Why do we need soil?

An illustration organisms in the soil environment

Look around you. Soil covers almost all of Earth’s land. We walk on soil in the woods, in parks, even in our own backyards. Engineers build houses and buildings on its surface. Soil is the place where plants and trees grow, making it a big part of agriculture.

Soil is home to millions of tiny soil organisms (living things), from one-celled bacteria to ants, earthworms, and other small animals. These organisms interact with one another, and with their environment (the world around them). Similarly, when the soil environment changes, soil organisms are affected. Today, humans are changing the soil in ways never before seen, and these changes are having major effects on soil organisms.

Most importantly, soil is an important resource. Growing our food relies on farming, which relies on having good soil. Once soil is damaged, it is very hard to replace. For this reason, environmental factors that harm the soil (such as pollution, erosion, and other forms of soil degradation) can threaten the quality of soil. The study of soil helps ecologists solve these environmental problems.