Soil : Geography

With the growing population and their ever-growing demand, the demand for food has risen drastically. With this rising demand, there has come to be a considerable amount of arable land and forest cover destruction.

This has led to an alarming rate of deforestation. Besides, if forested areas are cleared for development, this also means the loss of valuable water resources.

The common methods used to conserve land resources are afforestation, land reclamation, regulated use of chemical pesticides and fertilisers and checks on overgrazing.

Soil is the thin layer of grainy substance covering the surface of the earth. It is formed of rock particles, dead plants and animals (mostly), water, air; whose chemical make up, physical properties and biological characteristics are not static but constantly changing.

Soil profile refers to the layered structure which spreads from the parent rocks to the top soil surface.

The other factors of soil formation are the topography, role of organic material and time taken for composition of soil formation.