Our Indispensable Soil - Soil: Reflections on the Basis of our Existence - page 14

Drought-resistant wells . The baobab trees of Sub-Saharan Africa drop their leaves during the dry
season to save water. Legend has it that their unusual appearance depends on the god Thora's dis-
like of the tree, which he threw out of the gardens of paradise. The baobab landed upside down
but continued to grow, albeit with its roots pointing skyward instead of down into the ground.
When the rains come, the baobab can store thousands of litres of water in its trunk. It is not sur-
prising that the tree enjoys mythical status in some African cultures. The photo shows a baobab
tree watching over the cemetery in the village of Fadiout in Senegal
Landslides in Nepal
In Tunisia, wind is the major cause of soil erosion. In the Himalayan kingdom of
Nepal, monsoon rains are the prime culprit, weakening the aggregates that bind
the exposed soil on mountainsides. A growing human population that needs more