Under Your Feet

12

Around a third of all creatures on the

planet live in soil. Most rely on their

fellow soil-dwellers for food. Some

poo out nutrients for plants to eat.

Scientists often group the animals

together by size.

Earthworms

These wrigglers eat dead

plants and make poo

containing lots of nutrients.

Soil organisms eat the

poo to get the nutrients.

Fungi and plants

Fungi release chemicals, called

enzymes, which break down dead

plants into nutrients. The fungi, as

well as plants, can then absorb

these nutrients to grow.

Moles

You may never see a worm-guzzling mole

because it spends most of its life below

ground. However, piles of freshly dug

soil are a sign of moles beneath.

Springtails can

spring (jump) as

high as a pencil.

Mites are the

fastest-running

land animal for

their size.

M

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Hyphae are the

skinny bits of

fungi that absorb

soil nutrients.

S

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