Human Activities

that Affects the Soil

Quality and
Quantity
Soil is a necessary resource. Soil helps
sustain life on Earthincluding your life.
You already know that soil supports the
growth of plants, which in turn supply
food for animals. Therefore, soil provides
you with nearly all the food you eat. But
thats not all. Many other items you use,
such as cotton clothing and medicines,
come from plants. Lumber in your home
comes from trees. Even the oxygen you
breathe comes from plants.
FARMING
Farming is very important to society
because almost all of the worlds food is
grown on farms.
Farmers often add nutrients to soil in the
form of organic or artificial fertilizers to
make their crops grow better. However,
some fertilizers can make it difficult for
microorganisms in the soil to produce
nutrients naturally. Fertilizers also add to
water pollution when rainwater draining
from fields carries the excess nutrients to
rivers, lakes, and oceans.
Construction and Development
To make roads, houses, shopping malls, and
other buildings, people need to dig up the soil.
Some of the soil at construction sites washes or
blows away because its protective plant cover
has been removed. The soil that is washed or
blown away ends up in nearby lowlying areas,
in rivers and streams, or in downstream lakes
or reservoirs. This soil can cause problems by
making rivers and lakes muddy and harming
the organisms that live in them. The buildup of
soil on riverbeds raises the level of the rivers
and may cause flooding. The soil can also fill up
lakes and reservoirs.
MINING
Some methods of mining cause soil loss. For
example, the digging of strip mines and open-pit
mines involves the removal of plants and soil
from the surface of the ground. By exposing rocks
and minerals to the air and to rainwater, these
forms of mining speed up the rate of chemical
weathering. In mining operations that expose
sulfide minerals, the increased chemical
weathering causes a type of pollution known as
acid drainage. Abandoned mines can fill with
rainwater. Sulfide minerals react with the air and
the water to produce sulfuric acid. Then the acid
water drains from the mines, polluting the soil in
surrounding areas.
WASTE DISPOSAL
Finally, a growing cause for concern is how we
dispose of our waste. While industrial waste is sure to
cause contamination, there is another way in which
we are adding to the pollution. Every human
produces a certain amount of personal waste
products by way or urine and feces.
While much of it moves into the sewer the system,
there is also a large amount that is dumped directly
into landfills in the form of diapers. Even the sewer
system ends at the landfill, where the biological
waste pollutes the soil and water. This is because our
bodies are full of toxins and chemicals which are now
seeping into the land and causing pollution of soil.
OIL SPILL ON LAND
 Oil leaks can happen during storage
and transport of chemicals. This can
be seen at most of the fuel stations.
The chemicals present in the fuel
deteriorates the quality of soil and
make them unsuitable for
cultivation. These chemicals can
enter into the groundwater through
soil and make the water
undrinkable.
Effects
1. Effects on health on Humans

2. Effect on growth of plants

3. Decreased of soil fertility

4. Changes in soil structure

 Prepared by

Mile Jones T. Lugo & Arah Mae Asil

Get 1/2 cw sheet of paper and answer the ff.
Questions

1-4. Give 4 human activities

mentioned in my report.
5-8. Give at least 1-2 sentences of
explaination from that 4 human
activities what is its effects on soil.