Soil health assessment using buried cotton underpants with the help of 1000 citizen scientists

Societal Impact Statement Soil is a vital resource for life on Earth. Although many soils are degraded, societal awareness of soil‐related issues is limited. To highlight soil as a key resource and fascinating study system, we initiated a citizen science project together with 1000 participants investigating soil health across Switzerland using buried cotton underpants. The degree of underpants decomposition was interpreted as a measure for soil biological activity and soil health. This work demonstrates that underwear decomposition varied widely across land‐use types and that buried underwear is a simple and easily interpretable tool to gain a first impression of soil health. Summary Soil is a vital resource for plant growth. It hosts a major part of global species diversity and is key for ecosystem functioning and it forms the basis of human civilization. Yet soils are rapidly degrading, threatening food production, biodiversity, and Earth system functioning. This threat is largely unrecognized in broader society, hindering effective steps towards soil protection. In a citizen science approach, involving 1000 citizen scientists burying more than 2000 cotton underpants and 12,000 teabags across 1000 locations, we aimed to assess soil biological activity and soil health in Switzerland. Decomposition of underpants and tea bags was considered as proxies for soil biological activity and soil health. Underwear decomposition differed greatly across land‐use types, indicating significant variation in soil biological activity among sites. Land use was the most important predictor of decomposition processes, followed by soil chemical parameters. Private gardens, the land‐use type with the highest levels of soil organic carbon and nutrients, exhibited the greatest biological activity, whereas lawns showed the lowest, with croplands and grasslands falling in between. Overall, this project demonstrates that underpants can serve as a simple and easy‐to‐interpret tool, providing informative insights into the state of soils. Moreover, they are perfectly suited to raise attention in society for soil. We propose the “Underpants Index” as an accessible, engaging method to assess soil decomposition processes and soil fertility and raise public awareness for soil as a vital, yet threatened resource.

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Publication Details

Journal
Plants People Planet
Published
2026-08-26
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1002/ppp3.70259
Primary Topic
Insect and Arachnid Ecology and Behavior
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00

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article

Soil health assessment using buried cotton underpants with the help of 1000 citizen scientists

Pablo García‐Palacios, Matteo Binda, Barbara Auer, David Johnson et al.
Plants People Planet
Insect and Arachnid Ecology and Behavior
article

Soil health assessment using buried cotton underpants with the help of 1000 citizen scientists

Pablo García‐Palacios, Matteo Binda, Barbara Auer, David Johnson, Eva Knop, Cristina Corti, Frank Liebisch, Simon Jöhr, Marta Goberna, Monique Duplan, Stefan Geisen, Diane Buerge-Weirich, Pia Viviani, Natacha Bodenhausen, Luca Bragazza, Peter Gamper, Panos Panagos, Serge Fischer, Osvaldo Arrigo, Philipp Fässler, Alain Valzano‐Held, Noemi Peter, David Bichsel, Marco Agustoni, Stefano Corti, Barbara Bernasconi, Davide Carrara, Alberto Andreani, Jacques Dugon, Yann Hautier, Barbara Albertoni, Bruno Campana, Sarah Benoit, Morgane Clivaz-Duc, Atlant Bieri, S. Franz Bender, Marcel Bucher, Sandie Masson, Daniel Mueller, Yann Bonjour, Nadine Fischer, Regina Anderson, Christian Brönimann, Lisa Ehrler, Chiara Bernasconi, Andreas Bitterli, Renzo Cattori, Helio Correia, Elodie Calais, Vanessa Badà, Agnes‐Julia Geissberger, Franklyn Foresti, Dagmar Bay, Francesco Denova, Marlis Chanton, Eliane Breitenmoser, Stefan Bucher, Elio Cavargna, Lucien Bovy, Daniel Beck, Ester‐Camilla Cattaneo, Heidi Aguilar, Urs Fellmann, Cristian Cattaneo, Nicola Della Casa, Catrina Canetta Collenberg, Martina Becker, Ariane Imhof, Edie Freisinger, Bernadette Bisig, Bénédicte Arguillère, Laura Cerri, Ruth Bischof, Yannick Ducommun, Léonie Cocquio, Gaëlle Balleys, Claudia Weik, Annette Délétroz, Johann‐Peter Flisch, Joel Bischof, Nathalie Brückner, Elisabeth Clément, Nadine Gloor, Simone Cairoli, Alain Favre, Camilla Chiesa, Fabien Dauphin, Marco Bertschinger, Andreas Cadonau, Brigitte Baenteli, Alma Bender‐Freisinger, Michael Bessard, Simon Freiburghaus, Paola Frapolli, Tanja Boyandin, Romina Demarmels, Luciano‐Grazia Cavallini, Silvana Cavagna, Bruno Enz
article en

