what soil is.

Soil is important to our world. Soil is important because it protects and provides plants with food, like healthy nutrients, and protects plants from erosion and other harmful things. Also, plants help soil from eroding from the earth’s surface. Soil particles and nutrients are often washed away from rainwater when plants are not protecting the soil. When soil collects rainwater, the rainwater helps filter the soil; because of this, animals and plants get clean water. Insects and small cell organisms depend on soil for food and air. They also live in soil. It is their natural habitat. This is why soil is important.

There are many types of soil. Here are some of them. First, there is Sandy Soil. Sandy Soil has the biggest, hardest but finest particles. You can find this type of soil at the beach. Next, we will tell you about Loamy Soil. Loamy Soil has different types of particles, such as clay, sand and silt. The last soil we will tell you about it Silty Soil. Silty Soil has a nice, smooth texture that holds water better than Sandy Soil. These are three of the fascinating types of soil.

We need to conserve soil now! Soil conservation is when you stop erosion by planting new seeds, taking care of plants, or stopping soil from being contaminated. Soil needs nutrients, air, moisture and to be at the correct temperature. With no plants planted, it will cause soil to erode. This proves why we need to conserve soil now.

This article describes what soil is, why it is important, different types of soil, and how planting different plants can conserve soil. In conclusion, you can help save the natural resource, soil!