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".
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00:00 Life on Earth.
00:05 That includes birds in the sky, animals moving across the savannah, even us living in cities
00:09 and going about our lives.
00:11 However, according to a new report published in the journal PNAS, most of the life that
00:15 lives on this planet lives underneath the surface.
00:18 The report estimates that some 59% of all life on the planet lives underground, which
00:23 they say makes the soil the quote "singular most biodiverse habitat on Earth."
00:28 That's namely due to the fact that 88% of bacteria, 85% of plants, and 90% of fungi,
00:34 as well as large portions of other creatures like viruses, live in the dirt.
00:38 But 4% of mammal species do as well.
00:41 And while there's still a ton we don't know about the soil and its impacts on life globally,
00:44 the researchers say this is yet another indicator of just how important the habitat is, telling
00:49 The Guardian in a recent interview quote "Organisms and soil play an outweighed impact on the balance
00:54 of our planet.
00:55 Their biodiversity matters because soil life affects climate change feedback, global food
01:00 security, and even human health."
01:02 Which is why the researchers are now calling for more conservation efforts with regards
01:06 to literally preserving our planet's dirt.
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