- More organisms exist in 1 tablespoon of soil than there are people on earth.
- Ever feel like you can breathe easier when you’re outside, particularly in soil-dense areas? That may be because soil contains more carbon than all of the world’s forests and 10% of the world’s carbon dioxide.
- Don’t let soil’s position on the food chain fool you-it’s actually vital for life to exist, and has been found in meteorites that were around during the birth of the solar system.
- Soil is alive! It contains billions of living microogranism, but only about 1% have been identified by scientists.
- The mismanagement of soil is said to contribute to climate change, due to the release of carbon dioxide, which is a greenhouse gas.
- Without a layer of vegetative matter covering its surface, soil is vulnerable, and is being swept and washed away 10 to 40 times faster than it is being replenished.
- Soil is essentially a recycling receptacle that processes nutrients for living things to use over and over again.
- Just under an inch of topsoil-the most productive layer of soil-takes about 500 years to produce.
- Thirty-one soil types are currently extinct in North America and 508 types are considered an endangered species in the United States.
- You can help save soil! Start a conversation about sustainable management of soil and water resources in your community.
10 Things You Didn’t Know About Oysters
edible MAINE Staff
