World Beneath Our Feet

'Thrilling and delightful' - GEORGE MONBIOT'Vital, brilliant, wholly absorbing... A masterpiece of science writing' - ISABELLA TREE'A travelogue to a land of mystery and wonder' - STEVE BRUSATTEDiscover the extraordinary hidden world beneath our feet, home to more than half of all life on Earth.We spend our lives exploring forests, oceans and even space. Yet the most biodiverse habitat on the planet is right beneath us.In The World Beneath Our Feet, expert scientist and macrophotographer Frank Ashwood takes us on an unforgettable journey into this astonishing underground ecosystem. Travelling from the ancient forests of New Zealand to the vast black soils of the US and China, he reveals a world teeming with life: miniature engineers, microscopic predators, vast fungal networks and billions upon billions of microbes.A single teaspoon of soil can contain up to six billion organisms.Meet earthworms that transform the ground as they move through it, pinhead-sized pseudoscorpions, almost indestructible tardigrades and nematode worms that may be the most abundant animals on Earth. Together, these extraordinary creatures help sustain life above ground, recycling nutrients and supporting the soils that feed our crops, store water and sustain our forests. Soil microbes have even given us life-saving medicines, including antibiotics.Soil stores more carbon than all the world's plants and atmosphere combined, yet degradation, erosion and climate change are putting this vital ecosystem under increasing pressure.This book is a thrilling journey into the hidden world beneath our feet, and why we cannot live without it.'This is nature writing at its best and a book for our time.' - LEILA PHILIP, New York Times'An absolute page-turner.' - JAKE ROBINSON