Netherlands Institute of Ecology of the Royal Dutch Academy of Arts and Sciences
Role within SOB4ES
The Department of Terrestrial Ecology of the Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO-KNAW) is leading Work Package 2, where soil biodiversity information will be collected from nine representative zones across Europe. These zones are characterised by typical climate conditions and the soil material's origin. All soil biodiversity will be characterised in relation to land use (agricultural, grassland, forest, wetlands, urban, orchards, and restoration from e.g. mining activities. This will yield unprecedented information that further enriches the European soil databases, such as LUCAS and SoilBon, as well as national soil databases. The results will be used to analyse the effects of land use intensity on soil biodiversity. Subsequently, this information will be used to discuss what drivers and pressures influence soil biodiversity, and what this means for soil (foodweb) functioning. Finally, the results will also be linked to remote sensing-based information for determining the accuracy and economic costs of soil monitoring as envisaged in the EU soil monitoring law.
