Wednesday, March 18, 2015

Soil (Ask the Earth)

Our world contains another world within. Our very lives depend upon this dark and secret world. This hidden domain functions with machine-precision. Billions upon billions of marching workers accomplish more earth-moving in a single month than that of the pyramids’ construction. What is this finely tuned system with an incalculable number of laborers, all with one purpose to encourage life so that we, in turn, may live? 

The soil we trample on, probably without much thought, is this other world. Fittingly, the name of our planet gives recognition to the importance of the ground we walk on. “Earth” actually supports us, both literally and figuratively. The fungi, protozoa, and 5000 various types of bacteria help plants to grow and thrive. Without the tireless working of billions of bacteria and other microscopic organisms, we would die of starvation.

In one teaspoon of fertile soil there is an army of approximately a billion bacteria, in addition to fungi and protozoa. Each of the various kinds of bacteria helps plants to prosper. For example, some bacteria-workers convert atmospheric nitrogen to forms that plants can use. That same teaspoon also contains fungal filaments, some whose job it is to improve the ability of plant roots to absorb nutrients from the soil. These filaments and other substances produced by bacteria and fungi keep the soil from eroding by holding soil particles together. Also, thousands of single celled protozoa live in one teaspoon of soil. The contribution of protozoa is nitrogen, which is released as they feed on bacteria. About 80% of the nitrogen plants require is derived from protozoa. Larger creatures, such as earthworms, round out the soil-world’s laborers, which are all synced in the grand purpose of supporting life. Earthworms help aerate the soil, create channels for growing roots and increase the soil’s capacity to retain moisture by burying plant residue. Fifteen to 30 tons of dry soil can pass through one earthworm in a year. To put that in perspective, that is more earth than nine dump trucks carry in a single load. Kathy Merrifield, nematologist (scientist specializing in worms), sums up this underground realm: “All these things that live in the soil may seem unimportant, but they work together in a system that is truly the foundation of life.”1

Merrifield rightly terms this world a “system” since the microscopic creatures exhibit factory-like functions, independently at work, yet with an over-arching goal. In a handful of soil, these microbes are more numerous than the population of our planet, yet they all work together to create a perfectly suited environment for plant growth. If any of the components in this underworld were missing or in the “wrong” proportions, human life, dependent on the fruit and vegetables from the soil, could not exist. No system this interdependent and incredibly complex could arise without a strategy.

Consider just three aspects of soil composition that point to a Designer. First, sixteen nutrients are essential for plant growth and reproduction. Many others enhance plant growth, but sixteen are required for life. Some of these are carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, sulfur, calcium, boron and zinc. Secondly, these and other nutrients must be in the correct ionic form. For example, though nitrogen is available in the soil, it is “unusable by plants until it is made available” through the “decomposition by micro-organisms.”2 Thirdly, the nutrients need to be in the proper proportions and with the correct level of pH (measure of acidity or alkalinity). Most plants need a pH near 7.0 in order for the plant roots to take up nutrients. Calcium needs to be abundantly available, whereas only a small measure of magnesium is required. Sulfur needs to be present in even a smaller amount, and only a trace amount of boron is needed. However, boron is still essential, for without it, the plants could not construct their mineral-fed “bodies.”3 Soil has the “just right” combination, type, and proportion of nutrients. 

In addition, the domain under our feet contributes antibiotics. Researchers from Northeastern University in Boston have discovered 25 potential new antibiotics in soil. Since “many bacteria and fungi naturally make antibiotics to keep themselves safe,” most of the antibiotics used today are gleaned from nature. Of special note is one from a field in Maine which in studies killed a “wide range of bacteria, including the hospital superbug MRSA.”4  A recently found bacterium in the soil, Mycobacterium vaccae, duplicates the effect on neurons of such drugs as Prozac. This bacterium is a natural antidepressant with no adverse effects. Either by direct topical contact through a minor cut or by inhaling the bacteria, people can absorb it into their bloodstreams. The results of this natural antidepressant can last up to three weeks.5  So, we have one more reason to appreciate soil and one more reason to appreciate the Designer of soil. 

The loam beneath us provides for us from cradle to grave. The wood for a cradle began as a tree. Our lives are sustained by yields from the soil. In fact, for our every breath we rely on the oxygen released during photosynthesis. Finally, our resting place will be in the earth. The Bible informs us that we were sculpted out of clay in the beginning. In Genesis 3:19 we see the full human cycle. “In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.”

Perhaps you will want to pause with wonder at the toil within the soil when you next step out. Looking up shows you the stars, but looking down may be inspiration as well. For if every inch of soil wasn’t filled with such a staggering number of organisms working to allow and promote life, there would be no plant, animal or human life on the planet.



[1] Herring, Peg. “The Secret Life of Soil.” 2 February, 2010. Oregon State University Extension Service.
[2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soil
[3] Solomon, Steve. Gardening When it Counts. Canada: New Society Publishers, 2005.
[4] Macrae, Fiona. “Is this the answer to doctors’ prayers?” Daily Mail.
[5]  Grant, Bonnie. “Antidepressant Microbes In Soil: How Dirt Makes You Happy.” Gardening Know How.    




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