Soil biodiversity reflects the variability among living organisms including a myriad of organisms not visible with the naked eye, such as micro-organisms and mesofauna, as well as the more familiar macro-fauna.
Soil biota contributes to the provision of ecosystem services in several ways. Two examples are the ability of micro-organisms to decompose pollutants and the increase of infiltration capacity by the presence of earthworm channels.
The importance of earthworms in a complex, fragile network of living organisms which work in close interdependence with one another (bacteria, fungi, arthpods, earthworms) was also recognized in the Links4Soils project. This Links4Soils booklet aims to offer a closer look at the unique position occupied by these animals in the ecosystems on which we depend for our survival. We focused on mountain soils, long neglected due to the climatic and geographical constraints limiting their fertility. Special attention is also given to forest ecosystems.
Join us to discover the unique, little-known role of earthworms in our forests despite the considerable constraints imposed by gravity and the weather confronting them in the mountains.
Please check other, relevant literature on soil biodiversity:
Examples of soil biota. Source: Joint Research Centre (EU-JRC).
Global Soil Biodiversity Atlas:
The A to Z of soil biodiversity:
