Soil pollution occurs when hazardous compounds are present in the soil, resulting in infertile soil and ecosystem destruction. Soil contamination is caused by a variety of factors, one of the most prominent of which being deforestation. Deforestation occurs on a massive scale; the rate of deforestation is estimated to be 10 million hectares per year between 2015 and 2020. It is a massive sum, and public knowledge of it is still quite low. Because there are no tree or plant roots to hold the soil together, deforestation causes it to become loose. Since there is no longer any vegetation on that soil, there is no longer any exchange of nutrients, rendering the soil infertile and the land barren. Nature drives that encourage tree planting should be expanded to some extent to somehow cover the loss of our beloved green lands.

Harmful fertilisers and pesticides are the next most major sources of soil pollution. The use of fertilisers and pesticides has increased as the world's population continues to grow, increasing the demand for more food to address global hunger crises. However, these substances aren't always examined for harmful chemicals. Farmers continue to use large amounts of fertilisers and pesticides in order to produce more crops and profit. As harmful fertilisers and pesticides are used more frequently, the soil becomes increasingly dangerous. Farmers should be educated about toxic chemicals and encouraged to use more natural fertilisers such as manure.

We can be more vigilant about what we do to take at least minimal measures to reduce soil pollution because both deforestation and farming are human-caused activities. Each step forward will help us get closer to achieving minimal levels of soil pollution.