Deutsches Zentrum für integrative Biodiversitätsforschung (iDiv)
Halle-Jena-Leipzig
 

Soil Biodiversity and Function

The Soil Biodiversity and Function Taproot is a scientific consortium that bundles complementary soil expertise and activities within iDiv to advance science and education in soil biodiversity. The consortium combines expertise from soil micro- to macro-organisms and the functions they drive to explore the distribution of soil biodiversity and functions at different spatial (from local to national to global) and temporal (from the past to present to future predictions) scales.

The Taproot’s mission is to:
(i) significantly advance research in macro-ecological patterns of soil ecology;
(ii) represent a strong partner in national and international scientific collaborations;
(iii) contribute to/lead national to global soil biodiversity monitoring initiatives (e.g., Global Soil BON);
(iv) educate future soil ecologists in an integrative way;
(v) provide advice to policy and decision makers with regards to the state, fate, and management of soils; and
(vi) establish standards and indicators to be used in the assessment of soil biological quality and sustainability.


Research questions

How do global relationships between soil biodiversity and ecosystem functions vary:

i) across ecosystem types;

ii) across space; and

iii) across time.

Testing these relationships implies the need to have experimental designs at multiple scales and to explore the interface between below- and aboveground biodiversity and functions.


Upcoming events

We changed the format of our monthly seminars towards a podcast called "Solid Science". You can access it on many platforms, such as Spotify, Apple Podcast, Deezer, and PlayerFM.

So(i)lid Science is a podcast about science and people with a certain focus on soils, in which Carlos Guerra and Romy Zeiss are chatting with a diverse group of guests about their subjects. New episodes are published every month.

Current Projects


Partner institutions

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