Growers need to give careful consideration to the diversity of soil micro-organisms in their production planning, rotation and treatment. In the words of Louis Pasteur "the role of the very small is large". There is an urgent need to assess, clarify and record the life below ground which are currently under threat of decline and extinction as a result of intensive agriculture, plant chemicals and the clearing forests of forests. Monoculture is especially to blame in reducing the population and diversity of a soil's micro-organisms and thereby the soil's ability to break down agrochemicals. Soil structure declines and often compacts. In a 100 year old tea plantation in India where yields had stalled despite heavy use of fertilizers and growth hormones, the harvest was increased by as much as 280% and profits were up by over Euro 4850/ha /year, simply through the re-introduction of native species of earthworms! A multimillion Dollar project, primarily funded by the Global Environment Facility (UNEP/GEF), will study the below ground diversity and its implications in plant production and crop yields. AlphaGalileo/"New Scientist". E-mail: Nick Nuttall@unep.org www.unep.org A useful source of information on below ground diversity can be obtained from the web site http://soiuls.usda.gov/sqi/SoilBiology/soil_biology_primer.htm#Contents