From Dirt to Gold: What have we done to our soil.

INTRODUCTION

Soil is a part of the earth which is commonly refered to as dirt. It is a mixture of inorganic and organic matter, minerals and other materials which together support life. Soil is the loose surface material that covers most land. Soil provides the structural support to plants and is also their source of water and nutrients.

Soil serves as a reservoir of water and nutrients, as medium of filtraton and breakdown of injurious waste, and as a participant in the cycling of carbon and other elements through the global ecosystem.

Soil is product of several factors.

FORMATION OF SOIL

For our better understanding of soil we should know how it is formed. Soil formation is influenced by at least five classic factors that are interwined in the evolution of soil. These are - parent material, which is diffrent types of rocks, topography, climate, organisims and time.

The basic process of soil formation involves the breakdown of rocks into smaller particles. Different geographical factors then contribute to the formation of a varitey of soil for example, organic matters mix with soil to form humus, lack of organic matter creates sandy or infertile desert soil.

A varitey of mechanisms contribute to soil formation including siltation, erosion, oxidation and lake bed succession. A specific example of the evolution of soil in prehistoric lake beds is found in the Makgadikgadi Pans of the Kalahari Desert, where change in an ancient river course led to millenia of salinity buildup and formation of calcretes and silcerets.

Pic. showing the levels of soil
(SOIL PROFILE)

IMPORTANCE OF SOIL-

Soil is at the bottom of the food chain and it is the force behind the conservation of life on earth. It is critical for terestrial life: acting as water filter, nutrient provider and habitat for billions of organisms that make up a diverse ecosystem.

WHY IS SOIL SO IMPORTANT?

➫ Soil is teeming with life : There are more living organism in a handful of soil than there are people on planet.

➫Soil provides a host of crucial service for both people and the planet : Soil puts food on our plates, purifies our water, protects us against flooding and combats drought. It's also the key to tackling climate change as it captures and stores vast amounts of carbon.

➫ There is no food security without healthy soil : Agriculture is the only essential industry but farming has one of the biggest impacts on soil health, intensive farming eliminates species living within the soil - species that give soil its fertility. How we farm today is destroying our ability to feed the planet in the future.

➫ Creating new soil takes longer than the average human life : We need to protect and conserve soil as it is a living source and it it finite.

WHAT IS THE CURRENT SITUATION OF SOIL

Current situation of soil is complex and varies across different regions of the world. Here are some key aspects of soil:

DEGRADTION :Soil degradtion is a major problem arround the world with an estimated 33% of the earth's land surface is affected by degradtion. This can lead to reduce soil fertility, decreased cro yeilds and increase soil erosion.

LOSS OF ORGANIC MATTER : The loss of organic matter in the soil is amajor issue as it can lead to reduce soil fertility and deceresed crop yeilds. This loss in often a result of intensive agricultural pratices, such as over trilling, monoculture farminng and the use of synthetic fertilizers..

Soil pollutionn is a growing problem arround the world with contamination from pesticides, heavy metals and other chemicals affecting soil health and fertility. This can have negative impacts on both the enviromment and human health.

CLIMATE CHANGE : Climate change is also affecting soil health with rising temperature and changinng rainfall patterns leading to increasesd soil erosion, salinization and loss of oganic matter. Climate change is also affecting the ability of soil to sct as a carbon sink, which would further exacrebate the impact of climate.

SUSTAINABLE CHANGE : While the situatation of soil is challenging , there are also many examples of sustainable soil management practices that are being implemented arround the world. These particlesinclude conservation agriculture, agroforestry, over cropping and reduced tillage among others. By adopting these particles it is possible to retore and maintain healthy soils for future generation

Soils eroded by water.

INDIA'S DEPLETING SOIL

Data released by ISRO shows a grim picture with almost all Indian states recording an increase in degraded land in the past 15 years. As per as the latest Desertification and Land Degradtion Atlas of the ISRO published in June 2021, 87.85 million hectors of land ( arround 30% of the country's geographical area) has already been degraded of which .32 mha was added between 2003 and 2019 alone. Intrestingly and alarmingly, the biodiversity rich north-eastern states recorded the most rapid increase in degraded soil. Rajasthan, Gujrat, Maharastra, Jammu and kashmir and Karnataka have been the highest area of degrading land.

According to experts, the wrong and inappropriate farming practices that led to widespread land degradtion in India in the recent decades including low and imbalanced fertilization, excessive tillage and use of heavy machineries, crop residue burning and inadequate organic matter inputs poor crop rotation, pesticides overuse and soil pollution, overgrazing, deforstation, careless forest management, rampant industrialization and mining are the other major human induced causes for loss of fertile land.

Now that we are alarmingly aware of what to do, we should start conserving soil.

Land degradtion map of India.

WHY SHOULD WE CONSERVE SOIL?

Soil conservation is important due to several factors, including :

➭ SUPPORTING SUSTAINABLE FOOD PRODUCTION : Soil is the foundation for agriculture and is necessary for growing crops that feed the world's population By conserving soil, we can maintain soil fertility and health, which in turn supports sustainable food production.

➫ PROTECTING BIODIVERSITY : Soil is a complex ecosystem that supports a wide variety of planet and animal life. By conserving soil, we can protect this biodiversity and support the organisms that live in the soil.

➫ REDUCING EROSION : Soil erosion can have negative impact on agriculture, infrastructure and the enviroment. By conserving soil, we can reduce erosion and protect against the negative impact of erosion.

➫ IMPROVING WATER QUALITY : Soil conservation can help to improve water quality by reducing soil erosion and preventing pollutants from entering waterways.

➫ MITIGATING CLIMATE CHANGE : Soil is a major carbon sink, storing significant amounts of carbon in the form of organic matter. By conserving soil, we can maintain and increase the amounts of carbon stored in the soil, which can help to mitigate climate change.

In summary, soil conservation is important for maintaing soil health, supporting sustainable food production, protecting biodiversity, reducing erosion, improving water quality and mitigating climate change.

HOW HAVE WE CONTRIBUTED IN SOIL CONSERVATION

There are to a greater extend that any individual or a institutuion has contributed to ensure soil.

There are many Universities which teaches soil enginering like BIT in Ranchi, Anna University in Chennai and there are many accross the globe.

Modern soil engineering has provided better solution to several challengs faced by mankind with a massive landmass and various terrains, using sciencitific innovations and supperior engineering approaches which has helped the countries to protect thier land by controlling soil erosion.

There are many organization that are working on soil conservation. Sadhguru a famous enviromentalist and spritualist, the head of Isha Foundation. He went for 100 days lone moto campaign accross 27 countries covering 30,000 kilometers and interacting with goverment leaders on conserving soil.

Sadhguru on his campaign "SAVE SOIL"

World Soil Day is held annualy on 5th of December as a means to focus attention on the importance of healthy soil and to advocate for the susutainable mangement of soil resources.

Every year on this World Soil Day international and national summit are held to connserve soil.

G20 has aimed to prevent, halt and reserve the degradition of land on every coontinent, complement and existing support existing intiatives and avoid duplicity efforts. To this end, the G20 global intiative will work in tandem with existing multilateral intiatives and add momentum to the United Nation's decade on ecosystemn resstoration.

G20 summit leaders.

CONCLUSION

Soil conservation is not solely the task of the goverment or any institution and organization, it is our crucial duty to protect it as well. Soil can be conserved effectively only when people cooperate and work together for conservingit by any means.

Soil is a life giving force and resource. If soil survives, we survive.

"A NATION THAT DESTROYS ITS SOIL, DESTROYS ITSELF."