All Images
News Release 11-221
From Tropics to Poles: Study Reveals Diversity of Life in Soils
New species discovered across the globe
This material is available primarily for archival purposes. Telephone numbers or other contact information may be out of date; please see current contact information at media contacts.
Down the rabbit hole: a new world of creatures awaits beneath the surface.
Credit: Diana Wall, Colorado State University
Download the high-resolution JPG version of the image. (134 KB)
Use your mouse to right-click (Mac users may need to Ctrl-click) the link above and choose the option that will save the file or target to your computer.
Microbiologist and NSF program director Matt Kane talks about the life on a microbial planet: Earth. Most of the biodiversity on our planet is microscopic, and lives in soil.
Credit: National Science Foundation
Looking underground is like peering through the looking glass in Lewis Carroll's story Alice in Wonderland, says Diana Wall, a soil biologist at Colorado State University. Life in soil abounds, and we're just beginning to discover its extent.
Credit: National Science Foundation
What lives in belowground soils: some surprises, scientists have discovered.
Credit: Valerie Behan-Pelletier, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada
Download the high-resolution JPG version of the image. (35 KB)
Use your mouse to right-click (Mac users may need to Ctrl-click) the link above and choose the option that will save the file or target to your computer.
This creature is small in actual size, but large if you're an inhabitant of the world of soils.
Credit: Valerie Behan-Pelletier, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada
Download the high-resolution JPG version of the image. (36 KB)
Use your mouse to right-click (Mac users may need to Ctrl-click) the link above and choose the option that will save the file or target to your computer.
Scientists Ed Ayres and Diana Wall measure indicators of soil biological activity in Kenya.
Credit: Diana Wall, Colorado State University
Download the high-resolution JPG version of the image. (2.4 MB)
Use your mouse to right-click (Mac users may need to Ctrl-click) the link above and choose the option that will save the file or target to your computer.