The research is in and scientists say that more than half of all life on our planet lives under the surface. Now they’re calling the subterranean world the “singular most biodiverse habitat on Earth".
00:00Life on Earth. That includes birds in the sky, animals moving across the savanna, even us living in cities and going about our lives.
00:11However, according to a new report published in the journal PNAS, most of the life that lives on this planet lives underneath the surface.
00:18The report estimates that some 59% of all life on the planet lives underground, which they say makes the soil the quote, singular most biodiverse habitat on Earth.
00:28That's namely due to the fact that 88% of bacteria, 85% of plants, and 90% of fungi, as well as large portions of other creatures like viruses, live in the dirt.
00:38But 4% of mammal species do as well.
00:41And while there's still a ton we don't know about the soil and its impacts on life globally, the researchers say this is yet another indicator of just how important the habitat is.
00:49Telling The Guardian in a recent interview, quote, organisms in soil play an outweighed impact on the balance of our planet.
00:55Their biodiversity matters because soil life affects climate change feedback, global food security, and even human health.
01:02Which is why the researchers are now calling for more conservation efforts with regards to literally preserving our planet's dirt.
