soil
Soil is a precious resource. It allows us to grow food and the materials we use to make everything from the shirt you have on to the medicine you took this morning. Soil is made up of small pieces of rock that have broken down over hundreds, if not thousands, of years. Soil is also partly made up of the remains of plants and animals, and is home to many organisms, from earthworms to ants. But soil can be damaged by unsustainable farming practices and clear-cut logging. In this chapter, you will learn how soil forms, what it contains, and how to protect it.