Themagicalworldofsoilbiodiversity Acollectionof10children’sstoriesfromaroundtheworld r e e n u THELIFE UNDER YOURFEET m o r a f H a a i Authors:FrederickDadzie,GiancarloChiarenzaandChenHan Painting:ChenHan J a i J y b d e t a r t s u l l I s t a e K a d a r a h S y L b It’sTimefor T n h e u e t t i JOINUS! BECOMEAMEMBER OFTHESOILLEAGUE TOKEEPSOILALIVE PROTECTSOIL BIODIVERSITY p a r Ane,theant Keepsoilalive,protectsoil biodiversity W d i v e & Soilbiodiversity n The science & spectacle of SoilLife WithRolyPoly t TheHome ofLife IamaLivingSoil u K r Themagicalworldofsoilbiodiversity Acollectionof10children’sstoriesfromaroundtheworld FoodandAgricultureOrganizationoftheUnitedNationsand InternationalUnionofSoilSciencesRome,2021 Requiredcitation: FAOandIUSS.2021.Themagicalworldofsoilbiodiversity-Acollectionof10children’sstoriesfromaroundtheworld.Rome.https://doi.org/10.4060/cb4185en ThedesignationsemployedandthepresentationofmaterialinthisinformationproductdonotimplytheexpressionofanyopinionwhatsoeveronthepartoftheFoodandAgriculture OrganizationoftheUnitedNations(FAO)orInternationalUnionofSoilSciences(IUSS)concerningthelegalordevelopmentstatusofanycountry,territory,cityorareaorofitsauthorities,orconcerningthedelimitationofitsfrontiersorboundaries.Thementionofspecificcompaniesorproductsofmanufacturers,whetherornotthesehavebeenpatented,doesnotimplythatthesehavebeenendorsedorrecommendedbyFAOorIUSSinpreferencetoothersofasimilarnaturethatarenotmentioned.Theviewsexpressedinthisinformationproductarethoseoftheauthor(s)anddonotnecessarilyreflecttheviewsorpoliciesofFAOorIUSS. ISBN978-92-5-134249-7[FAO] ©FAOandIUSS,2021 Somerightsreserved.ThisworkismadeavailableundertheCreativeCommonsAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike3.0IGOlicence(CCBY-NC-SA3.0IGO;https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/igo/legalcode). Underthetermsofthislicence,thisworkmaybecopied,redistributedandadaptedfornon-commercialpurposes,providedthattheworkisappropriatelycited.Inanyuseofthiswork,thereshouldbenosuggestionthatFAOendorsesanyspecificorganization,productsorservices.TheuseoftheFAOlogoisnotpermitted.Iftheworkisadapted,thenitmustbelicensedunderthesameorequivalentCreativeCommonslicence.Ifatranslationofthisworkiscreated,itmustincludethe followingdisclaimeralongwiththerequiredcitation:“ThistranslationwasnotcreatedbytheFoodandAgricultureOrganizationoftheUnitedNations(FAO).FAOisnotresponsibleforthecontentoraccuracyofthistranslation.Theoriginal[Language]editionshallbetheauthoritativeedition.” DisputesarisingunderthelicencethatcannotbesettledamicablywillberesolvedbymediationandarbitrationasdescribedinArticle8ofthelicenceexceptasotherwiseprovidedherein. TheapplicablemediationruleswillbethemediationrulesoftheWorldIntellectualPropertyOrganizationhttp://www.wipo.int/amc/en/mediation/rulesandanyarbitrationwillbeconductedinaccordancewiththeArbitrationRulesoftheUnitedNationsCommissiononInternationalTradeLaw(UNCITRAL). Third-partymaterials.Userswishingtoreusematerialfromthisworkthatisattributedtoathirdparty,suchastables,figuresorimages,areresponsiblefordeterminingwhetherpermissionisneededforthatreuseandforobtainingpermissionfromthecopyrightholder.Theriskofclaimsresultingfrominfringementofanythird-party-ownedcomponentintheworkrestssolelywiththeuser. Sales,rightsandlicensing.FAOinformationproductsareavailableontheFAOwebsite(www.fao.org/publications)andcanbepurchasedthroughpublications-sales@fao.org.Requestsforcommercialuseshouldbesubmittedvia:www.fao.org/contact-us/licence-request.Queriesregardingrightsandlicensingshouldbesubmittedto:copyright@fao.org. Contents Foreword V Acknowledgements VII ThescienceandspectacleofsoillifewithRolyPoly 1 byKeatsandHamner Soilbiodiversity-What’smostimportant? 16 byLutesandEllertThehomeoflife 34 byStuchi,CapecheandPagliacci Keepsoilalive,protectsoilbiodiversity 50 byHernández Tommyandhisearthyadventures 64 byDeshmukhandDeodhar It’stimeforaction! 74 byRuizandRamirezTheadventureofLupi&Kura 92 byMondaca Ane,theant 108 byLázaro,Santos,Nóbrega,GuimarãesandFerreira Thelifeunderyourfeet 124 byJurburgandvanKlink Cocolovessoil 142 byDadzie,ChiarenzaandHan III V Foreword Onthe5thDecember2020,theseventhUNWorldSoilDay-celebratedunderthemotto“Keepsoilalive,protectsoilbiodiversity”,succeededinreachinganestimated800millionpeopleworldwidethroughsevenhundredandeightycoordinatedeventsinoveronehundredcountries.Sinceitsinceptionin2014,thisannualeventhassuccessfullypromotedtheimportanceofhealthysoilsandadvocatedforthesustainablemanagementofsoilresourcestobillionsofpeople. Assoilsarehometo25percentoftheworld’sbiodiversityandareresponsibleforprovidingtheecosystemservicesessentialtosustaininglifeonearth,theytrulydeservetobeprotectedandcelebrated. InAugust2020,aspartoftheWorldSoilDay2020campaignactivities,theFoodandAgricultureOrganizationoftheUnitedNations(FAO),theInternationalUnionofSoilSciences(IUSS)andtheGlobalSoilPartnership(GSP)launchedasixteen-pagebook-writingcompetitionaboutsoilbiodiversity,forchildrenagedsixtoeleven.Thisistheresult. Th