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Collectively the Earth's body of soil is called the pedosphere. The pedosphere interfaces with the lithosphere, the hydrosphere, the atmosphere, and the biosphere. [10] Soil has four important functions: as a medium for plant growth; as a means of water storage, supply, and purification; as a modifier of Earth's atmosphere; as a habitat for ...
The composition of gases present in the soil's pores, referred to commonly as the soil atmosphere or atmosphere of the soil, is similar to that of the Earth's atmosphere. [5] Unlike the atmosphere, moreover, soil gas composition is less stagnant due to the various chemical and biological processes taking place in the soil. [5]
The smallest creatures (microbes) use the micropores filled with air to grow, whereas other bigger animals require bigger spaces, macropores, or the water film surrounding the soil particles to move in search for food. Therefore, soil textural properties together with the depth of the water table are also important factors regulating their ...
The environmental impact of agriculture involves a variety of factors from the soil, to water, the air, animal and soil diversity, plants, and the food itself. Some of the environmental issues that are related to agriculture are climate change , deforestation , genetic engineering, irrigation problems, pollutants, soil degradation , and waste .
Human activities dominate the global and most regional N cycles. [36] N inputs have shown negative consequences for both nutrient cycling and native species diversity in terrestrial and aquatic systems. In fact, due to long-term impacts on food webs, Nr inputs are widely considered the most critical pollution problem in marine systems. [8]
Land use change, especially in the form of deforestation, is the second largest source of carbon dioxide emissions from human activities, after the burning of fossil fuels. [4] [5] Greenhouse gases are emitted from deforestation during the burning of forest biomass and decomposition of remaining plant material and soil carbon.
Human composting is emerging as an end-of-life alternative that is friendlier to the climate and the Earth — it is far less carbon-intensive than cremation and doesn’t use chemicals involved ...
Due to the increase in temperature of the soil, CO 2 levels in our atmosphere increase, and as such the mean average temperature of the Earth is rising. This is due to human activities such as forest clearing, soil denuding, and developments that destroy autotrophic processes. With the loss of photosynthetic plants covering and cooling the ...