Foundations for a national assessment of soil biodiversity
Abstract Soils, just like all other ecosystem compartments, change over time and, consequently, conditions for soil‐inhabiting organisms are also changing, affecting their composition and diversity. Soil biodiversity is a critical component of ecosystems that supports many essential ecosystem functions and services, such as nutrient cycling, carbon sequestration, water regulation and biomass production for food, fodder, fibre and energy. However, and despite the importance of soil biodiversity for ecosystem health and human well‐being, neither current state, drivers, potential consequences for ecosystem services nor options for sustainable governance of soil biodiversity are well understood. Here, we provide a framework for and argue that conducting a national assessment of soil biodiversity, albeit being a complex endeavour, is fundamental to building a baseline to understand the current state and trends of soil biodiversity, but also to identify the main drivers of change, the impacts of soil biodiversity loss and the potential pathways for conservation and sustainable governance of soil biodiversity.
Authors
- Juliane Filser (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1535-6168)
- Janina Kleemann (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6316-6209)
- Christian Albert (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2591-4779)
- Bartosz Bartkowski (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5938-1221)
- Carlos A. Guerra (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4917-2105)
- Benjamin Burkhard (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8636-9009)
- Karin Hohberg (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9681-9157)
- Dagmar Haase (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4065-5194)
- Nico Eisenhauer (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0371-6720)
- Stefan Scheu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4350-9520)
- Nicole Scheunemann (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1845-6236)
- Doreen Babin (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7144-8898)
- Willi E. R. Xylander (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3627-8947)
- Christian Ristok (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1446-977X)
- Matthias C. Rillig (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3541-7853)
- Nicole Wellbrock (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6054-6115)
- Liliane Rueß (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8061-6208)
- Jörg Römbke (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1341-634X)
- Christoph C. Tebbe (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4861-0214)
- Bastian Steinhoff‐Knopp (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9926-8028)
- Sanina Kolb
- Christina Lachmann
Institutions
- Leibniz University Hannover (DE)
- Julius Kühn-Institut (DE)
- Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (DE)
- Leipzig University of Applied Sciences (DE)
- Hochschule Bremen (DE)
- University of Bremen (DE)
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (DE)
- Federal Agency for Nature Conservation (DE)
- Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin (DE)
- Johann Heinrich von Thünen-Institut (DE)
- Institute for Biodiversity (DE)
- Leibniz Centre for Agricultural Landscape Research (DE)
- Eberswalde University for Sustainable Development (DE)
- Berlin Brandenburg Institute of Advanced Biodiversity Research (DE)
- Systems, Applications & Products in Data Processing (Germany) (DE)
- Senckenberg Museum für Naturkunde Görlitz (DE)
- International University Institute (IHI) Zittau (DE)
- Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (DE)
- University of Göttingen (DE)
- Freie Universität Berlin (DE)
- University of Coimbra (PT)
- Leipzig University (DE)
- Technische Universität Braunschweig (DE)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Journal of Sustainable Agriculture and Environment
- Published
- 2024-08-29
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1002/sae2.12116
- Citations
- 10
- Primary Topic
- Soil Carbon and Nitrogen Dynamics
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 3.34
Funders
- Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung
- Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia