Dead and buried: Soil and the biochemical afterlife

Plants, animals and micro-organisms are the beating heart of our world. But what happens when they die? Is there life after death? The answer could very well be beneath your feet, in the soil. Soil is a part of our world that we tend to take for granted; it's the ‘gloop’ on your boots after a bracing country walk or the mud that makes your garden grow. What we don't necessarily realize is that soil is a living and breathing component of the terrestrial biochemical system, with a voracious appetite to boot.