Soils are living ecosystems

Soils are living ecosystems full of life. In fact, they host more biodiversity than almost any other place on Earth. Only in recent years have scientists — and society as a whole — begun to truly appreciate how important soil life is. The incredible variety of organisms in soil helps support many essential services, like growing food, cleaning water, storing carbon, and maintaining healthy environments.

A recent estimate suggests that nearly 60% of all species on Earth live in the soil. These range from larger animals like moles and earthworms, to tiny creatures like springtails, nematodes, and mites, and all the way down to microscopic bacteria and fungi.

Just one teaspoon of soil can hold millions of organisms, most of them invisible to the naked eye. And in a single handful of soil, there are more living things than there are humans on Earth — or even stars in the galaxy.