Explore Soil

Soil is very important to the health of the planet - it's what plants are anchored in and it provides them with essential minerals so that they grow well.

Soils are formed from particles of rock, crushed up by Earth processes like weathering and erosion, as well as decaying plant material. This last bit is called compost (or humus) and helps to fertilise the soil and provide lots of the minerals that plants need to grow well.

There are many different types of soil in the UK and around the world.

Some of them have funny-sounding names: there are

- sandy soils, with big soil particles that let water through quite quickly.

- clay-type soils, with tiny particles that let hold water back.

- and also chalky soils, loam soils and peaty soils.

The characteristics of the soils are very important to farmers, gardeners, builders and so on as they determine what sort of plants grow well in them, whether it's good to build on, and so on.

Some soils allow water to drain through them quickly - so, we'd say that sandy soils are permeable because they allow water to trickle through them.

On the other hand, a clay soil tends to hold water back, so we'd say it's a less permeable soil.

This series of questions looks at different aspects of soil: what it is made of, why that's important and how it affects what grows in it.

Let's get stuck in!