Experts say that a teaspoon of healthy soil contains, on average, more than a billion beneficial bacteria, hundreds of yards of fungal hyphae, thousands of protozoa, and a handful of nematodes. Each of these microorganisms, invisible to the naked eye, interacts and overlaps, consuming and excreting, and — in doing so — recycles complex organic materials back into nutrients for plants to absorb. The vastness of life in our soil defies easy quantification and contains no small amount of mystery. In fact, even with the entire scientific apparatus of the modern world at our command, we have documented only a tiny percentage of the functions, interactions, and various capacities of the microbes in our soil. What we do know, though, is that they are under threat. Conventional farming methods, like tillage, monocropping, and the use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides, have begun to strip our topsoil of these small but vital life forms. Today, more than a third of the U.S. corn belt has lost its microbially rich topsoil. Soil advocates predict that 95% of our farmable soils will be similarly degraded within the next 30 years. That’s what makes the work of people like Lynn Fang so important. Fang, who self-identifies as a community soil scientist, trained in compost ecology at the University of Vermont and resides in Los Angeles, where she contributes her microbial wisdom to community-based nonprofits like LA Compost and Integrative Development Initiative. In addition, she runs her own soil consulting firm and teaches classes at local community colleges. Fang sat down with The Rooted Journal to chat about why the invisible life forms in our soil are so critical to the food we grow — and to our health.
by Cassandra Marketos
COMMUNITY SOIL SCIENTIST LYNN FANG
illustrations by Armando Veve
SHARES WHAT’S TEEMING IN THE SOIL AND HOW THE INVISIBLE WORLD OF DECAY
HELPS KEEP US HEALTHY.
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ISSUE 02
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