section_path: Soil biodiversity
section_name: Soil biodiversity
paragraph_text: Soil biodiversity
  
  Large numbers of microbes, animals, plants and fungi are living in soil. However, biodiversity in soil is much harder to study as most of this life is invisible, hence estimates about soil biodiversity have been unsatisfactory. A recent study suggested that soil is likely home to 59 ± 15% of the species on Earth. Enchytraeidae (worms) have the greatest percentage of species in soil (98.6%), followed by fungi (90%), plants (85.5%), and termites (Isoptera) (84.2%). Many other groups of animals have substantial fractions of species living in soil, e.g. about 30% of insects, and close to 50% of arachnids. While most vertebrates live above ground (ignoring aquatic species), many species are fossorial, that is, they live in soil, such as most blind snakes.