Importance of soil in agriculture

Healthy soil is a foundation for our food system it purifies the water that we drink, and it's critical in its role in the regulation of greenhouse gasses, because it's our major store of carbon. Humans use soil as a holding facility for solid waste, filter for wastewater, and foundation for our cities and towns. Finally, soil is the basis of our nation’s agro ecosystems which provide us with feed, fiber, food and fuel.

Soil is a living, dynamic ecosystem. Healthy soil is teeming with microscopic and larger organisms that perform many vital functions including converting dead and decaying matter as well as minerals to plant nutrients. Different soil organisms feed on different organic substrates. Their biological activity depends on the organic matter supply.

Advances in watershed, natural resource, and environmental sciences have shown that soil is the foundation of basic ecosystem function. Soil filters our water, provides essential nutrients to our forests and crops, and helps regulate the Earth's temperature as well as many of the important greenhouse gases. As our awareness of the value of natural and managed ecosystems services grows, new biodiversity, carbon, and water markets are emerging, such as the Chicago Climate Exchange, and the nutrient trading programs under the new Executive Order on the Protection and Restoration of the Chesapeake Bay. These markets place an economic value on management practices which increase those ecosystem services, producing goods that enhance human and environmental health.