Why Soil Matters

our soil is dying we tend to focus on issues such as fossil fuels or water in our fight for climate action and often the issue of soil quality gets left in the dust but it takes an average of 500 years to naturally build an inch of topsoil and we're losing it at 17 times that rate although soil degradation can be caused by a number of natural factors increasingly soil quality is affected by human actions today I'm going to narrow in on one of the bigger human caused factors industrial agriculture in order to answer what soil degradation is why it's happening and why we need to strive for better soil health so first what is soil degradation quite simply it means decline in soil health as a result of misuse or poor management soil can vary widely in its depth depending on whether it's young or stable and old but it's generally teeming with life according to the earth Institute at Columbia University it's estimated that an acre of soil may contain 900 pounds of earthworms 2,400 pounds of fungi 1,500 pounds of bacteria 133 pounds of protozoa 890 pounds of arthropods and algae and even sometimes small mammals and when in soil health is affected this biodiverse system wanes why then is soil degradation such a big issue now well the quality of topsoil can definitely be damaged by natural occurrences like floods or wind the rate of topsoil loss has increased radically over the last 200 years in the United States as a result of modern agricultural practices in Pimentel a tall study on the economics of soil erosion and conservation they estimate that in the United States soil has been lost at about 17 times the rate at which its formed we can pin some of the soil loss to the intensive cultivation practices and mono cropping oven girl agriculture when we till and turn over a field for the next season's crop using large combines the topsoil is decimated much in the same way habitat is lost when clear-cutting a forest tillage aerates the soil by breaking up its composition but in the process compacts the soil underneath and kills the wealth of microorganisms hidden to the naked eye as a result of many years of industrial cultivation practices the topsoil lives Floyd of life and then needs to be injected with nutrient filled fertilizer and chemicals which in turn alter the chemical makeup of the soil and make it even harder for essential organisms to survive in short cultivating the soil always results in the decline of its fertility and health and the continual use of intensive cultivation over the last century has left the United States with a looming soil crisis so why does degraded topsoil even matter and will it even affect me yes it will and even more than you think healthy soil is the foundation for healthy plants which are obviously crucial for our survival this means that when we continually abuse soil structure and quality to pump out massive amounts of corn and soybeans we are making it harder to grow nutrient-dense food in the future right now almost 33% of the world soil has been moderately or highly degraded according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and when you consider that soil can store almost 3 times more carbon than forests and other vegetation killing it could lead to our inability to mitigate climate change in order to halt this process we need to reconsider the way we approach agriculture in PMON Telles study they argue that the total investment for us erosion control would be about eight point four billion dollars per year considering that erosion causes forty four billion dollars in damages each year and could very well cause more this is a no-brainer but on a more basic level we should look towards the examples of innovators like Curtis Stone we able to create a comfortable lifestyle on a low till intensive urban farm his farm builds soil health by adding compost and natural fertilizer like turkey manure to the soil as well as keeping the cultivation of the land to a minimum yes industrial agricultural practices have provided a large amount of food to North America but when we consider the long-term negative effects of those practices and the fact that our food system now relies heavily on just a few crops the positives of supposed abundance merely seem like a flimsy patch for a leaky ship soil is our hidden lifeline and if we destroy it we lose our ability to feed ourselves and protect our environment [Music] this video is made possible in part by the wonderful people who support me on patreon if you're interested in helping me grow this channel head on over to patreon and pledge a small amount of money for every video I release in return I'll send you gifts like a handwritten thank you note or an our changing climate sticker as always if you like what you just saw share it around and subscribe thanks so much for watching and I'll see you next Friday

Channel: Our Changing Climate

Views: 50,398

Rating: 4.9192247 out of 5

Keywords: Video Essay, Environment, Climate Change, Our Changing Climate, OCC, Soil, Dirt, Soil Degradation, Industrial Agriculture, Erosion, Urban Farming, Homesteading, Back to Eden, Conservartion, Sustainable Farming, princess mononoke, sustainability, agriculture, why soil matters, changing climate, our changing climate soil, soil erosion and climate change, soil erosion climate change, soil health, soil science (field of study), food security

Id: 8kZXulLobA8

Length: 5min 33sec (333 seconds)

Published: Fri Nov 03 2017

Reddit Comments

[u/k_o_g_i]

You say over and over in the video that we're losing topsoil. It doesn't just disappear, though. Where is it going?

[u/Zergged]

I'll just leave these two links here. Latter looks like the site has barely exited the 90s but I think some of you might be interested nonetheless.

https://craftsmanship.net/drought-fighters/

http://www.singingfrogsfarm.com/

[u/annievict]

Great video! Would love to hear how we can answer the nay sayers that don’t believe any other way is possible for the number of people we need to feed.

[u/VapidOceanid]

Oh wow, I actually really like this video! Thanks for sharing! I also liked the inclusion of Curtis Stone's urban farm, any chance for a followup video on things individuals could do to help or just providing any more information on things like the urban farming, agroecology, or cover crops, etc.? I'm a firm believer in making others aware of this actually helps immensely!! Gonna share this vid <3

[u/Oster]

"Somebody told me it was frightening how much topsoil we are losing each year, but I told that story around the campfire and nobody got scared."

-Jack Handey