However, if one learns the properties of the state soil, Houdek, then other soils can be compared to it. Soils take thousands of years to form and it only takes a few years to destroy their productivity as a result of erosion and other types of improper management. Soils are used to produce crops, range, timber, and for recreation. They are used for engineering purposes and are an integral part of the water cycle. Soils are nature s waste disposal medium and they serve as habitats for many varied kinds of plants, birds, animals, and microorganisms.
Soils are basic to our survival.
We can not live without them. Socially, economically, and environmentally soils are crucial to society s growth and development. Each soil series is uniquely defined by the different colors, organic matter levels, textures, layers or horizons, parent materials, and other morphological, chemical, and physical properties. This is because on gently undulating topography within a certain climatic and vegetative zone a characteristic or typical soil will develop unless parent material differences are very great. Thus, the tall and mid-grass prairie soils have developed across a variety of parent materials.