Soils vary in space and time

If you travel across continents, you will encounter strikingly different soils shaped by climate and geology. If you move across a region, soils may change with vegetation, relief, or land use. And sometimes, soils can differ within just a few meters, for example from the top of a slope to its base.

Soil profiles tell an environmental story. If you learn how to read them and take the time to look closely, they reveal how deeply connected the land is to rocks, water bodies, the atmosphere, plants, animals, and to us as humans.