Abstract

Societal Impact Statement Soil is a vital resource for life on Earth. Although many soils are degraded, societal awareness of soil‐related issues is limited. To highlight soil as a key resource and fascinating study system, we initiated a citizen science project together with 1000 participants investigating soil health across Switzerland using buried cotton underpants. The degree of underpants decomposition was interpreted as a measure for soil biological activity and soil health. This work demonstrates that underwear decomposition varied widely across land‐use types and that buried underwear is a simple and easily interpretable tool to gain a first impression of soil health. Summary Soil is a vital resource for plant growth. It hosts a major part of global species diversity and is key for ecosystem functioning and it forms the basis of human civilization. Yet soils are rapidly degrading, threatening food production, biodiversity, and Earth system functioning. This threat is largely unrecognized in broader society, hindering effective steps towards soil protection. In a citizen science approach, involving 1000 citizen scientists burying more than 2000 cotton underpants and 12,000 teabags across 1000 locations, we aimed to assess soil biological activity and soil health in Switzerland. Decomposition of underpants and tea bags was considered as proxies for soil biological activity and soil health. Underwear decomposition differed greatly across land‐use types, indicating significant variation in soil biological activity among sites. Land use was the most important predictor of decomposition processes, followed by soil chemical parameters. Private gardens, the land‐use type with the highest levels of soil organic carbon and nutrients, exhibited the greatest biological activity, whereas lawns showed the lowest, with croplands and grasslands falling in between. Overall, this project demonstrates that underpants can serve as a simple and easy‐to‐interpret tool, providing informative insights into the state of soils. Moreover, they are perfectly suited to raise attention in society for soil. We propose the “Underpants Index” as an accessible, engaging method to assess soil decomposition processes and soil fertility and raise public awareness for soil as a vital, yet threatened resource.

Plants People Planet
Università di Camerino (IT), United Nations Industrial Development Organization (AT), Utrecht University (NL), University of Zurich (CH), Cabrini University (US), Ferring Pharmaceuticals (Switzerland) (CH), Emschergenossenschaft (DE), Business School Lausanne (CH), Gordon State College (US), Essa Pharma (United States) (US), Independent Dance (GB), Oerlikon (Switzerland) (CH), Y-Parc (Switzerland) (CH), Azienda Usl 8 Arezzo (IT), Smile Train (US), Conférence Universitaire de Suisse Occidentale (CH), Anton Paar (Switzerland) (CH), Hirslanden Klinik Aarau (CH), Amazentis (Switzerland) (CH), Instituto Nacional de Investigación y Tecnología Agraria y Alimentaria (ES), Domainex (United Kingdom) (GB), Azienda Unità Sanitaria Locale Della Romagna (IT), Anton Proksch Institut (AT), Max Zeller Söhne (Switzerland) (CH), Swiss Distance University of Applied Sciences (CH), Hôpital de Morges (CH), Bayer (Switzerland) (CH), Joint Research Centre (IT), Fauji Fertilizer (Pakistan) (PK), Film Independent (US), Shaanxi Research Association for Women and Family (CN), Atlantic Healthcare (United Kingdom) (GB), Suez (France) (FR), Center for Independent Living (US), Agroscope (CH), Schindler (Switzerland) (CH), Universidad Andina del Cusco (PE), Forschungsinstitut für Biologischen Landbau (CH), Interstate University of Applied Sciences of Technology Buchs (CH), Michelin (Switzerland) (CH), Dionea (Switzerland) (CH), Adienne (Switzerland) (CH), Institute for Independent Studies Zürich (CH), Andair AG (Switzerland) (CH), Scherrer (Switzerland) (CH), GEO Partner (Switzerland) (CH), Spital Uster (CH), Rosenthaler + Partner (Switzerland) (CH), Oldham Council (GB), Ammann (Switzerland) (CH), Lancaster University (GB), Independent University of Moscow (RU), Carl Albert State College (US), Wageningen University & Research (NL), Actelion (Switzerland) (CH)
National Science Foundation, Ernst Göhner Stiftung, Schweizerischer Nationalfonds zur Förderung der Wissenschaftlichen Forschung, Stiftung Mercator Schweiz, Universität Zürich, Paul Schiller Stiftung, Stiftung Mercator, Agroscope
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Insect and Arachnid Ecology and Behavior
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