What’s New: Week 6 Earth Science

How do human
activities affect soil?

Submitted by: Janel P. Flores

Section: Stem 11 - T
Submitted to: Ma’am Lou Itoc Cabugo
 I. Introduction
Soil, the biologically active, porous medium that has
developed in the uppermost layer of Earth’s crust. Soil is
one of the principal substrata of life on Earth, serving as a
reservoir of water and nutrients, as a medium for the
filtration and breakdown of injurious wastes, and as a
participant in the cycling of carbon and other elements
through the global ecosystem. It has evolved through
weathering processes driven by biological, climatic,
geologic, and topographic influences. We have to
conserve our natural resources since many of them are
limited. Conserve means to protect something from harm
or destruction. Many people are committed to taking care
of earth's natural resources.

This Research paper contain about the causes and effects

of certain human activities to soil degradation and
demonstrate the effectiveness on how to save or protect
our soil resources.
 II. Background Information
Natural resources are available to sustain the very
complex interaction between living things and non-living
things. Humans also benefit immensely from this
interaction. All over the world, people consume resources
directly or indirectly. Developed countries consume more
resources than under-developed countries. Soil is a
necessary resource. Soil helps sustain life on Earth
including your life. You already know that soil supports
the growth of plants, which in turn supply food for
animals. Therefore, soil provides you with nearly all the
food you eat. But that’s not all. Many other items you use,
such as cotton clothing and medicines, come from plants.
Lumber in your home comes from trees. Even the oxygen
you breathe comes from plants. Besides supporting the
growth of plants, soil plays other life sustaining roles. Soil
helps purify, or clean, water as it drains through the
ground and into rivers, lakes, and oceans. Decomposers in
soil also help recycle nutrients by breaking down the
remains of plants and animals, releasing nutrients that
living plants use to grow. In addition, soil provides a
home for a variety of living things, from tiny one-celled
organisms to small mammals. The way people use land
can affect the levels of nutrients and pollution in soil. Any
activity that exposes soil to wind and rain can lead to soil
loss. Farming, construction and development, and mining
are among the main activities that impact soil resources.
The resources that we have now are slowly diminishing as
time goes by because of ignorance and unrighteous acts of
other human beings.
Farming, construction of structure and waste disposal
affect the soil quality and availability since they have
negative effects to the soil. Anything that could happen in
the land by these activities can cause direct damage to soil
organisms that can lead to soil degradation and
sedimentation
 III. Evaluation of the case
What happens when soil quality has been affected caused
by different situations?
 Farming - is very important to society because almost
all of the world’s food is grown on farms. Over the
10,000 years humans have been farming, people have
continually improved their farming methods.
However, farming has some harmful effects and can
lead to soil loss. Farmers often add nutrients to soil in
the form of organic or artificial fertilizers to make
their crops grow better. However, some fertilizers can
make it difficult for microorganisms in the soil to
produce nutrients naturally. Fertilizers also add to
water pollution when rainwater draining from fields
carries the excess nutrients to rivers, lakes, and
oceans. Over time, many farming practices lead to
the loss of soil. All over the world, farmers clear trees
and other plants and plow up the soil to plant crops.
Without its natural plant cover, the soil is more
exposed to rain and wind and is therefore more likely
to get washed or blown away. American farmers lose
about five metric tons of soil for each metric ton of
grain they produce. In many other parts of the world,
the losses are even higher. Another problem is
 overgrazing. Overgrazing occurs when farm animals
eat large amounts of the land cover. Overgrazing
destroys natural vegetation and causes the soil to
wash or blow away more easily. In many dry regions
of the world, overgrazing and the clearing of land for
farming have led to desertification. the expansion of
desert conditions in areas where the natural plant
cover has been destroyed.

 Construction of Structures - Construction activities,

such as grading and filling, drastically reduce soil
quality on construction sites. Left unprotected, sites
will be further degraded by erosion and begin to
adversely affect the surrounding environment. The
goal of soil quality management on construction sites
is to revegetate for protection against off-site damage
and increase soil organic matter levels to remedy the
on-site damage caused by site preparation. To make
roads, houses, shopping malls, and other buildings,
people need to dig up the soil. Some of the soil at
construction sites washes or blows away because its
protective plant cover has been removed. The soil
that is washed or blown away ends up in nearby low-
lying areas, in rivers and streams, or in downstream
lakes or reservoirs. This soil can cause problems by
 making rivers and lakes muddy and harming the
organisms that live in them. The buildup of soil on
riverbeds raises the level of the rivers and may cause
flooding. The soil can also fill up lakes and
reservoirs.

 Waste disposal - the collection, processing, and

recycling or deposition of the waste materials of
human society. Waste is classified by source and
composition. From being an eyesore to releasing
toxins, improper waste disposal on any scale can
create environmental problems, health problems and
even economic concerns. This is also true for older
landfill sites, which are often unlined. The lining of
landfills prevents toxic substances from being
released into the ground water. Littering causes an
eyesore, which devalues the land around it. This
impacts tourism, businesses and residents alike.
 IV. Propose Solution
When it comes to finding solutions for soil erosion, the
most useful techniques found tend to be those that
emphasize reinforcing the structure of the soil and
reducing processes that affect it.
1. Careful Tilling
Because tilling activity breaks up the structure of the soil,
doing less tilling with fewer passes will preserve more of
the crucial topsoil.
2. Crop Rotation
Plenty of crop rotation is crucial for keeping land happy
and healthy. This allows organic matter to build up,
making future plantings more fertile.
3. Increased Structure for Plants
Introducing terraces or other means of stabilizing plant
life or even the soil around them can help reduce the
chance that the soil loosens and erodes. Boosting areas
that are prone to erosion with sturdy plant life can be a
great way to stave off future effects.
4. Water Control
For those areas where soil erosion is predominantly
caused by water – whether natural or man-made –
specialized chutes and runoff pipes can help to direct
these water sources away from the susceptible areas,
helping stave off excess erosion.
Having these filters in particular areas rather than leading
to natural bodies of water is a focus to reduce pollution.
5. Soil Conservation
Soil conservation can be defined as “the combination of
the appropriate land use and management practices that
promotes the productive and sustainable use of soils and,
in the process, minimizes soil erosion and other forms of
land degradation.”
Various measures for soil conservation are primarily
meant for the prevention of soil loss or reduced fertility
caused by acidification, over usage, salinization or other
chemical soil contamination.
Different techniques for improved soil conservation
involve cover crops, crop rotation, planted windbreaks,
and conservation tillage and affect both fertility and
erosion.
-A major factor for preventing soil erosion is educating
more and more people who work with the land on why it
is a concern, and what they can do to help reduce it.
This means outreach to farmers in susceptible areas for
ways that they can help protect crops from inclement
weather or ways that they can help make sure their soil
remains compact without restricting their plant growing
activities.
V.Recommendation
For all I know if we follow the solutions we can save and
protect our soil. The world should not be ignorant about
our resources, where it came from, the importance or
needs. Because if they neglected for what we have now
they will regret it in the future, so we need to value and
save them now because without them we cannot survive
later on.
https://www.worldwildlife.org/threats/soil-erosion-and-
degradation
https://www.wri.org/blog/2020/01/causes-effects-how-to-
prevent-soil-erosion
http://www.omafra.gov.on.ca/english/engineer/facts/12-
053.htm