00:00Life on Earth. That includes birds in the sky, animals moving across the savannah, even
00:08us living in cities and going about our lives. However, according to a new report published
00:13in the journal PNAS, most of the life that lives on this planet lives underneath the
00:17surface. The report estimates that some 59% of all life on the planet lives underground,
00:24which they say makes the soil the quote, singular most biodiverse habitat on Earth. That's
00:29mainly due to the fact that 88% of bacteria, 85% of plants, and 90% of fungi, as well as
00:35large portions of other creatures like viruses, live in the dirt. But 4% of mammal species
00:40do as well. And while there's still a ton we don't know about the soil and its impacts
00:43on life globally, the researchers say this is yet another indicator of just how important
00:48the habitat is. Telling the Guardian in a recent interview, quote, organisms in soil
00:52play an outweighed impact on the balance of our planet. Their biodiversity matters because
00:57soil life affects climate change feedback, global food security, and even human health.
01:02Which is why the researchers are now calling for more conservation efforts with regards
01:06to literally preserving our planet's dirt.
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