Soil Pollution

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Soil is a mixture of mineral, plant, and animal materials that forms during a long process that may take thousands of years. It is necessary for most plant growth and is essential for all agricultural production. Soil pollution is a buildup of toxic chemical compounds, salts, pathogens (disease-causing organisms), or radioactive materials that can affect plant and animal life.

Unhealthy soil management methods have seriously degraded soil quality, caused soil pollution, and enhanced erosion. Treating the soil with chemical fertilizers, pesticides, and fungicides interferes with the natural processes occurring within the soil and destroys useful organisms such as bacteria, fungi, and other microorganisms. For instance, strawberry farmers in California fumigate the soil with methyl bromide to destroy organisms that may harm young strawberry plants. This process indiscriminately kills even beneficial microorganisms and leaves the soil sterile and dependent upon fertilizer to support plant growth. This results in heavy fertilizer use and increases polluted runoff into lakes and streams.

Improper irrigation practices in areas with poorly drained soil may result in salt deposits that inhibit plant growth and may lead to crop failure. In 2000 bc, the ancient Sumerian cities of the southern Tigris-Euphrates Valley in Mesopotamia depended on thriving agriculture. By 1500 bc, these cities had collapsed largely because of crop failure due to high soil salinity. The same soil pollution problem exists today in the Indus Valley in Pakistan, the Nile Valley in Egypt, and the Imperial Valley in California.

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