Soil Glorious Soil!

This World Soil Day (5 December), we’re digging deep to unearth the lifegiver beneath our feet. Often overlooked, soils are the foundation of our ecosystems, the backbone of our food systems, and the key to our future. Quite simply, healthy soils are essential for a healthy planet and at QLDC we know they are also the starting point for successful regeneration and planting projects across our district. 

On the eastern slopes of Coronet Peak, Project Tohu is bringing native forest back to life in one of the district’s toughest environments. Partnering with Te Tapu o Tāne, Citycare Property, and e3Scientific, we are tackling a site that is exposed, dry, and unforgiving. Yet despite these conditions, early observations show the young plants are beginning to establish. It will take several seasons before survival rates can be fully measured, but the signs are promising, thanks in part to what’s happening beneath the surface. 

In the soil, intricate fungal networks form symbiotic partnerships with native roots, helping them draw water and nutrients, while the plants return sugars to the fungi. The team at Project Tohu know that for successful restoration, planting trees means planting fungi too! Seedlings destined for the site are paired with their specific fungal partners in the greenhouse, ensuring those relationships are already in place when they reach the exposed slopes of Coronet. By nurturing this underground collaboration from the start, the young forest arrives equipped with the allies it needs to survive and thrive. Importantly, these fungi don’t just support plant survival, they enrich the health of the surrounding soil, lifting biodiversity, strengthening climate resilience, and enhancing the soil’s ability to store carbon. Healthy soils are like a bustling underground city, alive with fungi, microbes, and roots constantly trading resources and building resilience. They also act as powerful carbon sinks, playing a critical role in mitigating climate change.

Project Tohu isn’t only about science, but also about honouring the whenua as identity and inheritance. Soil is a living network that carries whakapapa, sustains life, and connects us to future generations.  
It’s this hidden network that makes life above ground possible; the silent engine driving life in every forest, every farm, and every community. On World Soil Day, we at QLDC celebrate soil as the foundation of our ecosystems and a powerful ally in the fight against climate change, and we commit to working with our partners to care for it so that future generations can thrive. 

Did you know? Soil... 

• Is a super sponge for carbon! It stores more carbon than the atmosphere and all plants combined. 
• Is a climate regulator. Soil helps balance greenhouse gases through the carbon and nitrogen cycles. 
• Helps prepare for climate change. Healthy, diverse soils are more resilient to change; they can help forests, wetlands, farms, and urban green spaces adapt to a changing climate. 
• Is nature’s flood insurance. Healthy soil is more capable of holding water and reduces runoff, protecting communities from floods and droughts. 
• Is the ultimate filter. It cleans water by trapping and breaking down pollutants before they reach rivers and lakes. 
• Is teeming with life. A teaspoon of soil can contain over a billion microorganisms. 
• Is home to half of life on Earth. From worms to microorganisms, soil contains over half of our planet's biodiversity.
• Is a recycling champion. Soil organisms break down organic matter and return nutrients to plants.