
for life and both our past and our future as a human race is intimately related to the health and to the state of soils on our planet. So, we have this real sense of the importance of soils for life, but why are soils so important for life?
Soil plays many important roles in nature and for our wellbeing
- Soil is the place where plants live
- What we eat is ultimately dependent on the soil in some way
- Healthy soil contains an entire complex ecosystem that works together with plants
- Healthy soil stores water and carbon
Due to the fact that a lot of the land around the world today is heavily degraded and agriculturally cultivated using methods that do not retain the health of the soil, water and carbon is no longer being stored as it should be in the soils, and this is leading to more erosion, floods, and much less carbon being stored as could be. It is increasingly recognized today that restoring healthy soils on our plant is a critical part of the solution to solving our current climate crisis².
- Healthy soil contains mycorrhizal fungi that are needed for healthy forests
- Soils play important roles in ecosystem services, such as waste decomposition, filtering water, and degrading environmental contaminants
- Human beings are ultimately only as healthy as our soils
- Soil contains many elements that are important for the Earth’s cycles, such as the nitrogen, phosphorous, oxygen, and carbon cycles
- Healthy soils conduct the Earth’s energy, which is important for life
There is also now groundbreaking research that says that even human beings need this energy from the Earth for optimal health and wellness, with a variety of health benefits, including stress reduction, healing from wounds, and a decrease in inflammation⁴.
It makes sense that humans have not always worn shoes that insulate our bare feet from the direct contact with the Earth, and that it is a natural environment to get grounded for our overall wellbeing. Some researchers have determined that a separation from direct contact with the Earth is likely playing a role in all kinds of health issues that we have today⁴.
For more information on getting grounded to the earth (also known as “earthing”), be sure to check out the book by Clinton Ober, Earthing: The Most Important Health Discovery Ever!
References
¹ http://www.nature.com/scitable/knowledge/library/soil-carbon-storage-84223790
² http://e360.yale.edu/feature/soil_as_carbon_storehouse_new_weapon_in_climate_fight/2744/
³ http://goo.gl/FrsXji
⁴ http://goo.gl/m2z4f
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