Why study soil?

 

Soil is an integral part of the ecosystem. Air, water and soil comprise the various ecosystems of the earth. A biome is a complex system of soil, climate and organisms. Soil is susceptible to pollution. We pollute soil by exposing it to human sewage, industrial waste products, agricultural and milling wastes, and natural contaminants.

 

Soil is the primary resource for food Production. A subsistence diet requires about 400 lb (181 kg) of grain per person per year. This amount of grain production requires about 0.11 acres (0.045 hectares). An affluent, high-meat diet requires at least 4 times more grain (~.44 acres, 0.18 hectares) because the conversion of grain to meat is highly inefficient. Even cattle fed much of their life on pasture are typically fattened up in a feedlot where they are fed about 6 pounds of grain for every pound of weight gain. Of course much of this weight gain is not edible meat, and most of the meat weight is water. This inefficiency is exacerbated by market trends showing that chicken has now surpassed beef consumption. Chickens, of course, are not pastured at all. Trends indicate that within a few years pork will also surpass beef. Again, hogs are rarely pastured. The earth has about 0.62 acres (0.25 hectares) of farmland per person, and about 0.30 acres (0.12 hectares) of grainland per person. As you do the math you realize that the earth does not have enough land for all inhabitants to enjoy an affluent diet. This land shortage will worsen in the future.