SOILGUARD – Effects of land use and agricultural management along soil degradation gradients on nematodes, acari and collembola in European sites.

Soil health is defined as the capacity of a soil to function within ecosystem and land-use boundaries. Soil biota can sustain a wide range of functions and as such are intrinsically connected to soil health. Land use, soil management and land degradation can affect soil biodiversity and ultimately soil health. Soil fauna is an integral part of soil biodiversity connected at various levels of the food web with other important soil organisms such as bacteria and fungi. Nematodes are ubiquitous organisms that are sensitive to disturbances and can be divided into functional groups based on feeding preferences and life-history strategies. Mites and collembola are two groups of microarthropods that are sensitive to land use change and soil management. These different groups of organisms can be used as indicators of soil biodiversity and health. The objective of this study is to investigate the status of nematode, acari and collembola abundance and diversity upon various land uses, agricultural management, and land degradation levels. The final aim is to connect their abundance and diversity to soil multifunctionality and soil health. Nematodes, acari and collembola community characteristics have been assessed in seven European NUTS regions with different land use (forest, grassland and arable land), management (clearcutting vs continuous cover, grass monoculture vs grass-clover mix, organic vs conventional agriculture), pedo-climatic (texture, climate) characteristics, and land degradation gradient (organic matter levels). Nematode, acari and collembola abundance and taxonomic diversity are currently being analysed with traditional morphological methods and the results will be presented during the congress.