Soil Biodiversity Digital Exhibition

PART I – Soil, the skin of the Earth

It’s December 5, it’s World Soil Day

What is soil and how is it formed?

How important are the Earth’s soils?

PART II – Soil biodiversity

Main ecological roles of the soil

The soil food web

The living communities of the soil

Functional categorization of the soil biota

PART III – Soil biodiversity in the desert and UAE

Estimated global distribution of soil biodiversity. Orgiazzi A, Bardgett RD, Barrios E, et al. Global Soil Biodiversity Atlas. 2016. Luxembourg: European Commission, Publications Office of the European Union. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/B9780128096659098220

World distribution of soil biodiversity

Desert soil and biocrusts

The biotic composition of desert soils

Photograph courtesy of John A. Kelly, USDA-NRCS

Soil biodiversity of the Arabian deserts

Soils of the UAE

Soil biodiversity in the UAE

PART IV – The present and the future of soil biodiversity

Threats to soil and its biodiversity

Soil and the Sustainable Development Goals

Soil biodiversity, food security and nutrition

What’s new for soil microbiology

Careers in Soil Science

PART V – List of relevant publications and other resources

Peer-reviewed articles

Soil biodiversity of the Arabian deserts

Soils of the UAE

Other online resources

PART VI – Meet the team

Author and content developer