World Soil Day Promotes Soil Protection

Dec. 5, 2013 is World Soil Day, and the Soil Science Society of America (SSSA) has issued a reminder about the importance of protecting the world’s soil.

“Soil is one of the world’s most neglected resources,” said David Lindbo, North Carolina State soil scientist and president of SSSA. “We must take care of our soil for this generation, and all generations to come.” The tag line for the SSSA is “Soils Sustain Life,” which “illustrates that without soil, we don’t have food, clothing, shelter, water—all the things that contribute to life.”

Nick Comerford, University of Florida soil scientist and SSSA member, wrote a SSSA blog post for World Soil Day explaining how soil cleans water.

“Soil is the largest filter on the planet,” Comerford said. Soil is a physical filter, taking out particulates. It also is a chemical reactor. Negatively charged soil acts like a magnet, pulling out positively charged ions and other pollutants that travel through the soil, and microbes that live in soil help to clean water further by providing miniature water treatment plants in the soil. To learn more, read Comerford’s blog post.

SSSA manages a public information website on www.soils.org called Discover Soils, featuring information about the relationship between soils and health, soils and culture, and urban gardening.

Source: Soil Science Society of America