There is a world of creatures living under our feet

The ground under our feet is a continuous and moving world. One gram of soil (equal to 1/5 of a teaspoon) can contain thousands of bacterial species and millions of individual cells. It also includes fungi, small worms and other strange creatures such as water bears (also known as water bears or sea bears) or rotifers.

Recently, at the United Nations Conference on Environment in Nairobi published a new Atlas booklet in an effort to determine the biodiversity of the underground environment.

There is a whole world living on the ground

"When we think about biodiversity, we often refer to plants and animals," said Alberto Orgiazzi , a biologist who specializes in collaborative land research with the Joint Research Center. of the European Commission and also one of the main contributors. "However, there is still a large world of creatures at our feet. These organisms play an important role but their role does not receive a wide appreciation both in agriculture and in the system. Natural ecology ", Oriazzi said. " Atlas' goal is to make policymakers and the community a little bit of love and respect for these almost invisible forms of life, and to convince them that they are worthy of protection. " .

Reading this Atlas can make you a land-savvy person. This is considered an encyclopedia with hundreds of eye-catching images and microscopic photographs of land-dwelling creatures, such as the mentioned multi-legged (centipede) animal class. above.

The Atlas also includes interesting news about soil science. Do you know the characteristic scent after the rain comes from? It comes from a compound called geosmin that is made up of Streptomyces and radiates after they die. The human nose is extremely sensitive to the smell of soil and the smell is quite similar to the sugar beet.

In addition, the deepest known plant roots of 223 feet (about 68m) were discovered in the Kalahari Desert. However, it is not comparable to nematodes (nematode): The nematode species is found at a depth of 2.2 miles (about 3.6 km) from the ground.

A map showing the biodiversity in the soil

"The Atlas above is just the first attempt to create a map of biodiversity in the land," Orgiazzi added. DNA testing is a modern method to study soil biodiversity, but scientists still do not have enough funding or time to test each site around the world. Therefore, they used a statistical model to examine factors such as climate, soil type and acidity to make estimates of biodiversity. In general, Orgiazzi said that tropical regions with rich vegetation and animals are also accompanied by soil biodiversity.

Researchers have also tried to predict threats to underground biodiversity around the world based on the best available data. You can see the big red streaks in the map below but depending on the region where they change. In India, excessive grazing is a great threat, shared Orgiazzi.

Red areas are places that face many major threats

Most of Europe, North America and China, the main threats are agriculture, especially the use of large amounts of fertilizers and pesticides. In sub-Saharan Africa, wind erosion and precipitation reduction due to temperature changes are the most important issues.

Biodiversity in the underground environment needs attention

This new Atlas also includes guidelines for protecting biodiversity in the soil, from intercropping cultivation methods to limit erosion and control invasive species. However, the first step is to make people more interested in the world live right at their feet.