how does the forest canopy protect the soil?
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roots of forest canopy anchor the soil, prevent it from being washed away, by rains or swept away by winds..
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Birds make nests on the ground in low bushes and shrubs.  They benefit from the protection without hurting the shrubs and bushes
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The tree uses different systems or parts of the body for adaptation of a certain environment. \n\nFor example. The tree which grows in a desert condition will have less leaves and thick leaves (Adaptation to preserve water and minimize evaporation) Roots will be tug deep to find water. \n\nAir affects the trees if there is too much of wind blowing in that cases trees tend to be deep rooted and less broad to with stand the winds. (example coconut trees in sea side)
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A few things that contribute to soil erosion:\nPoor agricultural practices;\nPoor forestry practices;\noff-roading with any kind of vehicles, including bikes;\ndiversion of natural water supplies;\npoor design of infrastructure (buildings, roads, etc)
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Mudslides(flows can be helped and are caused from \nlack of plants,roots ,brush,trees ect on the sides of hills.With the escavation and creation of new\nhousing ect and for the clean hillside look.The\nimportance of the undergrowth of grass ,trees ect \nhave been depleted and not replaced.They have \nprograms for beaches and hillsides,even in foreign\ncountries that realise the importance of root and plant systems in hillside lands.The winding and \nweb patterned root systems of these plants,trees\nacts like a "net" and the plants themselves and erosion barrier.
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Climate balance is one big reason, but there are others. \n\nForests are part of oxygen and carbon dioxide balance, because they absorb net carbon dioxide and produce net oxygen.  Also, they increase water evaporation which increases cloud cover (which tends, amongst a whole bunch of complex effects, to reduce global temperatures by reflecting sunlight) and produces rainfall.\n\nNorth Eastern Brazil is regularly in a state of drought-stricken poverty.   The deforestation of the Amazon basin to the West may be partly to blame.\n\nForests encourage a very wide range of species to exist.   Biodiversity might be a positive benefit to climate balance, because the huge range of biological activities that the different species engage in makes it more likely that stabilising feedback loops will emerge and be robust.\n\nEvolution is very intense in tropical forests in particular, and that makes those areas more likely to produce unusual chemicals.  That's why people hunt rainforests for plants with which to make new drugs.\n\nForests stabilise soil and slow down rainwater, preventing downstream erosion and soil depletion and benefiting agriculture.\n\nFinally, life is sh*t when there are no trees.
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sand is small pieces of rock that has been eroded away from a larger stone.it would take years to get a few pounds of sand from a 25 pound rock but wind rain and snow will break down the rock to produce sand. soil is dirt formed from leaves and twigs from trees. all this will decay and produce soil along with rain and other dying vegetation.go into a densely wooded area and you will find soil.be sure its a hardwood forest.that means maples oaks and other varieties of trees but not conifers, conifers are of the pine family and fir all evergreens.the foilage dropped this fall will take about 2 1/2 to 3 years to decay enough to be soil which is the best for growing flowers and bulbs
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Soil is the material on the surface of a lithosphere subject to weathering, and especially the earthy portion of that material.\n\nSoil components\n\n    * Composition -- A typical surface soil is half solids and half voids or porosity. Water and air are thus integral components of soils. Water occupies the void space between soil particles and is held by surface tension on particle surfaces. Air occupies the remaining void space. Both water and air components of soils are important to plant growth and other life in the soil profile of a particular ecosystem\n    * Soil texture -- refers to soil grain size, sand = 2 to 0.02 or 0.05 mm; silt = 0.02 or 0.05 to 0.002 mm; clay = <0.002 mm. Soil texture influences available water capacity and movement, fertility, and workability or "tilth". "Loam" is a name for one of various mixtures of these three particle sizes. The ratio of these particles determines soil texture classification.\n    * Soil structure -- the arrangement of soil particles into aggregates, which may have various shapes, sizes and degrees of development or expression. Soil structure influences aeration, water movement, erosion resistance, and root penetration.\n    * Slope -- the inclination of the ground surface. Slope influences runoff of rainfall, soil erosion, stability, and machinery operation.\n    * Soil color -- Soil color often indicates soil moisture status and is used for determining hydric soils. Often described using general terms, such as dark brown, yellowish brown, etc., soil colors are also described more technically by using Munsell soil color charts, which separate color into components of hue (relation to red, yellow and blue), value (lightness or darkness) and chroma (paleness or strength).\n    * Soil chemistry -- A complex subject within soil science; the most important subjects are:\n\n        Soil pH -- The acidity or alkalinity of soils, which affects plant growth and soil fertility.