Fallen leaves provide essential winter habitat for native pollinators and provide natural mulch for the soil. If you have to clear some leaves, don’t get rid of them entirely: Move them out of sight.
Articles on Soil health
Displaying 1 - 20 of 57 articles
Mulch glue allows water and air to penetrate the soil, but there are concerns it may limit birds turning over and foraging in mulch.
A soil expert unpacks what this unconventional farming method is and how it works.
The good news is degraded soil can regain some of its lost heat protection. We can help ‘re-insulate’ the ground with practical farming methods.
New EU legislation supporting healthier soils was adopted in December 2025 incorporating environmental DNA analysis which is proving useful but not totally efficient.
Tannin stains on concrete, cars and decks may be unsightly, but that doesn’t mean tannins are unimportant.
Eating soil is still practised widely around the globe today.
From Paris in 2015 to Belem in Brazil in 2025, soil is slowly becoming part of climate policy but more can be done.
Only 1.5% of soil arriving at waste facilities in England was classed as hazardous, suggesting we are throwing away mostly healthy, usable soil.
Knowing where best to scale up soil health solutions will help protect people, businesses and ecosystems from extreme events.
Most of Australia’s plants rely on a hidden underground network of fungi for water and minerals. They could be in trouble – but we don’t have the data to know.
If grown on an industrial scale, hemp could provide multiple benefits for the environment and the economy.
Our research team closely studies plants and soil to develop fertilisers that don’t harm the environment.
Imagine using tailored soundscapes to restore ecosystems, simply by amplifying recordings of sonic cues that attract wildlife, stimulate plant growth and rebuild relationships between species.
Adding biochar to degraded soils boosts how much water soils can hold and help farmers survive droughts.
From improving our gut microbiome to brain function, healthy and nutritious soil has lots of human health benefits.
By listening to the “heartbeat” or soundscape of soil, we can learn more about its condition. Think of poor soil as a lifeless party. Healthy soil is where you’ll find the good vibes and chatter.
A soil expert explains why flooding rice fields in South Florida benefits the agriculture-rich region.
Farmers and soil scientists are starting to use clever tech to reliably measure changes in soil condition.
Earthworms act as ecosystem engineers and over centuries, they have shaped the landscape and changed the soils on the Isle of Rum in Scotland. Here’s how.
Top contributors
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Chair Professor in Sustainability, Lancaster University
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Ecologist and Researcher, Flinders University
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Professor of Dryland Ecology, UNSW
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Associate Professor in Biology, Flinders University
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Professor emeritus, Colorado State University
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Professor of Earth and Space Sciences, University of Washington
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Associate Professor, Department of Entomology; African-American Studies, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
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Professor, Water and Landscape Dynamics, Fenner School of Environment & Society, Australian National University
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Senior Research Associate, School of Agriculture, Food and Ecosystem Sciences, The University of Melbourne
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Assistant Professor of Fish and Wildlife Conservation, Virginia Tech
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Senior Climatologist, Australian Bureau of Meteorology
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Lecturer - Biological Sciences, University of Cape Town
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Associate Professor Environmental and Geographic Science, University of Cape Town
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Threatened Species Biologist, The University of Melbourne
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Assistant Professor of Natural Resource Sciences, McGill University