We need to talk more about soil. In articles and poems I try to bring the hidden world beneath the ground closer. The soil is buzzing with diverse forms of life that literally carry all life above-ground on their back. And still, so often, soil life and its importance is overlooked. Lets change this.
Here I am sharing some insights into my work and my thougths on soils.
- Pesticides: of addictions, missing data and the importance of the EUPesticides: of addictions, missing data and the importance of the EU From fewer multi-pitch bird songs in spring, fewer cricket concerts in summer and fewer butterfly colours around. Gone are the days of swatting insects off windscreens in the summer. Today, many farmers already support plant pollination by purchasing bumblebee pollination boxes, and machines are… Read more: Pesticides: of addictions, missing data and the importance of the EU
- Digging for soil lifeHow to find the organisms living in soils? Well, this depends on their size. Some are easily visible and can just be collected to then count and identify them. The earthworms for example. To find macro- and mesofauna, we dig a 25cm x 25cm square to a depth of 20cm. This block of soil is… Read more: Digging for soil life
- How diverse is the soil life across Europe?On grasping soil biodiversity through DNA analysis or a little discourse into my PhD work (the struggle is real putting three years of research into a little blog article). The Diversity of Life Beneath Our Feet Soils are so much more than a brown mass – they are full of life. But how diverse is… Read more: How diverse is the soil life across Europe?