More Than Half of Earth’s Species Live in the Soil, Study Finds

Soil estimated to be home to 90% of world’s fungi, 85% of plants and more than 50% of bacteria, making it the world’s most species-rich habitat

More than half of all species live in the soil, according to a study that has found it is the single most species-rich habitat on Earth.

Soil was known to hold a wealth of life, but this new figure doubles what scientists estimated in 2006, when they suggested 25% of life was soil-based.

The paper, published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, found it is home to 90% of fungi, 85% of plants and more than 50% of bacteria. At 3%, mammals are the group least associated with soils.

“Here, we show that soil is likely home to 59% of life including everything from microbes to mammals, making it the singular most biodiverse habitat on Earth,” researchers write in the paper, which is a review of existing literature. The actual figure could be even higher as soils are so understudied, they say.