Soils are known for their high biodiversity, which can rivel with tropical forests or coral reefs for their species richness. Many groups of soil fauna co-exist, each performing different roles in key ecosystem processes, such as soil structure formation or organic matter decomposition, of importance to soil fertility and primary productivity. As many groups are dispersal-limited, soil fauna communities are relatively sensitive to environmental changes. Given their importance in belowground ecosystems it is important to know how their composition will alter under stress. This is however not easy to predict. For a long time, forecasts have been based on species identity, which are often imprecise due to context dependency. Trait-based approaches have been advocated to overcome this context-dependency and to provide mechanistic understanding of species distribution across environmental gradients. In this presentation I will give some pro's and con’s of using traits in soil ecology, as well as challenges for future use.

Plants and their soil microbial communities are connected by plant-root exudates that shape the soil microbiome. Monocultures of plants give a clearer plant-soil signal than mixtures of plant species, but the latter is what we deal with in natural systems. Grasses, herbs and legumes and their plant-root traits all have their own exudate types that alter plants and soil communities to cope with prolonged periods of drought and with repelling or attracting plant pathogens or symbionts. Having an insight in how plants shape soil microbiomes and how soil microbiomes shape plant communities are therefore crucial to sustain soil health and food security for the future but also important in the restoration of degraded soils. This talk will cover some possibilities to influence soil quality with plants steering the microbiome and how the microbiome steers the plant community in return. For the future of our planet it will be important to use plant-soil interactions to keep our soils healthy and resilient to ensure food security for the generations ahead.

Permafrost peatlands are found across the circum-Arctic region. While the dominant landforms of permafrost peatlands vary, these fragile ecosystems have acted as natural sinks for atmospheric carbon for millennia and presently store a globally significant portion of the terrestrial soil organic carbon pool. However, warming temperatures have recently driven widespread permafrost thaw and thermokarst formation, transforming these peatlands and causing drastic shifts in their biogeochemistry, hydrology, ecology, and ultimately morphology. Model projections indicate that within decades permafrost peatlands across the northern circumpolar permafrost region are likely to undergo rapid changes resulting from thaw, with complete permafrost losses likely to occur in the southernmost regions of their bioclimatic envelope. Establishing the response trajectories of these dynamic ecosystems to climate warming is critical for accurately projecting future environmental change. The goal of this study was to assess the impact of differing post-thaw ecosystem trajectories on the stability and lability of permafrost peatland carbon, and to explore the mechanisms driving deep peat decomposition and surface greenhouse gas fluxes.

Soils host a wide range of organisms whose activity contributes to biogeochemical cycles, but the direction and magnitude of their effect is challenging to determine. Growth and death of soil fauna as well as their trophic interactions can influence the flow of carbon and nutrients from plant material to stabilized soil organic matter through living organisms. By exploring how different trophic groups (predators, microbivores, detritivores) affect biogeochemical cycles, we can start unravelling the functional role of soil biota and predict how changes in soil food web structure can alter soil carbon and nutrient dynamics. This talk will cover current methods to estimate the contribution of the soil biota to carbon and nutrient cycling, examine critical knowledge gaps, and explore possible ways to better integrate soil ecology into biogeochemical frameworks.

For long, the implementation of knowledge from soil sciences into management and policy development has been hampered by soil scientists saying that ‘so little is known about soils’. This is one of the reasons why so little information about soils is used in major policy documents, such as the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, Natura 2000, and the EU’s Habitat Directive. Those omissions are in contrast with the rapidly growing body of knowledge on soil ecology and soil biodiversity. In my presentation, I will make a triple jump through time and take you from the management implications of finding soil-borne pathogens in coastal foredunes to using that knowledge in enhancing ecosystem restoration on former agricultural land and climate adaptation of forests by soil transplantation. Then, I will lead you to the role of soil biodiversity in plant invasions and climate warming-induced plant range shifts, and to enhancing the sustainability of food and feed production systems, Knowing all this then poses the question how to implement this knowledge in European and global policy. My conclusion will be that although there is still a lot to be discovered, soil knowledge is well available for being used in management and (international) policy development.

There are three categories for the competition:

1) THESIS COVER

2) FIELDWORK

3) LABWORK & MODELLING

So take this opportunity and submit a beautiful/meaningful/weird/tear-jerking picture of your PhD work. Show us what you’ve got!
The top 3 will be awarded a prize with a value of € 100,-, € 75,-, and € 50,- per category. You can now submit your pictures for the competition here. This is also the place to find all the relevant details about the competition. Pictures must be submitted on or before 6 October at 09:00 am! Contest participants must be present during the PE&RC Day.