@animalculum apropos slime moulds and tiny worlds - if you are interested in #soil life and #soilBiodiversity, I warmly recommend #photographer @frankashwood who is just preparing a book. Fascinating!
Welp. Only one month left to finish my edits, and then the book is off for copy editing and out of my hands… if I fall off the radar over the next few weeks, you’ll know why!
The US publication date has now been announced as 1st September 2026, and it’s available now for US preorder! All the links can be found on the book’s Penguin Random House webpage: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/779567/the-world-beneath-our-feet-by-frank-ashwood/
#NatureBooks #SciComm #TheWorldBeneathOurFeet #Soil #SoilBiodiversity
Wishing everyone a very happy holiday. May the festive velvet worm crawl into all of your houses tonight and boop your sleeping snoots with its many adorable feet, as is tradition.
A sincere thanks for all the support throughout this crazy year. I'm looking forward to seeing my new book 'The World Beneath Our Feet' hit the shelves in August/September 2026... Let's make next year a big one for appreciating and protecting soil biodiversity!
#SoilBiodiversity #TheWorldBeneathOurFeet #SeasonsGreetings #HappyHoliday #HappyNewYear
Today Andy Murray (the macrophotographer) shared a magnificent photo on Instagram of the only species of 'mite' harvester (Cyphophthalmi) ever found in the UK. Here's one from New Zealand - can you spot the difference?
Cyphophthalmi are bizzare, and really interesting from a biogeography perspective: each of the six currently recognized families has a distinct distribution, which reflect plate tectonics and ancient landmasses.
The species here in Aotearoa (and Australia, South Africa and South America) are in the family Pettalidaea, a completely different family to those in Europe and North America (the Sironidae). These families can be traced back to the breakup of Pangea into the two ancient landmasses of Gondwana and Laurasia during the late Triassic period some 200ish million years ago! It's incredible that the history of the earth can be partly told through the distribution of these unassuming little weirdoes.
#SoilBiodiversity #SoilEcology #Entomology #Acarology #Soil #Nature #MacroPhotography #TheWorldBeneatOurFeet
There are few soil animals as adorable as springtails!
This Platunurida sp. is a cousin of the famous 'giant' springtails in New Zealand. Instead of colourful spines, it has a flattened body, so it can squeeze into cracks in decaying logs, where it lives. They're surprisingly fast at escaping into the cracks, so it's difficult to get a good photo of them!
#Entomology #Macrophotography #SoilBiodiversity #Nature #SoilFauna #NaturePhotography #Soil #SoilEcology #TheWorldBeneathOurFeet
Happy World Soils Day!!
To me every day is soils day, but globally we mark 5th December as a day to focus attention on the importance of healthy soil and to advocate for soil sustainability.
Please take a moment to think about your local patch of soil - whether it's your garden, a local park or even a nearby forest. Is the soil is being looked after well there? If not, what can you do to protect it for future generations?
“.. A new study by Dr. Angela Harris from The University of Manchester and Professor Richard Bardgett from Lancaster University has revealed that scientists can now detect the hidden world of microbes living in the soil—from the air. ..Published in New Phytologist, the research shows that detailed airborne images capturing many parts of the electromagnetic spectrum can be used to predict the abundance and diversity of microbes that live in the soil beneath plant canopies. This offers a new way to monitor soil health and biodiversity…Our findings show that the detailed spectral information captured from airborne sensors can tell us a lot about the microbes living in the soil. With advanced hyperspectral satellites planned for launch soon, this approach could make monitoring soil health and biodiversity at continental and even global scales possible and affordable," says Dr. Harris…
#ecology #SoilBiodiversity
https://phys.org/news/2025-11-hidden-microbial-world-beneath-feet.html
More information: Angela Harris et al, Canopy reflectance as a predictor of soil microbial community composition and diversity at a continental scale, New Phytologist (2025). DOI: 10.1111/nph.70720
A new study by Dr. Angela Harris from The University of Manchester and Professor Richard Bardgett from Lancaster University has revealed that scientists can now detect the hidden world of microbes living in the soil—from the air.
@frankashwood Ooooh... It looks great! Tagging for #SolarPunkSunday!
andresrguez
Petra van Cronenburg
Frank Ashwood
NIOO-KNAW
MikPetter
DoomsdaysCW