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Friday, April 27, 2007




Soil:



Superficial covering that overlies the bedrock of most of the land area of the Earth; an aggregation of unconsolidated mineral and organic particles produced by physical, chemical, and biological processes; and the medium that supports the growth of most plants. The primary components of soil are inorganic materials that are mostly produced by the weathering of bedrock; soluble nutrients, or chemical elements and compounds used by plants for growth; various forms of organic matter; and gases (notably oxygen, nitrogen, and carbon dioxide) and water required by plants and soil organisms.


Soil is an important natural resource and is the medium within which most agriculture takes place. The specific properties of soil are of great concern to farmers. Knowledge of the mineral and organic components of soils, of the amount of air they contain (aeration), and of their water-holding capacity, as well as of many other aspects of soil structure, is necessary for the successful production of crops. The characteristics required for successful crop growth are not necessarily inherent in the soil itself; some are created by successful soil management. The cultivation of land, however, often depletes soil of essential nutrients, notably nitrogen, potassium, and calcium, and deprives it of its natural vegetational covering, and thus much of its protection against erosion by water and wind. Agriculturalists have had to develop methods both of preventing the harmful alteration of soils that can result from cultivation and of rebuilding soil that has already been detrimentally altered.


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