Soil Pollution

Poor soil management can lead to biological, chemical, and physical degradation, which can in turn negatively alter the activity of

Developing means of farming agriculture is the reasons humans live in the world they do today. Modern agricultural practices have started the process of agriculture pollution. This process causes the degradation of the eco-system, land, and environment due to the day by-products of agriculture. Agriculture pollution in the United States is a serious problem which affects the health and sustainability of our great nation.

Vast numbers and kinds of organisms, mainly microorganisms, inhabit soil and depend on it for shelter, food, and water. Plants anchor themselves in soil, and from it they receive essential minerals and water. Terrestrial plants could not survive without soil, and because we depend on plants for our food, humans could not exist without soil either (Wiley, 2013).

Soil turnover - as soil is moved around by digging animals, organic matter is mixed through which distributes nutrients throughout the soil

Bioremediators need to be able to grow in order to remediate the soil of pollutants. The purpose of this research is to determine whether the presence of Stropharia rugoso-annulata in the soil will support and accelerate the growth of ryegrass in a mutualistic symbiotic relationship. If the growth of the ryegrass is accelerated and supported, the combination of the two bioremediators could potentially accelerate the degradation of PAHs in the soil. Techniques such as soil washing, soil flushing, vitrification, etc., exist to remediate contaminated soil. Although, these techniques are effective, they also disturb the natural environment to some degree. Bioremediation is often accomplished in situ resulting in minimal environmental disturbance. This study is being performed because healthy soil is a limited resource that needs to be preserved and replenished. The state of soil can impact the health of humans, animals, and ecosystems, therefore, it’s important to be able to monitor and control the pollutants in

Franklin D Roosevelt once said, “the history of every Nation is eventually written in the way in which it cares for its soil.” The United States began seeing sustainable management practices in farms, and healthier soil through this act. In 1982 through 2007, the United States soil erosion had declined by 43%” (Montanarella, 2015). Every year the United States loses about $400 billion dollars due to crop soil that is eroded. Soil is a limited resource and the largest resource for growing food, accommodating diverse ecosystems, and providing food resources. Therefore laws, acts, and provisions are necessary to protect this natural resource.

The microbes found in soil go hand in hand with the microbes found in our bodies, especially the gut microbiome. Soil is used to grow various plants and crops which we then ingest. As stated in Healthy Soil Microbes, Healthy People, we have completely destroyed soil microbes by overusing fertilizers and pesticides just like how we have destroyed our gut microbes by ingesting processed foods and large amounts of antibiotics. Soil microbes, including bacteria and fungi, form symbiotic relationships with plant roots to help provide the plant with many nutrients needed to survive. In order to restore and improve the soil once again, we need to reintroduce bacteria and fungi that are capable of repairing the damage. Through recent technological advances, the soil microbiome was genetically sequenced. This allows farmers and other scientists to understand which microorganisms are

“ Without soil, land plants as we know them could not grow, and without plants no animals could survive”(53). This quote shows the great importance of one of our most important resources soil. “Perhaps the most important organisms in the soil, are the smallest-the invisible hosts of bacteria and threadlike fungi”(54). And, this quote shows how important the small organisms are. These include bacteria, fungi, and insects, which play such are large roll in life and are commonly being overlooked. One way they are being overlooked is by having chemicals sprayed on them and no one wonders what will happen. Well, if you are spraying chemicals to kill insects, it is most definite that the insects, such as earthworms, are going to be killed as well. These organisms are what make our soil so fertile, and without them we won’t be able to grow as much food. That being said, if we continue to plague the organisms of the soil with chemicals eventually, we will have less soil. We will no longer be able to grow as much crop due to this and we will not sustain the same lifestyle that we had

has now have been absorbed by the dirt, making the land toxic. As announced by the article

Soil pollution also referred to as soil contamination occurs when degradation or destruction of the earth’s surface and soil occurs directly or indirectly as a result of human activities. As Americans we tend to abuse the use of things such as cars for driving, books, paper, and computers without the knowledge of where it will end up. According to the food and Agriculture Organization approximately 40 percent of food in the U.S. goes to waste. After the garbage man has taken the materials, it ends up in a huge or small landfill waiting to be emerged into the soil. The average person generates

Thus, in conclusion, this essay has considered: the definition of soil, identifying the components of, and its contribution to soils unique properties, and the critical roles in which soils play to sustain life on Earth. Soil, therefore, coincides with life on our

Urbanization brings about a new set of problems to the environment. These problems include air pollution and land pollution. As new builds and roads are built the ability of soil to absorb

According to the European Union’s Joint Research Center, soil contains nearly one third of all living organisms, but only about one percent have been identified. Another study in 2003 featured in the journal Ecosystems estimated that 5% of the United State’s soil biodiversity was “in danger of substantial loss, or complete extinction, due to agriculture and urbanization.” (Robbins) The damage comes from multiple sources. Paving or building over soil effectively blocks out the air, water, and light needed to have a functioning soil biome meaning that roads, cities, sidewalks, houses, and businesses have destroyed the soil beneath it. Agricultural practices remove organic material, decreasing food, and then allows fallowed land to become dry and exposed to the elements. Household, industrial, and agricultural toxins can also sterilize soil if not disposed of

It is always difficult to remove contaminations from soils because it contains many toxic chemicals such as (Pb, As, Cu, Cd, Cr, Ni, Hg and Zn). This chemicals mixed with the soil after burning of industrial waste, electronics waste or uses of agricultural technology. Then rain water makes it seep deep into the soil and cause soil pollution. This makes it so difficult and time consuming to remove, particularly when the affected area is on a large scale. Soil is made of by two components which are organic and inorganic solid constituent, water and mixture of different gasses present in various proportions. The mineral component in the soil varies, according to the parent material which the soils had been developed due to the issue of different type of climate conditions. Also, soil can also be classified into three different properties, physical, chemical and biological properties. Physical properties of soil are being controlled by soil water movement, such as texture and soil structures. The soil moisture have high tendency in controlling solute movement, salt solubility, chemical reaction and microbiological activities and most importantly the bioavailability of metal ions. In this situation, a successful phytoremediation program must be considered as an alternative in the specific site. In the past lots of researchers have tried different method in order to mitigate or reclaim the heavy metals polluted soils, but so far phytoremediation is the best of all because it is

Do gas stations cause soil contamination? How do underground gasoline pipes affect surrounding soil? In order to find out the answers to these questions, one must explore how soil gets contaminated and the effects. Also, the physical properties of soil and six different ways to identify healthy soil. These include finding weeds, attempting the “Mason Jar Soil Test”, “The Squeeze Test”, “The Percolation Test”, and “The pH Test”.