So, hi guys, welcome to Green Wonder. Today, what we're going to be talking about is a very important yet overlooked aspect of our ecosystems. And that is soil. We're going to be discussing soils importance and how soil functions. So let's get right to it. Soil is a lot more than just dirt. Soil is an ecosystem of both living and dead organisms that create an environment that allows plants and microorganisms, as well as fungi, to symbiotically live together. The importance of our soil is that it is essentially one of the building blocks for life on Earth. It is not only one of the most diverse ecosystems on our planet, but it is also responsible for our food production and it houses a lot of the most important chemical processes that help maintain our biosphere. Those include the water cycle, the carbon cycle, the nitrogen cycle, etc. Protecting our soil health is one of the most important things we need to do in order to combat climate change. But our modern farming techniques are hampering our ability to do so. Before we begin talking about that, we need to understand how soil works. Soil is an ecosystem composed of bacteria, fungi, microbes, insect, as well as plants. Like every ecosystem, soil has its own food web. And this food web is fundamental in understanding how soil works. We begin with primary consumers, that being plants, they derive their energy directly from the sun through photosynthesis, and then they exude sugars and amino acids that enrich the soil. Microbes and other organisms that are living around the rhizosphere of the plant decompose living matter or dead matter that is then used up as nutrients for the plant. Neumatodes keep these microbes in bacteria and check, although they also do like to nibble on some roots and that can be very detrimental to plants. But in an ideal, balanced environment, obviously this would be outweighed by the amount of microbes that they would have to feed on. As the roots of the plant grow, there are canals and nukes that are created within the soil. Routesworms not only help plants by giving them nutrition and the NPK that results from earthworm castings, but they also allow plants to more easily grow their roots as earthworms when they move in soil they create nukes and crannies like roots do. And when these canals are left open, roots will more easily access these and get to fresher sources or cleaner sources of water that is underground. This also facilitates water infiltration and in return it helps keep the water cycle also in check. This ecosystem provides a perfect living conditions for plants and provides necessary nutrients for all plant growth. It is estimated that in one teaspoon of soil there is around 100 million to 1 billion bacteria. A healthy soil will be drought resistant, erosion resistant, it will be productive and will also filtrate water better. Any disruption in the soil ecosystem will result in another knock on effect that moves on to another ecosystem. Now modern farming has done a lot for us. We are able to buy food at groceries everywhere where we want, we have enough food to feed everyone in the world if we wanted to. And we also have food that is drought resistant and erosion resistant in some cases. These are masquerading a problem that is caused by modern farming. The use of synthetic fertilizers and insecticides have had a detrimental effect that is astronomical to our soil. The reason why I say that we have about 60 harvest left is that in the age of the Anthropocene, the age defined by man and human activity has depleted a lot of the microbial diversity that we had in our soils. And if we continue in this path, we will eventually not be able to have any food grow in our soils because there is no microbial activity to help the plants or the roots of the plants get enough nutrients that are available in the soil and will be available but they will not be accessible to the plant. Tilling is another practice that is very harmful to the environment. Tilling is a process of removing all plant matter or crops that were once on your field and leaving it bare for the next season. But doing this is very detrimental for a couple reasons. When you allow your soil to air and basically dry out, you are essentially killing all the microbial activity. You are leaving a lot of just open air soil that will later dry up and become dust and fly away from your field and that is desertification. And it also doesn't help that it makes soil compact and doesn't allow for water infiltration to be as efficient. The practice of Tilling also re-releases carbon that was once absorbed by the plant and sequestrated into the soil back into the atmosphere. And that is why this is such a big problem. Not only does our modern farming techniques mess with the water that we have and the water that is absorbed by the soil as it becomes saturated with chemicals and insecticides that are not safe for human or animal or plant consumption. It also destroys the biodiversity that is found in soil and that gives us the foundations for life on earth. This essentially diminishes the plant's ability to successfully photosynthesize. This is not only a problem for our food supply, but also for our forests and our other ecosystems that rely on soil and soil microbes to have a diverse and sustainable environment. This is why protecting soil health is essential to fight climate change. And this is why we should change the way that we farm. Now we do have plants that are genetically modified to withstand drought and erosion, but those are just cover-ups for the real problem. We cannot continue to use these modern, harmful farming techniques that simultaneously perpetuate climate change. Instead, we should focus on studying on what actually helps plants grow. We should study the ecosystems in soil that allow plants to grow productively, efficiently, and environmentally safely. We cannot continue to use these synthetic pesticides, fertilizers, and insecticides that are essentially killing all the microbes, all the biodiversity, and some plants at the same time. Instead, we should focus on more organic and traditional forms of farming. We should maintain a cover crop at all times in our fields. That way we do not allow soil to just be dried out and not be used for a prolonged time period. And we should do our part ourselves. So we live in a world where money moves everything. And if you put your money in a place where they are going to use that money to continue farming the same way that they are doing, they are not going to stop. So it is our responsibility as consumers to also be informed buyers and consume the brands that are doing their best to help conserve our planet. We have come to the conclusion of this video, but we are not done talking about this issue. So if you would like to see more content like this and you liked what you saw today, please don't forget to like and subscribe. That would help me out so much. And I'll see you next time.