What is the importance of soil for life on Earth? Soil, its place and role in nature. What is the importance of soil for life on earth?

In a distant high school, we were given material about soils every year, so the standard three pages were imprinted in my memory for a long time. They also talked about the importance of soils for ecosystems, then it was a serious issue: the ecology in the city was so-so, we were taught to care about nature. In any case, everyone should know more about the importance of soil for life on our green-blue planet.

The importance of soil in the water cycle

Does everyone remember the diagram of water droplets moving across the lake, earth and sky in the picture? So, if anyone suddenly didn’t know or forgot: groundwater is an important component of the water cycle, and underground channels, rivers, and caves are formed due to soil erosion. Mineral substances contained in the soil settle on the surface of the emerging channel, and life appears in the underground caves: ground beetles, some amphibians and fish inhabit them.

Soil for animals

Everything here seems obvious: burrowing animals build entire underground castles, feed on insects, which leave larvae in the soil. Caecilians (these are Amphibians), all worms (flat, round, annelid) live shallowly in the soil, often spending their entire lives under the soil cover.

Soil for plants

Most plants have a root system that relies on the soil as drainage:

These three categories are distinguished on a completely understandable basis: ephemerals have a small root system that goes shallow into the soil and suck out minerals that lie shallow in the soil; some shrubs and trees can have roots reaching five to six meters in length.

The importance of soils for the ecosystem

Minerals and water contained in the soil directly affect the ecosystem: both plant and animal composition depend on it.

In addition, sediments that fall into the soil can be stored or processed, for example, ground woodlice convert lead that enters the soil into harmless sediments. Thus, harmful heavy metals do not enter the atmosphere.

Soil plays an important role in the natural human environment. First of all, because soil is the main means of agricultural production, belonging to the category of non-renewable natural resources. International declarations and agreements on environmental management issues - “World Conservation Strategy”, “World Soil Charter”, “Fundamentals of World Soil Policy” - affirm the importance of soil as the universal heritage of humanity, which should be rationally used and protected by all people of the Earth. Therefore, land use issues affect a complex of complex problems of a socio-economic nature: problems of land ownership, land legislation, land law, economic valuation of land and others, no less pressing...

In relation to the environment and humans, soil plays another important role - protective. Having the ability to absorb and retain various pollutants, including radionuclides, binding them chemically and physically, the soil thereby serves as a kind of filter that prevents the entry of these compounds into natural waters, plants, and further along the food chain into animal organisms and man. However, the possibilities of the soil in this regard are not limitless, and the level of technogenic pressure is increasing, so cases of dangerous soil contamination and subsequent poisoning of people are increasingly observed.
Human health is largely determined by the environment in which he is forced to live, and, as it turns out, soil plays an important role in this matter.

A number of diseases, the causes of which were previously unknown, are associated with certain soil conditions: an excess or deficiency of chemical elements, a violation of their ratio. The most widely known examples from this area are diseases of the thyroid gland (goiter and Graves' disease), lesions of tooth enamel (caries and fluorosis), but their list is very large and continues to expand. Thus, there is information about the connection with the characteristics of the soil cover even of cancer. Recent studies by oncologists of the geographic distribution of stomach cancer have shown that in Tunisia, Egypt, and Afghanistan, the incidence of stomach cancer is significantly lower than in England, France, and the USA. Clinical studies have suggested an increased risk of this disease with insufficient magnesium in food (and the root cause is the chemical composition of the soils on which the plants grow), as well as a violation of the ratio in the soil solution between Ca, Mg, Mn ions. But even earlier, in the 60s of the last century, this pattern was established using the example of the Rostov region in the joint work of soil scientists (Professor V.V. Akimtsev) and oncologists (Professor Z.M. Mitlin). They then published the book “Soils and Health”, which has long become a second-hand rarity.

Such diseases, according to the proposal of A.P. Vinogradov were called endemic, and territories with abnormal contents of chemical elements were called endemic provinces. V.V. Kowalski compiled a map of the biogeochemical zones and provinces of the USSR, which is presented as an illustration for this chapter. On it, he identified areas of distribution of a number of human and animal diseases caused by the properties of soils and waters. The solution to the origin of endemic diseases made it possible to develop measures to neutralize these phenomena.

Thus, many important issues in medicine and veterinary medicine cannot be resolved without taking into account the characteristics of the soil cover. And in 1986, within the framework of the International Society of Soil Sciences, the working group “Soils and Geomedicine” was organized. This created the prerequisites for the identification of a special section in soil science - medical.

