Soil Biodiversity Digital Exhibition

PART I – Soil, the skin of the Earth

It’s December 5, it’s World Soil Day

Celebrated annually on the 5th of December since 2002, World Soil Day focuses our attention on soils and the importance of the sustainable management of this resource. “Keep soil alive, protect soil biodiversity” is this year’s theme for World Soil Day 2020. The digital exhibition on soil biodiversity by the Emirates Soil Museum will explore this vital component of soil health and ultimately our health and that of our planet!

The exhibition is split into 6 parts:

  1. Soil, the skin of the earth
  2. Soil biodiversity
  3. Soil biodiversity in the desert and UAE
  4. The present and the future of soil biodiversity
  5. List of relevant publications and other resources
  6. Team bios

What is soil and how is it formed?

Soil is a rich, dynamic and complex porous mixture of water, minerals, air, organic matter, and a myriad of organisms (bacteria, fungi, nematodes, mollusks, insects, annelids and higher animals). Soil provides physical and nutritional support for plants. Soils are constantly created and lost. Soil sustains life on Earth! Thus, the soil is an invaluable natural resource, but also fragile and non-renewable. Maladministration of the soil leads to lost productivity and a degraded environment.

How important are the Earth’s soils?