Documentary Infomercial - US
Description
Vocal Characteristics
Language
EnglishVoice Age
Middle Aged (35-54)Accents
North American (General)Transcript
Note: Transcripts are generated using speech recognition software and may contain errors.
Soil. It's the skin of the earth. It's one of our most precious natural resources made up of minerals, organic matter, gasses, liquids and countless organisms. Soil supports life on earth. Our ecosystem depends on it. It took millions of years for soil to form. Did you know that it takes from 100 to 500 years to form an inch of soil? And this soil which is so difficult to replenish, gets eroded by natural forces such as wind and water. Wind sweeps away top soil, particularly in flat bare areas, damaging land rain, particularly when fierce dislodges soil and carries it away along with crop nutrients, making the water turbid and blocking channels. So how can this precious natural resource be conserved? Growing plants and trees to cover the top soil is an important way of soil conservation plants bind soil with their roots. This prevents the soil from getting carried away by wind and water deforestation, which is the planting of trees in barren or hilly areas or in areas where trees have been cut, helps to reduce soil erosion. Farmers can be of great help in soil conservation after harvesting and before planting the next crop, the fields lie bare and when the wind blows and when rain falls, the top soil is carried away to avoid this. Farmers grow grasses, creepers and small grains to cover the land before it's time to grow the next crop. The roots of these cover crops as they are called, hold the soil particles together and prevent them from being blown away by the wind or washed away by the rain. Trees and bushes are also grown along the boundary of fields to protect the farm from strong winds. When it rains in hilly areas, water flows down with speed washing away the soil. Farmers living in such areas prevent soil erosion through terrace farming. The slopes of hills are cut into a series of receding flat platforms which resemble steps. This reduces the speed of the water flow. When it rains, the soil that gets eroded from one step is deposited onto the next step. Thus, reducing the amount of soil erosion building embankments is another method of soil conservation. When rivers overflow. During the monsoon season, land gets flooded, flooding by fast flowing rivers washes away huge amounts of soil from the surrounding land, making it infertile embankments built along the banks of rivers, prevent river water from overflowing onto the land. Soil is an incredible thing. Just look at it. Our life depends on it together with water, air and sunlight and the plant and animal life. It supports soil forms an incredible ecosystem.