The World Beneath Our Feet: The Hidden Life of Soil and Why It Matters to Us All

The World Beneath Our Feet: The Hidden Life of Soil and Why It Matters to Us All

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    The World Beneath Our Feet: The Hidden Life of Soil and Why It Matters to Us All Author: Format: Hardback First Published: Published By: Hodder & Stoughton
    string(3) "288"
    Pages: 288 Illustrations and other contents: 2 x 8 page colour plate sections Language: English ISBN: 9781399742474 Categories: , , ,

    To appreciate the wonders of the world around us, we’re often told to look up. But what if we need to look down instead? The ground beneath our feet hums with a staggering abundance of winding roots, interconnecting fungal networks, wriggling creatures and mind-blowing microbial life. This hidden ecosystem is the single most biodiverse habitat on the planet. Half of all our species exist underfoot, and just a handful of soil can contain an entire world. Without soil, there would be no life as we know it. Everything that happens below ground sustains all life above it – yet we rarely think about this mysterious, dark underland. In The World Beneath Our Feet soil ecologist Frank Ashwood scratches the surface and takes us on an eye-opening safari through this precious ecosystem, from the ancient forests of New Zealand to the vast black soil deposits of the US and China. Every layer of the pedosphere is a world of its own, each more alien than the last as we travel deeper into the Earth. In a story of connection and communication, we meet pioneering plants and minute animals that are essential to the health and wellbeing of our planet. We learn how soil makes our very existence possible, allowing us to cultivate crops as well as storing precious carbon and the water we need to survive. We marvel at soil as the Earth’s fertiliser and one the building blocks of evolution, transforming decaying matter into the birthplace of new life. The World Beneath Our Feet opens our eyes to the hidden, wondrous world of soil and invites us all to play a part in protecting it for future generations.

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    This is a thrilling and delightful book. It opens a treasure chest of fascinating insights into our most neglected ecosystem. * George Monbiot * 'Vital, brilliant, wholly absorbing - this rich weave of soil science and stories that connect us with the tiny creatures we rarely see is as diverse and finely tuned as the life of the soil itself. A masterpiece of science writing and a subject that is the most important of all to our own survival.' - Isabella Tree * Isabella Tree * Exhilarating, revelatory and written with a delight that is as infectious as it is irresistible, The World Beneath Our Feet is a joy. * James Bradley, author of Deep Water * This book has massive, understated charm. I used merely to like earthworms. Now I truly admire them. Ashwood has made soil science enchanting. * Noreen Masud, author of A FLAT PLACE * If there's one thing we're going to need in the future, it's healthy soil. Terrestrial life depends on it. We find ourselves at a critical juncture in our history and what we do now will determine our survival. I sincerely hope we heed the message of this significant book. Quite simply magnificent. * George McGavin, Oxford University Museum of Natural History * "A glimpse into an astonishing world that is often as out of mind as it is out of sight... His engaging writing style and expert insights take readers on a journey down into these dark, complicated habitats, through this surprising, spellbinding story of soil." - Jack Ashby, author of Nature's Memory: Behind the Scenes at the World's Natural History Museums A fascinating journey into the hidden life of soil and its vital importance for people and the planet. Engaging and full of surprises, it will transform the way you see the ground beneath your feet. A must read for anyone interested in the natural world. * Prof Richard Bardgett CBE *

    Author Biography

    Dr Frank Ashwood is a soil ecologist and macrophotographer, specialising in soil invertebrates. He is a Lecturer of Ecology and Entomology at Lincoln University in New Zealand, and received his PhD from University of Lancashire in 2016. Frank has previously worked as a scientist for Forest Research, part of the British Government's Forestry Commission. He is Associate Editor of the New Zealand Journal of Zoology and member of the Royal Society of Biology. Frank has appeared on the BBC Earth Podcast, BBC Breakfast, ABC Landline, and his soil animal photography has been featured in the Guardian and the New York Times, and has been exhibited internationally.