Children learning the process of good home gardening decide to help as best they can. Every day they walk along rows of bean plants, carefully inspecting each plant for insect and removing any that they find. However, the bean plants do not grow well and few beans form. Their parents notice the beans, inspect the plants and soil, and tell the children that walking around the plants every day has hurt the plants by: a. compacting the soil, decreasing aeration and infiltration.
b. increasing soil aeration and killing soil microorganisms
c. reducing the nutrient minerals in the soil
d. contaminating the soil with toxins leaching from their shoes
e. converting the topsoil into clay