What is soil made from?

Soil is all around us – well actually it’s underneath us! Soil covers most of the land and is also sometimes called earth, dirt or mud.

Soil is important because it helps plants to grow by containing the nutrients that the plants need to grow strong and healthy.

Even though soil might look all the same there are actually six types of soil and each one has different properties because it is made of combinations of different things.

Did you know?

If you look closely at soil, you’ll see that it is made up of a mixture of things.

The reason why we get different types of soil is because some soil types contain more or less water and air, and different sized particles of rock, which changes what the soil is like.

• 95% of the food that we eat comes from soil. Soil grows the plants that we eat, like crops, fruits and vegetables. It also grows plants for animals to eat, which humans then eat as meat. By making simple changes to the way we grow and farm we can protect it from being damaged so it can be healthy for growing in the future.

• It can take up to 1,000 years to form just 1 cm of soil, so we need to look after it.

• Soil is alive. It needs air and water to stay alive, just like all living things, and it is also constantly moving, changing and growing.

• Soil is home to a massive variety of life. including lots of different plants, animals, microorganisms and fungi. All the different kinds of life that you find in one area is called biodiversity.

• Some creatures living in soil are so tiny that up to a billion of them could live in a teaspoon of soil.

• Soil is a non-renewable resource and needs to be carefully looked after.

• Half of all species on Earth live in soil.

• Soil stores more carbon than our atmosphere.

Soil is a mixture of tiny particles of dead, decayed and rotting plants and animals, rock, air and water.

Here are a few examples of what is in a mixture of soil:

• Earthworms eat the dead plants and animals, and then poo out the nutrients which help new plants to grow.
• Tiny particles of rock are what soil is made from. Different types of soil are made of different types of rock which have been broken down into smaller and smaller pieces over time.
• The roots of plants help to bind the soil together.
• Parts of dead plants and animals are broken down by microorganisms that live in the soil, putting the nutrients back into the soil to be used again.
• Some soil types keep lots of water in them, and somesoil types are very dry**. But all soil has some water in it.

Decayed – When a living thing has died and begins to decompose or rot away; breaking down in a slow, natural process.

Nutrients – Plants need nutrients found in soil to live and grow.

Microorganisms – An organism of microscopic size like fungi or bacteria.

Particles – A particle is a tiny piece of matter, which we cannot see with our eyes.

Soil – Soil covers most of the land and is also sometimes called earth, dirt or mud.