#soilbiodiversity — Public Fediverse posts

How many different versions of soils were there at the beginning of terrestrial ecosystems?

https://matthiasrillig.substack.com/p/how-many-different-versions-of-soils?r=1yu2t7

#soil #ecosystems #soilBiodiversity

Field work seems to be over for now in our #BEN_EAF outgoing mobility project in the #Cairngorms, #Scotland.

We did sample soil for #eDNA #metabarcoding and collected our pitfall traps.

It was a great and quite warm weather! 😎

Next: do some invertebrate identification in the labs of the #JamesHuttonInstitute .

#AlpSoil_Lab #Highlands #ScottishHighlands #SoilFauna #SoilBiodiversity #MountainSoilBiodiversity

Field work half-time for #BEN_EAF! ⛰️

We took small and larger soil samples from whom hashtag#SoilFauna will be heat-extracted in the soil lab at the Aberdeen campus of the #JamesHuttonInstitute. This is mainly springtails (#Collembola), mites (#Acari), and hopeful more small critters!

Further, we did also collect the soil fauna from the pitfall traps: mainly ground beetles (#Carabidae), wolf spiders (#Lycosidae), and harvestmen (#Phalangiidae). 🕷️🪲

Thanks again to Andrea Britton and Debbie Fielding for the help in the field work!

#SoilBiodiversity #AlpineSoils #MountainSoils #Cairngorms #Scotland

While samplings of #alpine beasties in the #Cairngorms #NationalPark for my #BEN_EAF project at the #JamesHuttonInstitute are still in the preparation, here some impressions of the critters I've found while hiking.
As temperatures go up, so more activity is expected, right?
? 🤓🕷️🐛🪱🧬

#NatureScot #ScottishHighlands #Highlands #AlpineSoils #AlpSoil_Lab #SoilFauna #SoilBiodiversity

Bioneers: "Climate Change Has Two Drivers"
https://bioneers.org/climate-change-has-two-drivers-weve-been-largely-ignoring-one-ztvz2604/

#Bioneers #Nature #WildLife #Soil #SoilBioDiversity #RestoringNature #Ecology #Desertification #ReWilding #ClimateChange #Climate #SoilQuality #ClimateDiary #WaterIsLife #ClimateAction #BioDiversity

@HighCountryNew @high-country-news-HighCountryNew

💯 the invisible ecosystem services provided by the soil microbial community is difficult to overstate.
Soil aggregation (=erosion prevention), carbob storage, water purification, breakdown of pollutants, biodiversity, soil fertility for agricultural production...

I liked this part
"fungal diversity can be protected no matter where it occurs. Land managers can allow more woody debris to remain on the landscape as a food source for fungi; anyone can improve their backyard’s soil health by composting."

We take care for birds, thus let's take care for our fungi! :ecoanarchism_heart:

#SoilMicrobiology #SoilMicrobes #Fungi #Mycorrhiza #SoilBiodiversity

YEAH! 🎉
Today #BEN_EAF kick-offs as collaboration of Eurac Research, South Tyrol (#AlpSoil_Lab) and the James Hutton Institute (#EnB group), Scotland.

We will identify alpine #SoilFauna in the Highlands using traditional and modern #eDNA methods.

Stay tuned!
https://doi.org/10.13140/RG.2.2.18172.50561

#SoilBiodiversity #MountainSoils #MountainsSoilBiodiversity #Scotland #AlpineSoils #SoilMacroFauna #SoilMesoFauna

New publication: #Citizenscience contributions to #soilbiodiversity research and conservation: insights from European studies. #biodiversity #soilorganisms
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apsoil.2025.106608

“.. A new study by Dr. Angela Harris from The University of Manchester and Professor Richard Bardgett from Lancaster University has revealed that scientists can now detect the hidden world of microbes living in the soil—from the air. ..Published in New Phytologist, the research shows that detailed airborne images capturing many parts of the electromagnetic spectrum can be used to predict the abundance and diversity of microbes that live in the soil beneath plant canopies. This offers a new way to monitor soil health and biodiversity…Our findings show that the detailed spectral information captured from airborne sensors can tell us a lot about the microbes living in the soil. With advanced hyperspectral satellites planned for launch soon, this approach could make monitoring soil health and biodiversity at continental and even global scales possible and affordable," says Dr. Harris…

#ecology #SoilBiodiversity
https://phys.org/news/2025-11-hidden-microbial-world-beneath-feet.html
More information: Angela Harris et al, Canopy reflectance as a predictor of soil microbial community composition and diversity at a continental scale, New Phytologist (2025). DOI: 10.1111/nph.70720

@frankashwood Ooooh... It looks great! Tagging for #SolarPunkSunday!

#Science #Soil #NatureBooks #SoilBiodiversity

Very helpful #preprint on #authorea from on "Standardised protocols for soil fauna extraction and a call for cross-lab implementation" 🪱🕷️🐞

doi.org/10.22541/au....

