Under our feet
This is my favourite time of year for fruit and veg. The strawberries are super juicy, the cherries are sweet, the cucumbers are refreshing and the courgettes are slightly nutty.
We have the soil to thank for our tasty food. The soil is the lifeblood of all plants; almost all our food depends on soil – literally 95%!
🌱What’s in a handful of soil?
Life! 59% of all species live in the soil. This makes soil the world’s most biodiverse habitat.
🦠Microorganisms in a handful of soil
The microorganisms are present in the billions. Microorganisms work hard to decompose matter, cycle nutrients, mineralise soils and they form symbiotic relationships with plants to increase the availability of nutrients that the plants need.
Bacteria win the prize for being the most numerous and diverse. They also work to regulate disease in the soil and they clean polluted soils!
The fungi create a huge underground network of filaments to which tree roots join. It is thought that via these fungal filaments, trees communicate to each other, e.g. they pass sugar through their roots to other trees who need it!
🐛Small animals
You will be able to see them in a handful of soil. We are talking animals that can just about be seen with the naked eye that measure up to a few millimetres – including mites and springtails (insect-like but differ chemically and live mainly in soils, of course!) – they are soil decomposers so they love dead leaves and wood.
Slightly bigger animals include earthworms, larval insects, little spiders, ants and slugs. Some air the soil and some nest in it, which changes the soil structure and environment slightly all the time.
Small burrowing mammals also live in soils who move soils and create new environments!
The soil biodiversity and its quality hinges on the life within, and their interactions with each other.
🚨Soil quality is in danger
Pollution, intensive farming (monoculture, fertilizers…), deforestation and climate change (dries the ground) make our soils less fertile.
🙌But new techniques are slowly being implemented to regenerate the world’s soils, like agroforestry and other natural techniques including cover crops (non harvested plants), and natural ways to get rid of pests, for example the use of natural predators.
We can help the soil of our own gardens by planting a range of local plants, by being careful with tilling the soil, so as not to disturb the soil structure, and use your own compost to feed the soil (and your plants)!
👍Go grab a handful of soil to see what your garden soil looks like.
(Sources: Science Direct, nature, Encyclopedia of the Environment, Smithsonian Magazine, SageJournals, National Geographic)
…And if you want to read more about what I do in the climate space, then please do check out my services.