ABSTRACT
Soils and the plants that depend on them are great modifiers of our environment. The climate is very harsh in terrestrial areas lacking soils and plants. Plants that get their water and nutrients from soils are the primary sources of food for animals, other than those in the oceans. Another vital function of soils is the storage of water and slow release of it to springs and streams, rather than allowing it to run off of the land rapidly in enormous floods. “Soil is our most underappreciated, least valued, and yet essential natural resource” (Simpson 2007). Because soils are so essential, it behooves us to become sufficiently familiar with them so that we can be good stewards of the land.
