Conserving and Rebuilding Soil By: Manal Bounif & Brielle Bickford

Soil supports life on earth.  

Soil is involved in so much more than the average person might imagine. Soil lets plants grow, allows gas exchanges to happen between the land and air, provides habitat for most of the organisms on Earth, holds and cleans water, recycles nutrients, and is used for constructing structures like buildings. It takes over five hundred years to form two centimeters of new topsoil. If it takes that long its shocking to think how the worlds population is abusing what provides it sustenance. Just one handful of soil has millions of different organisms imperative to its health. Soil erosion has several different harmful effects. Erosion reduces the soils productivity and abilities to sustain life. If we do not take soil conservation and rebuilding seriously, we threaten the existence of life on earth.

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This is the time for action to rebuild our soil and conserve the progress. The first way we can do this is to take overworked agricultural land and devote it to planting trees, therefore decreasing erosion and protecting the soil. Another big problem is overgrazing, which robs the soil of nutrients by constantly ridding the soil of its vegetation. By limiting the herds access to specific areas we can decrease the affected soil area. Their should also be a ban on clear cutting in forests. This is not 

only harmful to the environment, but also to the soil. When you clear cut you are not only taking away the trees, but also the topsoil and all of the nutrients from the soil. 

The difference between grazing patterns. 

The after effects of clear cutting in California. 

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All of the things mentioned seem out of reach for the normal individual, but their are things that can be done on an individual basis. The first thing is that people should stop paving driveways and patios. This is because water gains momentum through these paved surfaces and increases soil erosion.  Another option is to restore wetland habitats, like the corkscrew swamp sanctuary. Wetland habitats act as sponges and prevent excess water from carrying away the soil. We can also reestablish forests and other plants that have deep and complex root systems which keep the soil locked in place. All of these things are imperative to rebuild and continue to build up the soil which gives everything life. 

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Educational song to the tune of Taylor Swift's Bad Blood 

'Cause, baby, now we got shopping malls 

You know it used to be forest 

So take a look what we have done 

'Cause, baby, now we got nutrient deprived soil 

Hey 

Now we got problems And I don't think we can solve them alone 

We made a really big environmental issue And, baby, now we got bad soil 

Hey

Did you have to do this? I was thinking that we could prevent erosion. 

Did you have to ruin what was resourceful? Now it's all eroding. 

Did you have to chop the trees, where forest used to be? Now there’s nothing. And threaten the existence of life on earth, you're killing ecosystems.

Oh, it's so sad to think about the erosion, deforestation and overgrazing. 

'Cause, baby, now we got shopping malls You know it used to be forest So take a look what we have done 

'Cause, baby, now we got nutrient deprived soil 

Hey 

Now we got problems And I don't think we can solve them alone We made a really big environmental issue And, baby, now we got bad soil 

Hey

Did you think we'd be fine? Preventing soils productivity 

So don't think it's in the past, these negative impacts they last and they last 

Now did you think it all through? All these things will catch up to us 

And time can heal but this won't, unless we restore wetland habitats

Oh, it's so sad to think about the erosion, deforestation and overgrazing. 

'Cause, baby, now we got shopping malls You know it used to be forest So take a look what we have done 

'Cause, baby, now we got nutrient deprived soil 

Hey 

Now we got problems And I don't think we can solve them alone We made a really big environmental issue

And, baby, now we got bad soil 

Hey

Paved driveways and patios don't fix erosion. We say sorry but it is known if we live like this, we live an unsustainable life. 

Paved driveways and patios don't fix erosion. (hey) We say sorry but it is known (hey) If we live like this, we live an unsustainable life.

Mhmmm If you live like that gas exchange runs out!

'Cause, baby, now we got shopping malls You know it used to be forest So take a look what we have done 

'Cause, baby, now we got nutrient deprived soil 

Hey 

Now we got problems And I don't think we can solve them alone We made a really big environmental issue And, baby, now we got bad soil.

Sources: 

Fullen, M. A. (2003). Soil erosion and conservation in northern europe. Progress in Physical 

   Geography, 27(3), 331-358. doi:http://dx.doi.org.ezproxy.fgcu.edu/10.1191/030913303767888473

Parwada, C., & Van Tol, J. (2016). The nature of soil erosion and possible conservation strategies in          

   ntabelanga area, eastern cape province, south africa.Acta Agriculturae Scandinavica.Section B.Soil and  

   

   Plant Science, 66(6), 544-552. doi:http://dx.doi.org.ezproxy.fgcu.edu/10.1080/09064710.2016.1188979

Pei, S., Xie, G., Li, S., & Chen, L. (2012). Soil conservation value flow processes of two typical 

   grasslands. Shengtai Xuebao/Acta Ecologica Sinica, 32(13), 4025-4033. 

   doi:http://dx.doi.org.ezproxy.fgcu.edu/10.5846/stxb201106050751

Rygiewicz, P. T., Monleon, V. J., Ingham, E. R., Martin, K. J., & Johnson, M. G. (2010). Soil life in 

    reconstructed ecosystems: Initial soil food web responses after rebuilding a forest soil profile for a        

    climate change experiment. Applied Soil Ecology, 45(1), 26-38. 

    doi:http://dx.doi.org.ezproxy.fgcu.edu/10.1016/j.apsoil.2010.01.006

Tenan, N., (2010). Conserving and Rebuilding Soils in the U.S. and around the world. Retrieved. 

    November 16,2016, from http://www. grist.org/article/conserving-and-rebuilding-soils/

Writer, L.B., (2015, February 12). Conserving and Rebuilding Soils. Retrieved. November 16,2016,

    from http://www.treehugger.com/natural-sciences/conserving-and-rebuilding-soils.html