Why does soil matter?

Why does soil matter?

From Unearthed - The need for seeds, with Cate Blanchett by Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew

June 5, 2024 · 49 min · Season 3 · Episode 2

About this episode

This episode explores the importance of soil and its impact on biodiversity, agriculture, and pollution through various expert insights.

There is still so much to learn about the mysterious realm of soil. From the microscopic organisms essential to life on Earth, to the complex and wonderful associations between plants and fungi, the ground beneath your feet is teeming with life. Dr Mya-Rose Craig explores soil in this episode of Unearthed: Nature needs us from the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Find out how our world’s health is impacted by forces we may not even be able to see, and how this plays out on the scale of crop health, biodiversity in environments and the nutritional wealth of landscapes. We head to Kew’s world-class fungarium with Professor Irina Druzhinina, and into Wakehurst’s diverse woodlands where conservation research is going on to understand gas exchange between the earth, atmosphere and vegetation. Dr Gary Egan and Dr Phil Wilkes show us around this living laboratory in Sussex. Mya also hears how conservation of Madagascan grasslands, which are important carbon sinks, goes hand-in-hand with providing value to local communities through livestock grazing. And hear from Dr Feng Cai , whose research into plastic-eating fungi on China’s saltmarshes is powering innovative research into cleaning up…

People in this episode

Host: Cate Blanchett

Guest: Dr Mya-Rose Craig

Topics covered

  • soil health
  • biodiversity
  • fungi
  • conservation
  • agriculture
  • pollution

Keywords

  • soil
  • biodiversity
  • fungi
  • conservation
  • agriculture
  • pollution
  • Madagascan grasslands
  • crop health
  • gas exchange

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew

Places: Madagascan, Oxfordshire, Sussex, Wakehurst, FarmED, China

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