Knowra Earth (soil and ground) Earth (soil and ground) Earth is the solid ground at the planet’s surface and the loose mineral and organic material that forms soil. It supports terrestrial ecosystems and human construction.
Soil : A mixture of mineral particles, organic matter, water, air, and organisms that supports plant growth. Soil is the biologically active material meant when earth describes ground plants grow in.
Weathering : The breakdown or alteration of rock at or near Earth’s surface. Weathering produces mineral particles that become part of soil and loose ground.
Agriculture : The cultivation of crops and raising of animals for food, fiber, and other products. Agriculture depends on soil fertility, water storage, and workable ground.
Sand : Loose granular material composed mainly of mineral or rock particles within a defined size range. Sand is a coarse ground material that drains and holds nutrients differently from finer soils.
Regolith : Loose material covering solid bedrock, including soil, sediment, and weathered rock fragments. It names the broader layer of loose ground above bedrock.
Soil formation : The development of soil through interactions among parent material, climate, organisms, relief, and time. It explains how bare mineral material becomes layered, living soil.
Soil fertility : The capacity of soil to supply plants with essential nutrients in usable forms. It determines how well soil can sustain crop growth.
Clay : Fine-grained mineral material whose particles have distinctive plasticity when wet. Clay-rich ground behaves differently from sandy ground under water and pressure.
Bedrock : The continuous solid rock beneath soil and other loose surface deposits. Bedrock underlies the loose material that makes up much of the ground.
Erosion : The wearing away and removal of rock or soil by water, wind, ice, or gravity. Erosion removes ground faster than soil formation can replace it.
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