On the occasion of the World Soil Day (December 05), the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the International Union of Soil Sciences (IUSS), and the Global Soil Partnership (GSP) launched a scientific children's book contest on soil biodiversity with the motto "Keep soil alive, protect soil biodiversity". The books, aimed at children between the ages of 06 and 11, had to show the vital role that soils and biodiversity play to ensure human welfare, future agricultural production and environmental sustainability. To the delight of Embrapa Soils' team, the publication "The home of life. I am a living soil", authored by four members of the research center - Claudio Capeche, Julia Stuchi, Alexandre Cotta and Kelita Andrade, alongside Milena Pagliacci, Fabricio de Martino, Antonio Augusto Bianchi and Maya Stuchi Tedjini -, earned the third place in the contest. “I always keep up with the news related to the World Soil Day, so when I heard of the competition I was very interested because I have already written a few books”, the analyst Julia Stuchi recounts. “Except that I did not have an illustrator”. The problem was solved with the participation of the artist Milena Pagliacci, who had partnered with Embrapa Soils to draw mind maps at live online meetings. Curiously, another great contributor for the book was Julia's daughter, Maya. With a mere seven years of age she helped the authors “translate” the text into a language that was more suited to younger audiences. The ninth place was also awarded to a publication by Embrapa Soils: ‘The amazing untold history of soil biodiversity and our welfare’, written by the researcher Fabiano Balieiro. Learn more here. Two chapters in book about soil biodiversity Meanwhile Ana Paula Turetta, a researcher from Embrapa Soils, is one of the authors of two chapters of the book "State of knowledge of soil biodiversity – Status, challenges and potentialities. Summary for policy makers", a newly-launched FAO publication with very few Brazilians involved. “I believe that the most interesting thing is to show this soil interface, how biodiversity is closely related to life in the ground, a healthy, live soil”, Turetta states. “This relates to several other services. In fact, it is connected to all the services that the soil can provide. And it is also related to the multiple functions of soils. The chapters in which I participated have this approach to integrate the topics, to bring the issue of biodiversity to this slightly bigger scale of climate change and threats, and also the connection with other services”, the scientist concludes. The book is the result of a process that involved over 300 scholars around the world. It presents concisely the state of knowledge on soil biodiversity, the threats to it, and the solutions that soil biodiversity can provide to problems in different fields. The publication also represents a valuable contribution to raising awareness of the importance of soil biodiversity and highlighting its role in finding solutions to today's global threats. Learn more here.