The planet’s floors are essential for the maintenance of the biosphere (the part of the earth where life exists), as well as for the climate regulation. They perform important functions such as sustenance of agricultural and livestock productions or carbon storage. There are different types of soil, but, in general, they are composed of more than 90% mineral matter, while the rest is organic matter, the majority of this fungi, algae, bacteria and actinobacteria, which perform important functions such as renewing the reserve of nutrients from the soil, that is, preserving its fertility. To those who have already mentioned, in the following article we will talk about The importance of soils.
Benefits of soils for the environment
From an ecological point of view, soils offer various Environmental benefits:
- Produce biomass that serves as food
- They give energy to some living beings
- Filtra, regulates and transforms the matter that absorbs, such as water, protecting it (to some extent) from pollution.
- It is also where many species of plants and animals live.
Soil degradation
If the soils degrade, the environment is degraded from the same base, that is, it is something that will affect the entire environment sooner or later. Soil degradation occurs, above all, For human activity. From the deposition of atmospheric contaminants, uncontrolled spills or spills due to hydrocarbon accidents and other polluting substances, to inappropriate storage of industrial products, the discharge of urban waste or the use of fertilizers, pesticides and chemical herbicides, all damages the soil with dire long -term consequences.
Consequences of soil loss
In addition, the increase in extensive agriculture and urban overexpansion make the original soils be lost. Likewise, the process (natural or not) of desertification results in the definitive loss of productive soils.
Finally, it can be noted that one of the greatest benefits of soils is the amount of carbon dioxide they retain. If the CO2 and other soil gases were emitted to the atmosphere, Climate change would accelerate so fast that, probably, would destroy the current civilization. Thus, not conserving soils in good condition can lead to economic and social problems, such as conflict generation, poverty, decreased essential resources, low agricultural production, hunger, marginalization or obliged emigration.
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