The teeming life hiding under British feet

Unnoticed by Britons a transformation has been happening beneath their feet. In the first study of its kind, scientists have analysed the soil the country depends on and in just the top eight centimetres, they estimate there are 12.8 quadrillion (12,800 million million) living organisms, weighing 10 million tonnes.

The study further revealed the number of these invertebrates - some just a hair's breadth across - which means the soil has increased by almost 50 per cent in a decade. At the same time, however, the diversity of life in the earth appears to have reduced.

http://www.smh.com.au/world/the-teeming-life-hiding-under-british-feet-20100303-pj4w.html