Winford Chang
Soil is a large part of who we are. Soil is the basis of human agriculture, natural environments, and even purifies our water. Due to human interference and some natural causes however soil degradation has become a big problem. Soil degradation is where the quality of soil declines in its ability to support plant and animal life. Topsoil has many nutrients that are vital to supporting life and soil erosion is also a big problem where the top layers of soil are being eroded away by natural erosion and poor human management.
Healthy soil can be extremely bio diverse with many microorganisms thriving in it. Healthy soil contains and stores carbon dioxide, helps create oxygen and is a vital role in cleaning water. With new problems such as microplastics, overgrazing when farming animals, and things like chemical pollutions. Plastics are digested and put out into the soil as microplastics. These plastics are then put through our food as our grown food either eats from plants grown from their microplastic filled soil or are the plants that are grown in microplastic filled soil. These microplastics eventually make their way into humans which can cause many health problems such as cancer, cardiovascular disease, and digestive problems.
The degradation of soil is becoming more and more of a problem as humans grow and expand in technology. Without changing this will become a huge threat to the global population’s health as a whole. Soil Degradation can be slowed and maybe even reversed if done correctly. Leaving organic mass on soil and allowing it to compost like how nature intended it to be can help naturally bring back healthy soil. Using less chemicals to do things such as drive away pests and fighting disease and letting plants grow naturally will infect the soil with less and less chemical pollutants which is extremely healthy for soil.
Citations:
Soil degradation: The problems and how to fix them. Natural History Museum. (n.d.). Retrieved August 24, 2022, from https://www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/soil-degradation.html
