“Notes from Underground” is an article written by Claire Pentecost concerning the importance of soil. She says that she thought about soil when she was asked a question about seed. She appreciates that seeds are important and says that seeds make up an open-source system that has been running for generations. The survival of any organism is dependent on the environment (Pentecost 5). Any organism that destroys the environment ends up destroying itself in the long run.
Soil plays a huge part in the growth and survival of seeds. Microorganisms and plants exchange materials and communicate beneath the ground. A plant only gets sunlight and carbon dioxide above the ground while all its other needs are met underground (Pentecost 5). Soil varies in terms of climate and composition. The nature of soil determines the kind of plants that will grow in a particular area. As a result, similar agricultural products may have different tastes if grown in different areas.
The value of soil is found in the ground in a particular region. Soil is heavy and cannot be transported so as to enable plants to grow in a region that has poor soil. As a result, scientists have developed synthetic fertilizers and used them to increase the fertility of soil in various parts of the world. Herbicides and pesticides have also been synthetically developed so as to sustain the life of plants in different regions (Pentecost 6). The development of these synthetic materials has made people forget the importance of knowledge and labor required in the maintenance of soil. Biocide destroys living soil and replaces it with a material that has to rely on synthetic farm inputs to support the life of plants.
Works Cited
Pentecost, Claire. Notes from Underground. 100 Notes – 100 Thoughts. No. 061 (2012) : 4-23. Print.
