Soil resources are critical to the environment, as well as to food and fibre production, producing 98.8% of food consumed by humans. Soil provides minerals and water to plants according to several processes involved in plant nutrition. Soil absorbs rainwater and releases it later, thus preventing floods and drought, flood regulation being one of the major ecosystem services provided by soil. Soil cleans water as it percolates through it. Soil is the habitat for many organisms: the major part of known and unknown biodiversity is in the soil, in the form of earthworms, woodlice, millipedes, centipedes, snails, slugs, mites, springtails, enchytraeids, nematodes, protists), bacteria, archaea, fungi and algae; and most organisms living above ground have part of them (plants) or spend part of their life cycle (insects) below-ground. Above-ground and below-ground biodiversities are tightly interconnected, making soil protection of paramount importance for any restoration or conservation plan.
soil resources are critical to the environment as well as to food and fibre production producing 988% of food consumed by humans soil provides minerals and water to plants according to several processes involved in plant nutrition soil absorbs rainwater and releases it later thus preventing floods and drought flood regulation being one of the major ecosystem services provided by soil soil cleans water as it percolates through it soil is the habitat for many organisms the major part of known and unknown biodiversity is in the soil in the form of earthworms woodlice millipedes centipedes snails slugs mites springtails enchytraeids nematodes protists) bacteria archaea fungi and algae; and most organisms living above ground have part of them (plants) or spend part of their life cycle (insects) below-ground above-ground and below-ground biodiversities are tightly interconnected making soil protection of paramount importance for any restoration or conservation plan