Soil’s Superpower

Soil has a reputation for being dirty and packed with weird bugs. Perhaps dirt has even ruined your favorite pair of white shoes, as it has for me. Humans typically tromp carelessly across dirt without recognizing its vast benefits for our own wellness and the wellness of our world. 

For years, dirt meant nothing more to me than a mess. During the 2024 Spring Term at Phillips Exeter Academy, my perception of dirt shifted as I studied Regenerative Agriculture with Dr. Goddard for a biology credit. Throughout the course, my class studied the differences between the industrial food system and regenerative practices while going on immersive field trips each Wednesday.

We learned about the shift from historic agriculture practices to our current food system and discussed our role in developing a sustainable future for the human population. 

Soil is comprised of four nonliving parts: mineral particles, organic matter, water, and air. The weathering process breaks large rocks down into smaller mineral particles of soil. Organic matter is a crucial component of soil, forming as dead organisms decompose. The decomposition process releases nutrients into the soil that once belonged to the living organism. Humus is the rich dark brown organic matter that remains after the decomposition process is nearly complete. Humus is excellent at storing moisture in the soil. A soil rich in organic matter is ideal for agriculture because it readily retains both moisture and nutrients. Plants need both of these things to grow appropriately. Overall, the amount of organic matter in a particular soil sample is an excellent indicator of the overall soil health. Healthy soils that retain nutrients well can even sequester carbon and mitigate the effects of climate change! 

The real magic of soil is realized when soil is observed within the context of the soil food web.

Soil is the habitat for many organisms, including plant roots, bacteria, fungi, worms, insects, microorganisms, groundhogs, and more! Each component of this vast web plays a unqiue role in a thriving ecosystem. For example, species of bacteria and fungi facilitate the entire decomposition process. Also, nitrogen-fixing bacteria play the vital role of transforming atmospheric nitrogen gas into a usable form of nitrogen that can be processed by plants. Nitrogen is a crucial element for plant growth because it is a building block for proteins and DNA. The fixation of nitrogen, or changing nitrogen into its available form for plants, supports plant growth. Without these organisms, the larger recycling pattern of nutrients would not be complete, and the plants couldn’t grow. While the importance of these creepy-crawly critters may be dismissed, these organisms allow soil to support plants. 

A significant flaw within the industrial agriculture system is its reliance on chemical fertilizers, herbicides, pesticides, and fungicides.

These chemicals destroy the important soil organisms that help prepare the nutrients so they are available to the plants. Without the soil organisms, the plants will not receive the nutrients they need to grow. So, the industrial agriculture system supplements the cyclical loss of nutrients with chemical fertilizer. This is a quick alternative to provide plants with the necessities they need to grow, but fertilizer is only a short-term solution.

Additionally, the abuse and misuse of fertilizer lead to runoff in our watershed system, ultimately forming dead zones in our oceans. A dead zone is an area of water that can’t support any wildlife due to a lack of oxygen. A 2022 article published by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration listed the size of the Gulf of Mexico dead zone as larger than the land area of Rhode Island and Deleware combined. (research resource)

This is just one practical example of a harmful side effect of the industrial agriculture system. 

However, the purpose of this post is not to bash the food system that supports so many of us; rather, I aim to cultivate a renewed appreciation of soil. Healthy soil supports the entire food web, which supports us.

Simply put, without soil, we wouldn’t have any food.

With that in mind, be conscious of what chemical inputs you add to your soil, and consider the benefits of protecting the soil in your yard from being built over.