Beneath our feet: Why soil matters more than we realise

Home to an estimated quarter of the animal species and organisms on Earth, a place where food is both stored and grown and also a sizeable water purifier, soil plays many vital roles for humans but it is being destroyed. Ecologist Richard Bardgett tells us that one third of the soil around the world is degraded, sometimes beyond use. Smothered by cement or over-exploited by industrial agriculture, this rich resource which takes thousands of years to form can be destroyed within a few years. We ask our guest what policymakers and individuals can do about it.