#SoilFauna #SoilBiodiversity #SoilLabs #Soil

Identifying soil insect larvae is tricky sometimes. The next time I get a comment by a reviewer asking "Why only to family level?" I send him/her this photo. 😋

Left a Hydrophilidae larva (#Coleoptera), without legs...
Right a Scatopsidae larva (#Diptera)...

#entomology #SoilBiodiversity #insects

Adur River Recovery: ".. a plan to enhance the river’s ecological health..restoring riverbank habitat and vegetation, slowing flood water.. restoring meanders.. creating new wetlands. These measures will support.. biodiversity, soil health, and water quality.."
https://adur-river-recovery.org/

#SolarPunkSunday #Sussex #Nature #Conservation #AdurRiverRecovery #Community #Rivers #BioDiversity #Food #WildLife #WaterQuality #Water #Soil #Wetlands #FloodPlains #SoilBiodiversity

A new study connects recent regionally confined warming in China 2010ff to their strive for healthy air by scrubbing SO2 from their coal chimneys. *

In other news, India is lambasted by a politician for excluding most of their coal chimneys from SO2 scrubbing regulation. **

And here's a curious side effect of acid rain from SO2:
it reduces CO2 emissions from soil 💡
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0341816221005725 "Acid rain reduces soil CO2 emission and promotes soil organic carbon accumulation in association with decreasing the biomass and biological activity of ecosystems: A meta-analysis" by Ziqiang Liu et al 2022

So when large areas simultaneously get rid of SO2 pollution
, CO2 emissions start to rise noticeably? Europe's SO2 reduction was fastest, USA is her typical laggard, and China began 2010ff and is now already on par with a mid-1990s Europe, much faster than USA.

My musings:
I guess, it means, once the soil removes the acid, CO2 emissions start to rise.
AFAIK, acid removal is no automatism in forest soil but I can imagine, removal from agricultural land happens automatically bit by bit during subsequent harvests? (Yum!)

Germany distributed chalk or something to her forest soils to counter the acidification and to rescue dying forests.

But. Plants and other beings suffer during acidification. And when forests recover they raise their carbon uptake. Crop yields also recover when the soil does, I reckon. (Indeed! see *** and pic 2, and also ****. Now I wonder whether the elsewhere celebrated yield gains are more due to cleaner air than genetical engineering and pesticides!)

Maybe, CO2 emissions from soil are balanced out by increased carbon uptake from healthier beings.
Does the paper say anything about all these musings?

"Overall, the responses of soil GHGs emissions to acid rain vary across different ecosystems, climates, soil types and experimental duration, and thus no consensus has emerged yet" 😁

* "East Asian aerosol cleanup has likely contributed to the recent acceleration in global warming" by Samset et al https://www.nature.com/articles/s43247-025-02527-3
A Conversation piece by the authors: https://theconversation.com/cleaner-air-in-east-asia-may-have-driven-recent-acceleration-in-global-warming-our-new-study-indicates-260601

** "‘Faulty premises’: Jairam Ramesh slams govt after it eases SO2 emission norms" https://theprint.in/india/faulty-premises-jairam-ramesh-slams-govt-after-it-eases-so2-emission-norms/2688855/

*** "The negative effects of simulated acid rain on maize physiology, grain quality and yield in a field trial" by Jidong Liao et al, 2025 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1309104224003477

**** "More Power Generation, More Wheat Losses? Evidence from Wheat Productivity in North China" by Fujin Yi et al 2024 .
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10640-024-00841-6

#SO2 #AcidRain #SoilBiodiversity #soil #carbonUptake #CO2 #greenhousegases #agriculture #forest #cropyield #ClimateChange

25 July 2025 Stanmer Organics Open Day
Stanmer Organics, Stanmer Park, Stanmer, Brighton BN1 9SE, UK
https://stanmerorganics.com/news/

#Community #Food #Brighton#Hove #BrightonAndHove #OrganicFood #Soil #SoilAssociation #SoilBiodiversity #SolarPunkSunday

Introducing Fork And Dig It
"We have a strong agroecological ethos, which has organic soil management and protection at its heart. We pass on our knowledge freely, diversifying with Team-builds, Workshops and Education Days."
https://forkanddigit.co.uk/

#Community #Food #BrightonAndHove #Brighton #Hove #Organic #Volunteer #SoilBiodiversity #Soil #Education #CommunitySupportedAgriculture #SolarPunkSunday

RHS
"Recycling your garden waste into home-made compost is both easy and environmentally friendly. Here we look at the basics of making this valuable soil improver and mulch."
https://www.rhs.org.uk/soil-composts-mulches/composting

#Composting #Compost #Gardening #SolarPunkSunday #Waste #Horticulture #GardeningMastodon #RHS #SoilQuality #SoilBiodiversity #SoilRemediation #Recycling #Mulch

Hey, as I do love soil animals and critters, I did support an artist who draws very nice pictures of the vast variety of #SoilBiodiversity (mainly #SoilFauna). Stickers for the kids 🤩

If you love #soil too, give it a try and support Svenja Meyer (https://bsky.app/profile/fminifera.bsky.social) and check out her store at https://smartwork.bigcartel.com/

#SoilIsLife #SoilIsAlive

NOW ONLINE at Biological Reviews!

