by Jo Anna Hebberger, PhD
From September 8 — October 6, St. John the Evangelist is joining with other churches around the world in celebrating a Season of Creation. This week, the Creation Care Team invites us to consider the theme of Soil.
Psalm 104:25 – 29
O Lord, how manifold are your works!
In wisdom you have made them all,
the earth is full of your creatures.Yonder is the great and wide sea
with its living things too many to number,
creatures both small and great.There move the ships,
and there is that Leviathan,
which you made for the sport of it.All of them look to you
to give them their food in due season.You give it to them; they gather it;
you open your hand and they are filled with good things.
I begin with this portion of Psalm 104 to remind us of how the world was created to give all creatures what they need to live.
Soils are not a topic that is generally discussed like the trees and flowers, but the health of our soils is extremely important. Most of what we eat comes from the soil, it is the basis for the flora and fauna that we see every day. Our soils evolved over eons as this earth was formed. As a result, in this world there are many different types of soils that developed to support many different forms of life.
Soils are ecosystems that need to be maintained and kept healthy. Our soils contain thousands of species of bacteria, fungi, and nematodes including mycorrhizae, a fungus, that many plants require for growth and health. Healthy soils also contain Rhizobium bacteria. These special bacteria stimulate the growth of nodules on the roots of leguminous plants. The bacteria help the plant by extracting nitrogen, a critical plant nutrient, from the air, which in turn adds nitrogen to the soil. Other soil organisms are the nematodes, tiny worms in the soil that do many different things. Some nematodes are plant pests, but many more are free-living in the soil that help distribute beneficial bacteria and fungi through the soil and roots of plants. These are just a very few examples of the organisms that inhabit our soils and make them healthy.
Our lives depend on healthy soils to provide food and shelter, but a great percentage of our soils are no longer healthy, and do not provide the services that they once did. This is apparent by seeing the species, both flora and fauna, that have become extinct or severely reduced in number because the degrading and loss of our soils have destroyed or degraded their habitats. Loss of habitat is the prime reason for loss of species. This loss is mainly because of our own misuse of the natural resources we have been given in this world.
Our soils contain many organisms that keep that ecosystem healthy and functioning as it has evolved. What we do to the soil affects the organisms in it. In our desire to have perfect lawns, vegetables, trees, flowers, etc., we have amended our soils, put poisons in them, changed the water that naturally flowed through them, planted then with nonnative plants, paved over them, put buildings on them. We need to take a hard look at our way of living and what our priorities are and what we think is necessary, how we live our lives and realize that what we do affects those around us and those far away. Not many of us has the care of vast acreages, but most of us have lawns and gardens in our yards. How we care for the soil in those areas affects others beyond our boundaries.
What we plant on our property affects the soil. Here where we live was once filled with native plants. These plants have extensive root systems, some going down 15 feet. The root systems in our soils affect the hydrogeology of the soil, how much water it can transfer to our aquifers, how much can be held in the soil, how much can be slowly released to combat drought. Our soils evolved with native plants and these keep the soil healthy, and support the below and above ground ecosystems. These massive root systems grew and died for thousands of years, and created the rich black organic soils that are so productive here in the upper Midwest. Prairie plants have also been shown to sequester large amounts of carbon in their root systems, making our soils carbon sinks if treated properly.
Throughout this Season of Creation and beyond, let us thank God for creating this rich, interdependent ecosystem that gives all creatures what they need to live, and let us pray for wisdom and courage in taking the right steps to help care for our soil.
I would like to end with two quotes:
“You cannot get through a single day without having an impact on the world around you. What you do makes a difference, and you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make.”
Jane Goodall
“When one tugs at a single thing in nature, he finds it attached to the rest of the world.”
John Muir
