ABSTRACT
Summary of key points:
Cultural constructs in the literature refer to soil in terms of “earth mother"; what is missing is the concept of soil as having an origin.
Soil is a basic resource which can be viewed as renewable, especially the organic components
However, with regard to the mineral components, the rates of formation are very slow and much slower than many rates of erosion
Soil is therefore best seen as a non-renewable resource, deriving from the legacy of the past and which should be cherished as such.
