Soil

Soil sustains life. All terrestrial plant life depends on nutrients and water from the soil, and all terrestrial animals, including humans, depend on the food web that is based on plants growing in soil. As “the lungs of the earth,” forests and their soils provide important ecosystem services by providing oxygen, sequestrating carbon, and cleaning water and air.  Forests also serve an economic function by providing products such as economic products, especially lumber and recreation.