The hidden life of soils

Chap. 1 – Soil formation: a history of the Earth

Pioneers and settlers: from bedrock to mother earth

Originally, the weathering of rock

Roots and soils

Rock-eating fungi

Rocks made by soil organisms

Diggers and burrowers: transferring water, air... and soil

Soil in motion

Soil engineers, little-known artists

Chap. 2 – A major reservoir of biodiversity

Numbers that make your head spin

So many organisms, from the micro to the mega

Overpopulation at first sight

Hot spots and hot moments

Diversity, an invaluable resource

The world wide web beneath our feet!

A communicating underground world

Chap. 3 – The alchemy of soil, biogeochemistry

To be (organic) or not to be

Bacteria and archaea at the origin of great transformations

Life as a couple, or more if you like

Acidification and salinization, a taste for the extreme

Redox Chili Peppers!

When humans force nature

Urban soils and rural soils: the same battle

Chap. 4 – The soil and its inhabitants, masters of climate

Atmosphere, atmosphere!

Carbon in stocks

Blue planet and green water: plants, the system’s engine

Traffic officers: earthworms and roots

Too much or too little water

Guardians of vegetation in the face of desertification

Chap. 5 – Mother Earth

Soil, support for life on Earth

Soil quality, quality of life

Urbanization and artificialization

Agriculture's footprint

Back to earth and its values... a dream of agroecology

(Conclusion) Let's get to know soils and love them…

To find out more

Acknowledgements

Iconographic credits