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Mutter Erde: Wie der Verlust des Bodens unseren Planeten bedroht | So wertvoll ist das Reich unter unseren Füßen
Wer die Erde retten will, muss den Boden heilen
Die Erde ist geradezu ein Wunderwerk, überzogen von einer Schicht aus organischem Material, Mineralien und Mikroorganismen sowie Luft und Wasser, die allem terrestrischen Leben zugrunde liegt. Im Boden leben Myriaden von Bakterien, Pilzen und kleinen Tieren, die ihn aufbauen und fruchtbar machen. Doch deren Wert scheint uns nicht Wir beuten den Boden rücksichtslos aus und bedrohen jenes Ökosystem, das die Welt am Laufen hält. Die industrielle Landwirtschaft und die fortschreitende Entwaldung haben mehr als ein Drittel aller Böden bereits empfindlich verletzt oder sogar zerstört. Die Krume stirbt ab, verliert den Halt, wird abgetragen durch Wolkenbrüche und Winde, die durch den Klimawandel häufiger werden. Die Biologen Jörg Blech und Prof. Matthias Rillig beschreiben erstmals, warum wir nur überleben werden, wenn wir die geheimnisvollen Bewohner im Boden erhalten. Sie präsentieren neue Befunde aus der Wissenschaft sowie exklusive Erkenntnisse, die Rillig als Forschender selbst gewonnen hat. Alles mündet in die lebensentscheidende Können wir die Erde wieder in einen gesunden Zustand versetzen?
Die Erde ist geradezu ein Wunderwerk, überzogen von einer Schicht aus organischem Material, Mineralien und Mikroorganismen sowie Luft und Wasser, die allem terrestrischen Leben zugrunde liegt. Im Boden leben Myriaden von Bakterien, Pilzen und kleinen Tieren, die ihn aufbauen und fruchtbar machen. Doch deren Wert scheint uns nicht Wir beuten den Boden rücksichtslos aus und bedrohen jenes Ökosystem, das die Welt am Laufen hält. Die industrielle Landwirtschaft und die fortschreitende Entwaldung haben mehr als ein Drittel aller Böden bereits empfindlich verletzt oder sogar zerstört. Die Krume stirbt ab, verliert den Halt, wird abgetragen durch Wolkenbrüche und Winde, die durch den Klimawandel häufiger werden. Die Biologen Jörg Blech und Prof. Matthias Rillig beschreiben erstmals, warum wir nur überleben werden, wenn wir die geheimnisvollen Bewohner im Boden erhalten. Sie präsentieren neue Befunde aus der Wissenschaft sowie exklusive Erkenntnisse, die Rillig als Forschender selbst gewonnen hat. Alles mündet in die lebensentscheidende Können wir die Erde wieder in einen gesunden Zustand versetzen?
359 pages, Kindle Edition
Published September 25, 2025
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
March 31, 2026
This is not a review. It‘s mostly a recap of the book. The narrative style is ok. The frequent name dropping got old eventually, but it‘s a nice move to mention all the people participating in the research. Good teaser and first look into an important topic. I learned new things.
Intro & Chapter 1, The greatest stage of life–This book takes us on trip of discovery—what is soil? What is the impact of soil for life on Earth? What does soil consist of, is it alive, what is the meaning of biodiversity? How is soil defined by climate, its basic building blocks, organisms living in it, topography and time…?
Chapter 2, At home in the darkness–We learn what it means to live in soil. We also learn how the organisms living there shape their subterranean home. We learn about chemical communication between bacteria, fungi and root systems of various plants—how cool is that? Plants calling nematodes for help, when certain bugs attack their roots, pretty nifty bodyguard-effect.
Chapter 3, The Underworld Zoo—how many species are there underground? Bacteria are the Rulers of the World! And let’s not forget the nematodes, protozoa and arthropods, e.g. springtails, woodlice, and centipedes, also beetle larvae, land snails, slugs and bacteriophages. Less than 4% of life underground are mammals. For example moles, prairie dogs, gophers and almost 250 other types of mammals… 59% of all biological species live underground. Busy place!
Chapter 4, The Hidden Kingdom of Fungi—more details about fungi than I ever knew I wanted or needed.
Chapter 5, Whales of the Soil—Earthworms everywhere! The part about invasive species interested me the most.
Chapter 6, Healthy Ground—we breathe in soil through dust in the air, we consume it with not thoroughly cleaned veggies, et cetera. With it come „old friends“, i.e. bacteria that our body needs to be healthy. Interesting section about human geophagia. Antibiotica make an appearance. And useful bacteriophages. This chapter makes me feel better about buying veggies at the farmer‘s market that haven‘t been cleaned and are covered in „dirt“, i.e. soil that is good for my gut. PFAS is mentioned in this pretty long chapter as was pretty interesting.
Chapter 7, Storage for Greener Climate—Carbon Farming. How does carbon get into the soil in the first place? It‘s more elaborate than you think. We also get to read about biochar. Then there is the question how the carbon is saved in the soil. Interesting: apparently there is no such thing as humus! Ever heard of microbial necromass? I hadn’t. One thing is clear: soil carbon is important to understand climate change. One of our biggest challenges in the future: stop the loss of soil carbon through agriculture and partially reverse it. And to ensure at the same time that we can provide enough food for humanity. Great chapter.
