Soil

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**My name is Makayla and my Natural Resource is Soil**
====** Definition: ** **Soil is an important natural resource that covers much of the earths land surface. It is a renewable resource that takes thousands of years to form. Soil is formed when environmental forces break down rocks and similar materials that lie on or near the earths surface. It contains mineral and organic particales, other plant and animal matter, air and water. The contents of the soil are constantly changing. It is also depended on by most of the life on earth as a direct or indirect source of food. ** ====

** What its used for:**
 * 1) **Engineering**
 * - enginers must inspect the soil of and area before building to make sure the soil is stable enought to hold the buildings or roads.**

- People use soil to shape and decorate their yards.**
 * 1) **Agriculture**
 * - Soil is used in farming and gardening.**
 * 1) **Reclamation**
 * - improving and putting back minerals that have been depleated from the soil so it can be used effectivly again.**
 * Landscaping


 * Pennsylvanis is known for having alot of farms. Here we use the soil mostly for growing crops and producing hay for animals. Farmers make sure the soil is taken care of so they can produce good crops which go to the store to be sold. Most of our crops are use by local people or they are shiped to other places around the world. Examples of places in pennsylvania where the soil is used for farming are Williamsburg, Huntingdon, State Collage, Spruce creek and many others.**

**Conservatinon and Management:** **Farmers take care and prepare the soil before they plant their crops. They add organic matter to the soil by plowing under certain green plants. They add fertilizers and rotate crops to replace the nutrients that reaching and growing plants remove. Soil is use to grow many crops that help provide the world with food. Contractors inspect the soil to make sure it is strong enough to hold what they are building on top of it.**

** Soil and our ecosystem: All kinds of trees and plants depend on the soil for stability, nutrients, and water. Most nutrient cycling takes place in the top 2 feet of soil where the plants can get air, water, food and microorganisms can thrive. These microorganisms such as bacteria, fungi and algae can work in conjunction with insects and burrowing animals to break down dead or decaying animal and plant life and inturn release carbon dioxid into the air and nutrients into the soil. **

** Soil Sustainability: ** **Soil is a renewable resources but the way we use the soil is not sustainable, if erosion or other disturbances exceed formation or recovery. It is possible to maintain or improve soil conditions by maintaining or increasing organic matter, nutrients and soil organism diversity.**

** Societys needs and the Environmental impact: Environmental impact: one major impact on our environment is soil erosion. Around the world soil is being washed away 10 to 40 times faster than is is being replenished. Destroying croplands the size of indiana every year.

Societys needs: ****we need soil because from soil life attains certain elements and compounds necessary to maintain, expand, and produce more life it also helps sustain life on this planet. We need the soil to build on, to walk on, and to grow the food we eat. The cultivation of soil has enabled humans to build empires and to progress to what we are today **

**My feelings**
 * I feel that soil is an important natural resource because it is what keeps life on earth possible. We need it to help grow our food. We need it to build on so we can have homes and places to go. Its what our trees and plants need to help produce oxygen so we can breath.**