There is another area of ​​human activity where taking into account the properties of soils and soil cover as a whole is absolutely necessary. Soils have different engineering and geological properties. The durability of wooden, metal and concrete structures, building foundations and their walls depends on the chemical composition of soil and groundwater and on the interaction between building materials and soil. The construction of roads and airfields is also based on the scientific principles of soil science, since the properties of soils determine the durability of coatings and these structures.

I hope I was able to convince you of the exceptional importance and uniqueness of “the most beautiful creation of the Almighty.” But the current state of the soil cover in our country is unsatisfactory and continues to deteriorate. To overcome the further development of soil degradation, including the famous Russian black soil - the national heritage of the country, measures are needed to protect them, and, above all, to improve land legislation. Developing a respectful attitude towards the soil should also play an important role, and this work must begin at school. The world community has already come to understand this situation. A project has been developed in the USA, one of the goals of which is to unite scientists, school teachers and schoolchildren to include soil science in school curricula. Unfortunately, in the homeland of soil science they are not yet thinking about this.

But it's never too late to learn. And you and I will learn the basics of this science not at our desks, but right in our own area.

The soil is located on the border of contact and interaction of three planetary shells - the lithosphere, atmosphere and hydrosphere, therefore, according to soil scientists, it forms a special geosphere - pedosphere, or the Earth's soil cover (Fig. 2).

At the same time, soil is a component of the biosphere - the area of ​​distribution of life on Earth. This unique position of the soil determines its role in natural processes and in human life.
1. Ensuring the existence of life on Earth. This is the main function of soil. From the soil, plants, and through them animals and humans, receive nutrients and water to create their biomass. Land plants take root in the soil, and a huge number of soil-dwelling animals and microorganisms live. Without soil, it is impossible for natural biocenoses - communities of living organisms - to exist on Earth. The properties of the soil, primarily its fertility, along with climatic factors, determine the distribution and abundance of living organisms on the Earth's land.
Soil is therefore an integral component of natural land ecosystems, and their structural unit (the lowest-ranking ecosystem) is biogeocenoses. This role of soil was emphasized by Academician Vladimir Nikolaevich Sukachev, who first proposed the concept of “biogeocenosis.”
2. Ensuring a constant cycle of substances is the second important function of the soil. On the surface of the earth, rocks undergo weathering, as a result of which elements of mineral nutrition for living organisms accumulate in the soil. These elements are absorbed from the soil by plants and return to the soil through the food chain system (plants - animals - microorganisms). This constitutes a small (biological) cycle of substances.
From the soil, elements are partially carried into bodies of water and ultimately end up in the World Ocean, where they participate in the formation of sedimentary rocks, which in the geological history of the Earth can undergo deep transformations or again come to the surface. This is how the large (geological) cycle of substances proceeds. Consequently, the soil is a link and regulator of the interaction of these two cycles of substances.
3. Providing the bulk of food received by humans is another important function of the soil. Therefore, soil plays a significant role in the natural human environment: it serves as the main means of agricultural production, the economic basis of human existence.
The importance of soil as the universal heritage of mankind is emphasized by all major international declarations and agreements (World Conservation Strategy, World Soil Charter, Framework for World Soil Policy). The soil is the property of all humanity, so we must use and protect it rationally. This is our duty to the modern generation of people and descendants.
The concept of soil is consonant with the concept of land, but they are not synonymous. Soil is a natural-historical concept that relates only to a natural object. Land is not only a natural-historical, but at the same time a socio-economic concept related to a natural resource. It includes not only the soil itself, but also a certain part of the earth’s surface, its position in geographic space and socio-economic potential.

