Soil is layer on the surface of earth made of organic material such as decayed remains of plants and animals and inorganic material such as rock fragments formed years ago.
Productive soil is necessary for agriculture and supply of food for the world. Soil is available everywhere on earth and good quality way and fertile soil is necessary for plantation and agricultural purposes.
But in the recent years we are observing that soil is getting polluted due to many reasons which is affecting the fertility of soil in a very bad way. Many plants and other species are dying due to this and agriculture is not possible as the fertility of soil is not at all good.
Soil pollution refers to present of any toxic chemicals or other harmful substances in the soil which affect the fertility of soil. Various factors are considered responsible for soil pollution. It is a change in basic property of soil and its quality due to many activities by humans and nature.
A soil pollutant is any substance which disturbs the quality, mineral content and texture of soil. Soil pollution is rising day by day due to many human activities such as industrialisation, garbage dumping etc. With the rise in industries more and more chemical substances are being thrown or dumped on surface of the earth, which affects the soil.
The soil surface gets covered with the chemical waste from industries and its quality deteriorates. Another reason for soil pollution is garbage dumping, waste products such as plastic, steel, aluminium, glass etc are very hard to decompose and mix with soil, so, they remain like that for years and damage the quality of soil and also prevent new plants and trees from growing on that surface.
Usage of different types of fertilisers, insecticides and pesticides help in crop growth, but they do affect the soil texture in some or the other way. There are many other things such as domestic waste, soaps, dyes, metals, electronic items acid or alkaline items, which affect the soil quality.
There are certain natural causes of soil pollution which are natural production of certain gasses and chemicals, sewer lines leakage etc. Soil pollution effects the living beings in a negative way.
Soil pollution affects agriculture and cultivation of crops, as the chemicals and other pollutants deteriorate fertility in soil, the nutrients in soil are lost and it prevents crops from growing. The soil pollution disturbs the ecological balance of our eco system as, soil is habitat for many species and the pollution in soil leads to extinction of such species which are in away responsible for growth of plants and other crops.
As there are no proper crops, farmers are forced to use artificial fertilisers and chemicals for agricultural purposes, it leads to many diseases, and health issues in humans. Contaminated soil doesn’t produce proper yield and lead to food deficiency and effects the economy of the country.
Soil pollution indirectly affects the water bodies too as the pollutants present in soil get mixed with water at some point or other. The growth of crops or plants and trees is reduced and soil is left as barren land which is of no use.
Soil is the most important, invaluable, and natural resource. It is very necessary to protect the soil for our needs and necessities and also to protect many species, which depend on soil directly or indirectly.
Crop rotation, less usage of fertiliser, pesticides or insecticides. Preventing garbage dumping especially products like plastic, steel glass, etc which are hard to decompose, using natural fertilisers such as manures, compost or domestic waste etc.
Use of bio fertilisers, bio pesticides, fungicides, etc are some of the methods to protect soil from getting polluted and becoming barren. General public should be made aware of soil pollution and its effects, people should be encouraged to utilise soil in effective way and protect it from getting polluted by their irresponsible acts.
Avoiding plastics, recycling and reusing also helps in preventing soil pollution. Tree plantation and responsible use of surface of earth by not dumping it with unnecessary and harmful things should be encouraged. Government agencies should educate people and farmers about soil pollution and ways to prevent it as much as possible.
By protecting the soil on the surface of earth, we not only protect the natural resource and save the ecological balance, but also help in preventing shortage of good quality and organic food for everyone.