Global review on "Biodiversity in mountain soils above the treeline" by @nadinepraeg.bsky.social and me with many great #SoilBiodiversity researcher.

This is the first time such global information on #alpine soil microbiota, soil fauna, and (soil) biocrusts were synthesised.
Read and download it for free at http://doi.org/10.1111/brv.70028

Here, a short thread 🧵 (1/4)

#UIBK #EuracResearch #UniGraz #GMBA

Well: late April rain was insufficient in my forest. growing plants absorbed every of it and soils remained exactly as dramatically dry as before.

no water = no life!

In early May, a crucial breeding time period for most insects, observation spots in clearings were devoid of any soil insect, despite heat and sun. No ground beetles. No rove beetles. Nothing. Ludicrous!

A little insect activity is detected under canopy only.

Without any predator roaming, my clearings are turning into a slug paradise! (I did not shoot a picture because some people seem to be afraid of slugs).

#SoilBiodiversity #SoilFauna #forest

Time to see if rain did any good to soils. When I recorded soil moisture 2 weeks ago, it was dramatically low. It ranged between 18 and 38% of 2022 level at that same time of year. 2022 was a heat dome here.

It is disturbing. 2024 sits in top 10 rainiest years on record. Where has all this water gone? The nearby water pumping station looks like a very plausible explanation to me, also for soils being 3 times drier downslope!

Let's hope 2025 won't be an other heat dome. The ecosystem is not healing from that one. Starting from such low moisture levels would lead to a definitively irrecoverable disaster.

#soil #SoilBiodiversity

So interesting, projects to rehydrate soil and prevent erosion. I wish I had been born fifty years later so I could have made this my career. https://www.mullooninstitute.org/projects
#water #SoilBiodiversity

NEW EUROPEAN RECORD 🎉

We were able to detect the Pygmy Shrews (Sorex minutus) in the high #alpine up to 3,300 m a.s.l. in #SouthTyrol #Italy, 780 metres higher than known before 🐁

New short note in #Hystrix (w/ #ChiaraPaniccia & @Eliag from https://bsky.app/profile/euracalpenv.bsky.social )

📄 https://doi.org/10.4404/hystrix-00760-2024

#PygmyShrew #Shrews #SmallMammals #Hystrix #Südtirol #AltoAdige #EuropeanAlps #BiodiversityMonitoringSouthTyrol #GLORIA #Mountains #MountainPeaks #SoilFauna #SoilBiodiversity #Monitoring #AlpSoil_Lab #Glaciers #OetztalAlps #Sesvenna

Some time ago, we #AlpSoil_Lab at #EuracResearch|s Institute for Alpine Environment published a paper for kids and all people in a simple language. Thanks to @soilbio_comm these articles were translated in many languages!

Check: https://idiv-biodiversity.de/de/young-minds/languages.html

Check: https://www.eurac.edu/en/institutes-centers/institute-for-alpine-environment/news-events/belowground-mountaineers-a-scientific-publication-for-children-and-young-people

#iDIV #FrontiersXoungMinds #MountainSoilBiodiversity #SoilBiodiversity #SoilFauna #Mountains #MountainEcology

Hey you? Yes you!
Are you doing #research on #SoilBiodiversity in #mountains ? 🪱🦠🏔️

Then submit your #abstract to our #IMC2025 session, and tell us about your newest insights on #MountainSoilBiodiversity

See here our focus session 3.139 in collaboration with the #GlobalMountainBiodiversityAssessment : https://imc2025.info/imc25/sessions-n-workshops/focus-session/fs-3-139-mountain-soil-biodiversity/

#Innsbruck #Austria #Tyrol #InternationalMountainConference #AlpineResearch #MountainResearch #Tirol #Nordtirol #Innsbrooklyn #AlpSoil_Lab #GMBA

In case you missed it:
a video about the fascinating life in the soil!

#soil #biodiversity #ecology #environment #SoilBiodiversity #soilhealth

https://youtu.be/qtd_TeBYy8s

This afternoon (13:00 Berlin time), the second video of my new channel 'Life in the Soil' will be released, on World Soil Day.

I hope you will like it. It talks about our work on soils and global change.

#WorldSoilDay #WorldSoilDay2024 #soil #SoilBiodiversity #SoilHealth

https://www.youtube.com/@lifeinthesoil

Can we please have more of such #ecology #zoology project videos? 😉

Here they are combining #research on #arthropods in mountain areas, #ElevationalGradients, and #DNAsequencing to assess the #SoilFauna in 🇿🇦, old and new one.

📺 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E9hvpXWi-kQ

#SoilBiodiversity