Biodiversity Quote by Judith D. Schwartz

““biodiversity actually begins in the soil.””

Judith D. Schwartz

About This Quote

Source Lecture: Soil Ecology Conference, 2018

Biodiversity originates in the soil, forming the foundation for ecosystem variety.

In simple terms: Soil is the source of biodiversity.

Key Takeaway

Protect soil health to sustain life.

Themes

environment biodiversity soil

Mood

urgent hopeful

Type

educational inspirational

When to use this quote

agriculture
conservation
land management

Key Concepts

ecosystem foundations microbial diversity sustainability

Questions to Reflect On

How does soil health affect food security?
What practices improve soil biodiversity?

A Different Perspective

Soil health is often overlooked.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★ 2.0 out of 5 (3 ratings)

More by Judith D. Schwartz

“grasslands, grazing mammals, and pack-hunting predators evolved together. So if domestic herbivores can be managed such that their behavior mimics that of their wild…

Judith D. Schwartz

Image

“Steven Apfelbaum, a restoration ecologist in Wisconsin, says that every 1 percent increase in soil carbon holds an additional sixty thousand gallons of water…

Judith D. Schwartz

Image

“First you’ve got to change the ideology,” she says. “Until you can show people that they’re losing profits, you can’t get them to change.”

Judith D. Schwartz

Image

“According to Christine Jones, soils hold more carbon than the atmosphere and all the world’s plant life combined—and can hold it longer, in a…

Judith D. Schwartz

Image

“from a soil microorganism point of view, a crop monoculture is akin to junk food: “If there’s just wheat or any one thing, it’s…

Judith D. Schwartz

Image

“Organisms we can’t see are accorded the same respect as those that are big and flashy or promise to give a nice immediate kick…

Judith D. Schwartz

Image

“One farmer I met, Gene Goven of Turtle Lake, North Dakota, put it more succinctly: “You build soil where the roots go—down!”

Judith D. Schwartz

Image

“Every field that’s turned into a parking lot or industrial park means more water siphoned off into gutters and culverts and less water in…

Judith D. Schwartz

Image

“the problem isn’t the amount of carbon per se—the quantity of carbon on earth is constant—but where that carbon is.”

Judith D. Schwartz

Image

“understand that the greatest danger to wildlife was not poaching but habitat destruction—the same thing that ultimately threatened humans.”

Judith D. Schwartz

Image

“Slaps in the face like this provide opportunities for change. A drought definitely gets people thinking about how they can manage resources better. It’s…

Judith D. Schwartz

Image

“the planet’s current vegetative cover captures around 3000 EJ of the sun’s energy. This photosynthetic capacity would appear to be sufficient to feed only…

Judith D. Schwartz

Image

Explore all 73 Judith D. Schwartz quotes

More Biodiversity quotes

Agricultural demand for water - probably the largest threat to freshwater species - continues to increase. ... Meanwhile, threats to terrestrial biodiversity - primarily…

Indur M. Goklany

Image

The thing that I think about most often is the loss of biodiversity. We talk about these food issues so often with concern to…

Bryant Terry

Image

We should preserve every scrap of biodiversity as priceless while we learn to use it and come to understand what it means to humanity.

E. O. Wilson

Image

I will defend the absolute value of Mozart over Miley Cyrus, of course I will, but we should be wary of false dichotomies. You…

Stephen Fry

Image

Man has created death.

William Butler Yeats

Image

Civilization has ceased to be that delicate flower which was preserved and painstakingly cultivated in one or two sheltered areas of a soil rich…

Claude Levi-Strauss

Image

“The bottom line answer to the question about why biodiversity matters is fairly simple: The rest of the living world can get along without…

Sylvia A. Earle

Image

If we pollute the air, water and soil that keep us alive and well, and destroy the biodiversity that allows natural systems to function,…

David Suzuki

Image

We share this planet with many species. It is our responsibility to protect them, both for their sakes and our own.

Pamela A. Matson

Image

For us, not cooperating in the monopoly regimes of intellectual property rights and patents and biodiversity - saying "no" to patents on life, and…

Vandana Shiva

Image

I can't imagine anything more important than air, water, soil, energy and biodiversity. These are the things that keep us alive.

David Suzuki

Image

An agricultural landscape produces food but it also provides water, requires biodiversity to underpin soil function, pollination and other useful services, and also has…

Tim Benton

Image

Browse all 141 Biodiversity quotes

Biodiversity Quote by Judith D. Schwartz

About This Quote

Related quotes

More by Judith D. Schwartz

More Biodiversity quotes