\n        Cation Exchange Capacity -- The soil's ability to retain and exchange positively charged ions, which include major plant nutrients.\n        Reduction and oxidation (Redox) reactions are also important.\n\n    * The soil profile -- A vertical cut that exposes soil layering or soil horizons. Horizons are formed by combined biological, chemical and physical alterations. A, B, and C symbols are used to describe the topsoil, subsoil and substratum, respectively.\n    * Permeability -- The ability of a soil to transmit water or air. Faster or greater permeability often occurs in sandy or gravelly soils due to large pore spaces. Slower permeability typically occurs in finer textured clay soils, or compacted soils with little structure.\n    * Drainage -- The rate in which water is removed from a soil. Drainage influences most uses of soils, whether for agriculture, silviculture or urban. Classes of soil drainage are those found in soil survey reports, such as well drained, moderately well drained, somewhat poorly drained, poorly drained, and very poorly drained. Soil color patterns (such as mottle patterns or redoximorphic features) often indicate soil drainage class. The most productive agricultural soils are typically well drained or moderately well drained, as are the soils easiest to develop for urban use. By contrast, hydric soils are poorly or very poorly drained. A soil's natural drainage rate can be significantly increased by subsurface "tile" drainage.\n    * Soil biology -- Soils serve as habitats for soil organisms varying in size from microorganisms to small animals. The character of soils is intricately tied to bioturbation and the biochemical functions performed by soil organisms. The soil is home to a large proportion of the world's genetic diversity, which changes by soil type: desert soils (like aridisols) generally have more complex soil biotic communities and genetic diversity than tropical soils (like oxisols).\n    * Soil smell -- earthy odor
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It is basically preventing soil erosion.  eg. planting trees or grass, using "no-till" farming methods etc.
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This question has been in debate of decades.  Part of the issue is WHERE the logging is occurring.  In the Rain Forest when clear-cut occurs, the lush undergrowth groud is exposed for farming purposes.  Then in a few years the ground has been over-cultivated and unusable, and then more rain forrest has to be cut down. \n\nThere is no instruction on how to use those lands safely and conservatively.\n\nIn the United States, we have one of the largest programs of conservation and revitalization after tree harvesting.  For every acre cut another acre is planted with seedlings.  In fact the United States has THE largest amount of land set aside for State parks, National Parks and reserved conservation lands in the world.\n\nLogging hurts the environment when no effort is taken to replant or carefully guage where the cutting is done, in what patterns, etc.  You can't just go in and clear cut an entire forest and expect no damage.  \n\nHere is information on the process:\n\nhttp://fwie.fw.vt.edu/rhgiles/trevey/Clearcut_SquareKnot.htm
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It dies.\n\nThe outer layers of bark - and just under that - are the vascular like systems that transport water and nutrients to the leaves - just like your veins. Now, imagine someone cuts all your veins and arteries up - you bleed to death. Even if the tree does not appear to "bleed" ringbarking can still kill if it stops the flow of water/nutrients from the roots and leaves and back again. \n\n... or something. Try wikipedia.
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Nutrition (depends on certain soils: mixed compost, clay-like dirt, moss, bark etc.), Sunlight or other warmth, Air, Water, and depth of how far the seeds or roots are planted into the soil. Different plants require different depths when being planted.
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It uses up all of the "nutrients" or whatever in the soil.  Crop rotation and planting things like legumes were done to allow the land to recharge between planting cycles.
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as a farmer I might be able to put more light on this question. \nit is true that birds do drop seeds, then the trees grow, but most planted fields are bushhogged and plowed so that any new sapling would be destroyed. Some farmers purposely leave a few trees in the fields. if they pasture horses or cattle the trees provide shade. also the tree may provide erosion control if it is on a slope. I personally have trees in my fields to mark sink holes and large rocks that might damage my tractor. \nThere are many reasons that a lone tree would be in a field... perhaps the farmer looked at it and found beauty in it or perhaps his grandmother planted the tree before she died..
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It provides as the natural habitat for a lotof animals and they help with the floods since they sip it up faster. The more denser the forest the better. It gives researchers more things to discover about plants and animals.
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That's going to depend on what kind of plant it is, what kind of soil it's in, and how fast water evaporates.\n\nFor most plants, just keep the soil moist but not marshy.  If you're seeing mold or moss, you're watering too much.
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Rainforests are their own ecosystems.  They have a warm and moist climate with rainfall of 79 to 157 inches a year.  The nutrients in the soil cycle rapidly, causing the soils to be nutrient poor.  They have the highest biodiversity of the ecosystmes.