Newswise — May 15, 2015-In celebration of the International Year of Soil 2015 (IYS), the Soil Science Society of America (SSSA) is coordinating a series of activities throughout the year to educate the public about the importance of soil. May’s theme is “Soils Support Buildings and Infrastructure”. In SSSA’s May 15 Soils Matter blog post, experts why mudslides occur.

According to Larry Baldwin, in a mudslide “the weight of the water and steep incline push mud and dirt downhill.” Baldwin is a professional soil scientist.

Mudslides can happen in all 50 states, but there are certain places where mudslides are more prone to happen. For example, on the West Coast, states like California, Washington, and Oregon see more mudslides than other states because of their hilly terrain. Lands altered by humans or wildfire are also more at risk for mudslides.

To read the entire blog post, visit http://soilsmatter.wordpress.com.As part of their celebration of IYS, SSSA is developing a series of twelve 2-minute educational videos. May’s Soils Support Buildings and Infrastructure video can be viewed at www.soils.org/iys/monthly-videos. Educational materials can be viewed at www.soils.org/iys.

Follow SSSA on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/SSSA.soils, Twitter at SSSA_Soils. SSSA has soils information on www.soils.org/discover-soils, for teachers at www.soils4teachers.org, and for students through 12th grade, www.soils4kids.org.The Soil Science Society of America (SSSA) is a progressive international scientific society that fosters the transfer of knowledge and practices to sustain global soils. Based in Madison, WI, and founded in 1936, SSSA is the professional home for 6,000+ members and 1,000+ certified professionals dedicated to advancing the field of soil science. The Society provides information about soils in relation to crop production, environmental quality, ecosystem sustainability, bioremediation, waste management, recycling, and wise land use.

To view SSSA's video, Soils Support Buildings and Infrastructure, visit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zJi-73qeE-0

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