2015 has been declared the international year of Soils by the United Nations. Soils play an important part of in our lives & must be maintained for a sustainable future. Some of the major roles that soil play are as below :
- Food Media : Food is grown by using a soil as a media in agriculture. Soils help in absoprtion of nutrients & water by crops. Soils also provide anchorage to crops & trees. Soils play a major role in ensuring food security.
- Ensures bio-diversity : Soils are medium in which billions of different life forms exist. These include bacteria , fungi , insects & fauna. All these organisms have a role to play in our environment.
- Climate change mitigation : Soils regulate carbon & other nutrient cycles. Soils are the biggest source for carbon sinks. It helps in limiting Green house gas emissions, which cause global warming. Soils also filter water which flows into the ground water table & ultimately into the water supply through rivers & lakes. Excessive chemical usage can cause eutrophication.
Soils are almost a non-renewable resource from a practical time frame. Soils take thousands years to form. Hence it is very essential that soils are protected from degradation / contamination which are caused by human activities
- Sagar Bhansali
No comments:
Post a Comment