Earthworms are the visible vote, but nobody wants to dig and count on a hot afternoon. Here's the shortcut we use in the field.

Respiration is the census

Every worm, microbe, and fungal thread exhales CO2. Measure the breath of the soil and you've counted the whole city at once — no shovel, no squinting.

What a good number feels like

Healthy soil respires like a sleeping animal — steady and warm. A field that's gone quiet respires like cold concrete. You can feel the difference through the probe in a season.