THE ROLE OF SOIL IN HUMAN LIFE AND ACTIVITY Soil also plays an important role in the natural human environment. First of all, because soil is the main means of agricultural production, classified as a non-renewable natural resource. International declarations and agreements on environmental issues (“World Conservation Strategy”, “World Soil Charter”, “Foundations of World Soil Policy”) affirm the importance of soil as the universal heritage of humanity, which should be rationally used and protected by all people of the Earth. Therefore, land use issues affect a complex of complex problems of a socio-economic nature: issues of land ownership, land legislation, land law, economic valuation of land, etc. In relation to the environment and humans, soil plays another important role - protective. Having the ability to absorb and retain various pollutants, including radionuclides, binding them chemically and physically, the soil thereby serves as a kind of filter that prevents the entry of these compounds into natural waters, plants and further along the food chain into animal organisms and humans . However, the possibilities of the soil in this regard are not unlimited, and the level of technogenic pressure is increasing, so cases of dangerous soil contamination and subsequent poisoning of people are increasingly observed. Human health is largely determined by the environment in which he is forced to live, and, as it turns out, soil plays an important role in this matter. Some diseases, the causes of which were previously unknown, are associated with certain soil conditions: an excess or deficiency of chemical elements, a violation of their ratio. The most widely known examples from this area are diseases of the thyroid gland (goiter and Graves' disease), lesions of tooth enamel (caries and fluorosis), but their list is very large and continues to expand. Thus, there is information about the connection with the characteristics of the soil cover and cancer. A study by oncologists of the geographical distribution of stomach cancer showed that in Tunisia, Egypt, and Afghanistan the incidence of stomach cancer is significantly lower than in England, France, and the USA. Clinical studies have suggested an increased risk of this disease with insufficient magnesium in food (and therefore in water and soils), as well as with a violation of the ratio in the soil solution between Ca, Mg, Mn ions. This pattern was confirmed using the example of the Rostov region in the joint work of soil scientists (V.V. Akimtsev) and oncologists (Z.M. Mitlin). Such diseases, according to the proposal of A.P. Vinogradov were called endemic, and territories with abnormal contents of chemical elements were called endemic provinces. V.V. Kowalski compiled a map of biogeochemical zones and provinces of the USSR. On it, he identified areas of distribution of a number of human and animal diseases caused by the biogeochemical properties of soils and waters. The solution to the origin of endemic diseases made it possible to develop measures to neutralize these phenomena. Soils are populated by myriads of microorganisms. Some of them are isolated from soils and are used to produce valuable medicinal drugs - antibiotics. The soil microflora also contains pathogenic forms that cause severe diseases, for example, the causative agents of tetanus (b. tetani), anthrax (b. anthracis), malignant edema (b. oedematis maligni) and some others. Some human and animal diseases are associated with animals living only in certain soil conditions. For example, rodents and insects living in sandy and sandy loam soils of semi-deserts and dry steppes carry diseases such as tularemia and plague. Thus, many important issues in medicine and veterinary medicine cannot be resolved without taking into account the characteristics of the soil cover. That is why in 1986 the working group “Soils and Geomedicine” was organized within the framework of the International Society of Soil Sciences. This created

The importance of soil or pedosphere as the most important component of the Earth's biosphere is enormous. Without soil there would be no life.

Pedosphere is the soil cover of the earth's crust formed by the natural conditions of the area.

After all, even on the paradise islands, where they say people live in blissful idleness compared to us, there must be land on which palm trees grow, the fruits of which these people eat.

Character of the surface layer

The nature and composition of the surface layer at each place on Earth is related to the geological basis, climate and many local factors.

Soil is formed from the parent rock of a rocky base through weathering, in which not only climate and rainfall play a role, but also microorganisms. And since this process proceeds quite slowly, the importance of soil for humans is great. In the dry climate of deserts, the surface layer forms even more slowly and is carried away faster by the wind than in our temperate climate. This also affects.

So, what is needed to form a fertile layer of soil?

So-called lateritic soils occur in places with a tropical climate, and chernozems are remnants of ancient interglacial geological periods. Lateritic top surfaces are characterized by low silica content but high aluminum and iron content.
There are many other, at first glance, less significant factors that influence the formation and significance of soil. A very important role belongs to microorganisms that are capable of decomposing insoluble components of rocks, for example, silicon and basalt.

In fact, it is not at all difficult for nature, with the help of its simple means: water, wind, frost and microorganisms, to decompose, of course over many years, a persistent, seemingly indestructible material.

On the famous Krakatoa volcano in Indonesia, a layer of soil 35 cm thick appeared in just 45 years. Now on the slopes of some volcanoes, farmers process volcanic ash five to ten years after the eruption and get a good harvest.

Soil scientists studying the surface layer look at a vertical slice.
Most soils in the section range from tens of centimeters to several meters and have:

• plant residue;
• humus or humus;
• parent base (gneiss, granite, limestone, sandstone).

Many people have seen the structure of soil in nature. To do this, it is enough to look into a deep hole or at the wall of some quarry: deep, not weathered rock, and this weathering is noticeable the more, the closer to the arable layer it is located. Weathering occurs due to the effects of winds, precipitation and time. Depending on how the parent rocks are represented in the soil section and what the content of organic parts is, different types of pedosphere are distinguished, including by color: chernozem, sierozem, red soil, yellow soil. The soil horizon or profile varies in composition in different parts of the Earth.

Man and the surface layer of land

Rocks are characterized by both chemical and mineralogical composition. In the same way, each type of soil can be characterized by listing the minerals and chemical compounds included in it.

However, the most significant fact remains that the importance of soil is that it is the most valuable rock that cannot be replaced by anything.