Soil provides ecosystem services under nautral and men made environments

Organizer

Cristina Cruz | Faculty of Sciences of the University of Lisbon

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Speakers

Birgit Lang | Senckenberg Museum of Natural History, Germany

Mara Grube | IMB University of Latvia, Latvia

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Abstract

Soil is a hotsopt of biodiversity. Soil organisms range in size from the tiniest bacteria, algae, fungi, and protozoa, to the more complex nematodes, micro-arthropods, visible earthworms, insects, small vertebrates, and plants. As these organisms eat, grow, and move through the soil, they create food webs; and make possible to have clean water and air, healthy plants, and moderated water flow. Ecosystem, and consequently soil, management are expected to feedback into the structure and size (nodes/taxa) of these food webs. Experimental approaches linking structure and function, allowing to learn vastly more about who eats what, where and when are those fundamental to a more knowledge based soil management. Policy makers involved in ongoing international agreements, such as the United Nations Convention to combat desertification, the convention of Biodiversity and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, are seeking multiple solutions and need reliable scientific information on soils, their biodiversity and the many services they provide, as well as their resilience under the interacting environmental challenges. The main objective of this symposium is to show soils as major ecological regulator of Earth.

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Short Presentations

On the role of soil fauna for providing soil functions ? a meta-study
Birgit Lang

What can FTIR spectroscopy tell about glyphosate-degrading potential of soil bacteria?
Mara Grube