soil

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Tilled farmland. (farming, dirt, soil conservation)

Could We Lose All the Soil on Earth?

Lusitania sinking, illustration from The War of the Nations (New York), December 31, 1919. World War I, WWI. This image is one of three on the page. (See source file for the other two.)

7 of the World’s Deadliest Shipwrecks

NBA Lakers Celtics Finals Kevin Garnett shooting.

10 Great Sports Rivalries

American bison (Bison bison) also known as buffalo or plains buffalo on the prairie, western U.S.

What’s the Difference Between Bison and Buffalo?

Thanksgiving Celebration Traditional Dinner Setting Food Concept

Why Is Thanksgiving in the U.S. Celebrated on a Thursday?

Title: Senate Square, St. Petersburg, December 14, 1825: repression of the troop mutiny - watercolor by Carl Ivanovitch Kollman, 1825 depicts Decembrist uprising clashing with cavalry, with spectators watching. (new style December 26, 1825) Europe. Saint

8 of the Largest Empires in History

Ruminant. Deer. Red deer. Cervus elaphus. Buck. Stag. Antlers.

9 of the World’s Deadliest Mammals

soil Article

What is soil?

Written and fact-checked by The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Soil is the biologically active and porous medium that has developed in the uppermost layer of Earth’s crust. It serves as the reservoir of water and nutrients and a medium for the filtration and breakdown of injurious wastes. It also helps in the cycling of carbon and other elements through the global ecosystem.