By Alessio Valente

It can still be seen along the country roads we travel, or by the paths that climb towards the hills; it is often the site of precious crops or more or less dense woods: the Earth’s soil. The insatiable need for urbanization and overbuilding have left the soil as a mere backdrop for the spaces of nature or agricultural activities. However, its role is absolutely fundamental for our planet and its lack prevents the development of vegetation and the primary activity of man. It can be rather thin or several meters thick, but it still keeps its identity and functions intact. It could not form, if the underlying rock did not alter and disintegrate, which is why it is designated as “mother rock”. It retains its characteristics, a sort of trademark, not always easy to read, but observations under a microscope allow for them to be discovered. Over time, soil tends to change completely as a function of the continuous exchanges that develop within it. To make it mature, water and rain will infiltrate it, solar rays heat it, living organisms inhabit it and make use of it. Even arbitrary modifications of these relationships between the “inanimate” and the “animate” could cause the soil “to lose its potential ability to produce goods or services”. Only then would we be allowed to say of it that it is completely useless!

Alessio Valente works as a researcher in Geology at the Department of Sciences and Technology, University of Sannio (Benevento), Italy.