Digging Beneath the Surface

Researchers call for greater consideration of soil biodiversity and its ecological functions in developing international conservation strategies. No 008/2021 from Jan 15, 2021 The soil is home to a quarter of all known species. In fact, life above ground wouldn't be possible without the soil and its countless inhabitants. Yet global strategies to protect biodiversity have so far paid little attention to this habitat. In the journal Science, an international team of researchers led by the German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) recently called for soils to take on a primary role in the renegotiation of international biodiversity strategies. The contributors - who include researchers at Freie Universität Berlin Professor M. Rillig and Dr. A. Lehmann - believe that the soil's relevance must be recognized far beyond the realm of agriculture. In order to make the condition and contributions of soils more visible, the researchers have laid out a plan for the systematic monitoring of biodiversity based on common global standards.