Chapter 8, Plastic Everywhere—the culprit is single-use plastic, leading us to microplastics. I learned some interesting details about microplastics and their effect on soil and plants.
Chapter 9, From Field to Wasteland—soil degradation, consequences of conventional agriculture and tilling with heavy machinery, soil salinization, pastures turning into desert. Until 2050 roughly 95% of our soil will be massively damaged.
Chapter 10, Gone With the Wind—you have probably heard of the Dust Bowl or maybe read The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck. In this chapter you learn what happened and get a detailed look at the shape and size of soil aggregates. We look at erosion and the consequences of tilling, fallow fields, the destruction of hedgerows…
Chapter 11, Soil Close to Collapsing—global change and the interplay of its contributing factors.
Chapter 12, Rehabilitation of the Soil—good section on transplanting healthy soil. And there is a short look at no-till and conservation tillage.
Chapter 13, The Rebirth of Agriculture—and finally we get to regenerative agriculture principles. Glyphosate makes an appearance. And food waste.
Conclusion: A way out of a soilless future—ever heard of the One-Health concept? Or the Gaia-Hypothesis? Me neither.
This books nicely fits for the earth/soil square on the Bingo card of this climathon….
https://tasmin-hansmann.de/projects/c....
Transparency note:
I’ve known Matthias, one of the book’s authors, since we were in school together. This review is my honest take after reading it myself.
Intro & Chapter 1, The greatest stage of life–This book takes us on trip of discovery—what is soil? What is the impact of soil for life on Earth? What does soil consist of, is it alive, what is the meaning of biodiversity? How is soil defined by climate, its basic building blocks, organisms living in it, topography and time…?
Chapter 2, At home in the darkness–We learn what it means to live in soil. We also learn how the organisms living there shape their subterranean home. We learn about chemical communication between bacteria, fungi and root systems of various plants—how cool is that? Plants calling nematodes for help, when certain bugs attack their roots, pretty nifty bodyguard-effect.
Chapter 3, The Underworld Zoo—how many species are there underground? Bacteria are the Rulers of the World! And let’s not forget the nematodes, protozoa and arthropods, e.g. springtails, woodlice, and centipedes, also beetle larvae, land snails, slugs and bacteriophages. Less than 4% of life underground are mammals. For example moles, prairie dogs, gophers and almost 250 other types of mammals… 59% of all biological species live underground. Busy place!
Chapter 4, The Hidden Kingdom of Fungi—more details about fungi than I ever knew I wanted or needed.
Chapter 5, Whales of the Soil—Earthworms everywhere! The part about invasive species interested me the most.
Chapter 6, Healthy Ground—we breathe in soil through dust in the air, we consume it with not thoroughly cleaned veggies, et cetera. With it come „old friends“, i.e. bacteria that our body needs to be healthy. Interesting section about human geophagia. Antibiotica make an appearance. And useful bacteriophages. This chapter makes me feel better about buying veggies at the farmer‘s market that haven‘t been cleaned and are covered in „dirt“, i.e. soil that is good for my gut. PFAS is mentioned in this pretty long chapter as was pretty interesting.
Chapter 7, Storage for Greener Climate—Carbon Farming. How does carbon get into the soil in the first place? It‘s more elaborate than you think. We also get to read about biochar. Then there is the question how the carbon is saved in the soil. Interesting: apparently there is no such thing as humus! Ever heard of microbial necromass? I hadn’t. One thing is clear: soil carbon is important to understand climate change. One of our biggest challenges in the future: stop the loss of soil carbon through agriculture and partially reverse it. And to ensure at the same time that we can provide enough food for humanity. Great chapter.
Chapter 8, Plastic Everywhere—the culprit is single-use plastic, leading us to microplastics. I learned some interesting details about microplastics and their effect on soil and plants.
Chapter 9, From Field to Wasteland—soil degradation, consequences of conventional agriculture and tilling with heavy machinery, soil salinization, pastures turning into desert. Until 2050 roughly 95% of our soil will be massively damaged.
Chapter 10, Gone With the Wind—you have probably heard of the Dust Bowl or maybe read The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck. In this chapter you learn what happened and get a detailed look at the shape and size of soil aggregates. We look at erosion and the consequences of tilling, fallow fields, the destruction of hedgerows…
Chapter 11, Soil Close to Collapsing—global change and the interplay of its contributing factors.
Chapter 12, Rehabilitation of the Soil—good section on transplanting healthy soil. And there is a short look at no-till and conservation tillage.
Chapter 13, The Rebirth of Agriculture—and finally we get to regenerative agriculture principles. Glyphosate makes an appearance. And food waste.
Conclusion: A way out of a soilless future—ever heard of the One-Health concept? Or the Gaia-Hypothesis? Me neither.
This books nicely fits for the earth/soil square on the Bingo card of this climathon….
https://tasmin-hansmann.de/projects/c....
Transparency note:
I’ve known Matthias, one of the book’s authors, since we were in school together. This review is my honest take after reading it myself.
July 25, 2026
Der Titel klingt nach Pamphlet gegen den Klimawandel, aber dahinter steckt ein sehr spannendes und umfangreiches Buch über die Welt unter unseren Füßen.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews