what is soil?
Soils are complex mixtures of minerals, water, air, organic matter, and countless organisms that are the decaying remains of once-living things. It forms at the surface of land â it is the âskin of the earth.â Soil is capable of supporting plant life and is vital to life on earth. The unconsolidated mineral or organic material on the immediate surface of the earth that serves as a natural medium for the growth of land plants.