(THIS ARTICLE IS MACHINE TRANSLATED by Google from Norwegian)
Of: Elise Matilde Lund
For the first few hours of 2015, I was dressed as a mite. My clothes were pink and blue, like the earthworm when we take away the sticky soil layer. Around the neck hung an oversized piece of jewelry with metallic gray beads. They represented the minerals in the earth where I live. So not me, but the field of mine. I was at a New Year celebration where everyone could put on whatever they wanted and dress up as something we found interesting. There is no better opportunity to take on the role of a earthworm: for the whole year, the whole world will celebrate the year of living food soil, it is the United Nations International Earth Year. I entered the year, or crept into the year, with an ambition to truly understand the brown matter. And not least, why it is so important to take care of it.
We tread on it every day, but we rarely sacrifice it for a thought. Perhaps it is precisely because we tread on it that the earth does not end up high in the hierarchy of valued elements. The tan may also not help to arouse people's curiosity. What is it really? The simple subject definition says that soil is all the loose material that covers the bedrock. Consisting of rocks, minerals and organic matter, soil is a product of the long and continuous evolution of geology. In Norway we have different soils, and the geological history describes how the different soils were formed. We all benefit from wearing the geological glasses on a regular basis – especially those who like to dig in the soil.
We are still a long way from understanding how all Earth-related mechanisms take place. We are dealing with a matter that both huser and creates life. And not least: the soil's lively growth surface creates fertile ground for food.
When we talk about food soils, we can choose and discard between scientific approaches. Geology, botany, ecology, biology, physics, chemistry and so on. The social sciences also help to understand the complexity: How do we manage natural resources? Who exercises power, and how do we distribute the crop? It is precisely the food that is intended to cultivate the food soil. About 95 percent of all food we eat comes directly or indirectly from soil. How often do you think about it?
A healthy soil is a vibrant and dynamic ecosystem. Residents perform vital functions, such as transforming dead and decaying material. The soil provides essential nutrients – water and oxygen that the plants need. And it acts as a support device for the root of the plants. Plant diseases, insects and weeds are controlled in the soil.
So – who can we meet on earth? The earth is home to many living organisms, and huser a quarter of the total biological diversity. Meitemarken has an enormous number of colleagues and friends in his social circle. The soil biota is the living carbon fraction of organic matter. The activity level of soil organisms is of great importance. The soil biota is regulated through access to food, such as life above ground. Bacteria, fungi, protozoa, algae, nematodes, viruses and not least earthworms live, eat and work here. Life on earth is perhaps not so different from our own everyday life? We are all looking for water, food, space – and each other.
Humus is an important concept in earth science. In the process humus formation For example, soil organisms – including the animals mentioned above – build carbon compounds that are separated from the roots into complex humus molecules. Then a stable humus that is integrated into the soil occurs. Humus can affect and stimulate plant growth, and humus in the soil layer can therefore have a large impact on the quality and crop of the plants. Good Norwegian soil contains no more than three to six percent humus, but it makes up the whole difference between fertile soil and a dead mixture of sand, silt and clay. Matjorda is threatened worldwide. Worldwide, about 25 percent of the food soil has been degraded. All life forms in the food soil are inextricably linked in many cycles and balances. These systems are vulnerable, and a threat can trigger a chain of multiple threats.
It was a long New Year celebration. But despite my clothes, I sometimes forgot to think of a terrestrial earthworm. Fortunately, there were many more days left of the down-to-earth year under the auspices of the UN. Today, well over five months into the earth year, many give the soil extra thought. Scientists and farmers as well as artists and chefs have come together to make lectures, field trips and not least exhibitions. We need people from more than one field to understand the complex ecosystem of the earth is such an important part of.
One of the most important things I have learned is that the food soil is more than a growing medium for plants – it also needs attention and proper treatment. When geological processes have spent many thousands of years, it goes without saying that it is terribly sad if we degrade soil quality during a handful of growing seasons. Food soil is not a short-term challenge – here it is important to think in long lines.
Lund is a research and agricultural intermediary and general manager of the Kore Foundation.
