Two-thirds of the world's biodiversity lives in the soil

Coral reefs, the deep sea or the treetops of the rainforests are considered the main hotspots of biodiversity. However, they all trail behind the soils. According to a new study, soils are the most species-rich ecosystems worldwide. Their importance for human nutrition is enormous, and the proportion of soils worldwide that are considered degraded or destroyed is growing steadily. A trio of researchers led by the Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research WSL has now made the first estimate of global soil biodiversity.