Interaction-2_Video-1

Today, we will learn about soil. What is soil? How is it formed? What is its importance to us? We all live on the planet earth. Have you ever thought why is the life possible on the earth? Life is possible on the earth because of air, water, sunlight and the soil. These are necessary elements for the life. So, why is the soil necessary? Soil is a necessary element of the life as all the plants grow on the soil. We know plants are primary source of food for all of us. Soil also is the home for many insects, and, small animals like the rabbit which makes burrough, or the snake which lives in holes. Some houses like the kutcha houses are also made up of mud or the soil. Apart from this, we get many minerals from the soil such as calcium, magnesium, potassium, etc. But, what is the soil actually? How is it formed? You surely will have this question in mind, who can form such a huge amount of soil? Let us see it in detail. Millions of years ago, the earth was made up only of rocks. There was no soil, hence, no plants and no life. Slowly the huge rocks broke into small pieces due to action of rain, frost, heat and the wind. This process of break down of huge rocks into smaller pieces is called Weathering. Weathering takes place as rocks are broken down into progressively smaller pieces by the effects of weather. Slowly, tiny plants and green moss grew on the broken pieces of the rocks. When these plants died, their remains were added to rock pieces and the soil was formed. Weathering continued and the bigger trees started to grow. And, slowly the animal life began on the earth. It took millions of years for the soil to form. Soil forms the top layer of earth. The soil itself is not the same throughout. It also has a layered structure. The top most layer of the soil is called the Top soil. It is very fertile plants grow in it. Below the Top soil is the Sub soil. It is hard with mostly small rocks. Below it is Weathered rock fragments where there is little or no plant or animal life The bottom most layer is the Bedrock which is the starting stage of the earth, millions of years ago. It has only big rocks. In short, the soil is a mixture of broken rocks and minerals, living organisms, the decaying organic matter. Let me tell you a small joke! Can you guess why did the gardener plant his money? Guess, guess, guess! No idea! He wanted the soil to be rich! This decaying organic matter present in the top soil is called Humus. Humus is dark, soft and rich in nutrients. Humus layer which is the top most layer of the soil, is formed in millions of years. It is very useful as you can see all plants grow well in this layer of the soil.