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Soil comes to life
In the last few years there as been an increased interest in soil. Much of this is due to the realisation that our soil could help save the world from global warming, that is driving climate change. Soils are being seen as a 'carbon sink'. But soil is not a lump of carbon, but a fascinating realm where millions of creatures are running round carrying out all sorts of activites. Our soil is alive, yet many of the creatures you find out about in this site are usually ignored. Many people who recognise soil is alive tend to know about worms and microorganisms. yet there are billions of much more interesting creatures under our feet.
There are in the UK an estimated 12 quadriilion (estimated - as they couldn't be counted!) small soil animals, according to Countryside Survey (2007) p167. While lots of people are looking into space and asking whether life exists out there, most people haven't a clue just how many specs of life exist under our feet. A quadrillion is a thousand trillions, and most people couldn't name one species..
Don't' treat the soil like dirt.
The UK government introduced the Sustainable Farming Initiative (SFI) in 2021 that sets out 'Soil Standards' for farmers to achieve in order to claim 1/10th subsidy they used to receive as EU subsidies.
Nevertheless it opens up an opportunity for research, advisors and regeneration of soils.
The government threw out a Lords amendment in the Environment Act that would have set targets for soil improvement - like the targets for air and water. The Minister said that there were not sufficient metrics to do so.
European Citizen's Initiative 'to save the soils of Europe' They have a petition to gain a milloin supporters that recognize soil as a shared heritage that needs EU level protection, as it provides essential benefits connected to human well-being and environmental resilience; develop a dedicated legally binding framework covering the main soil threats: erosion, sealing, organic matter decline, biodiversity loss and contamination; integrate soil related UN Sustainable Development Goals into EU policies; properly account and reduce greenhouse gases emissions from the farming and forestry sectors. People4Soil website Position Paper
I also wrote Opening Analysis (Called 'Dont treat the soil like dirt') in FEC Magazine Spring 2012 Soil; A Fragile Foundation and for Soil Day 2014 I wrote Save our Soils FEC Blog
This website that tries to spell the role of small creatures called invertebrates - or arthropods - much smaller than worms, but bigger than spores and bacateria. They are found in soils throughout the world, is my contribution to the International Year of Soils. See developments
This 'Soil Animal' site aims to open up a debate about the role of soil animals in the future of the earth. Ce site de "Animal sols» vise à ouvrir un débat sur le rôle des animaux du sol dans l'avenir de la terre
Part 1 Look at the creatures in the soil from top down
Part 2 - The Birth of the Earth examines how the soil was formed, and the key role played by small soil animals, many million years ago. Soil evolution seems to be taken for granted, yet it was crucial to later evolution of nature as we know it today. When you see evolution tables, they do not usually mention the soil. However, if you believe that the soil is a 'living entity' (somewhere between 'organism' and 'ecosystem'), then it must have evolved at some point. But when?
La naissance de la Terre examine comment la terre a été formée, et le rôle clé joué par les animaux du sol de petites, de nombreux millions d'années. L'évolution des sols semble êtrepris pour acquis, mais il était crucial pour l'évolution ultérieure de la nature telle que nous la connaissons aujourd'hui.
Part 3 - Digging the Dirt investigates scientific research carried out many years ago into how soil animals may be affected by pesticides. 'Pesticides & Paradigms' reappraises the finding in the light of changing 'paradigms' of thought.
Fouiller le Dirt enquête recherches scientifiques effectuées il ya plusieurs années dans la façon dont les animaux du sol peut être affectée par les pesticides. «Pesticides et paradigmes»réévalue la conclusion à la lumière de l'évolution des«paradigmes» de la pensée.