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The Compass: The Understory: Life in the Soil: Life in soil: The formation of soil in Rannoch Forest

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Life in soil, part 1

07/09/2022 GMT

Life in soil: The formation of soil in Rannoch Forest

The Understory: Life in the Soil

BBC World Service - The Compass, The Understory: Life in the Soil, Life in soil: The formation of soil in Rannoch Forest

The ancient forest of Rannoch in Scotland reveals the complexity of soil through the ages

The ancient forest of Rannoch in Scotland reveals the complexity of soil through the ages.

Isabelle Legeron visits the ancient forest of Rannoch with soil scientist Richard Bardgett. Amidst the huge pines, hummocks and blueberries, they dig a small hole and channel down through soil horizons, revealing geological time, consider soil on Mars, taste the layers of the forest floor and tune to the incredible work between trees and fungi, pulsing beneath the surface.

With fellow soil scientists and ecologists Suzanne Simard (Canada),  Matthias Rillig (Germany), Ron Amundson (USA), David Montgomery (USA) and Katie Field (UK).

Presenter: Isabelle Legeron
Producer: Kate Bland
A Cast Iron Radio production for the BBC World Service

(Photo: Layers of soil below a tree)

The Compass: The Understory: Life in the Soil

Isabelle Legeron explores the thrilling complexity of soil.

Passionate and knowledgeable, a soil expert and "terroir-ist", Isabelle Legeron brings the earth to life. Leaving stones unturned, she revels in the thrilling complexity of this seemingly static, crumbly mass beneath our feet. She maps the rise and fall of our understanding of soil to her own life, growing up on a farm in Cognac, at a time when nitrogen fertiliser promised food for the world. Today it's the challenge of our time with increasing tracts of dead soil across over cultivated regions of the planet. She considers soil on other planets, forest soils, rock soils, the character of soils and how this seemingly same earth gives each of us a powerful sense of our own identity.

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