Biodiversity: forest soil still under-researched

Around 50 experts present the latest research findings on biodiversity at a conference organised by the Nature Museum. Among other things, they will discuss the still largely unexplored biodiversity of forest soils and attempts to obtain more data from the soil.

The preservation of biodiversity is one of the greatest challenges facing mankind today. However, soil biodiversity in forests is still largely unexplored. According to Julia Seeber, this is partly due to the enormous taxonomic diversity in the soil, but also to the variety of methods that would be necessary to record the entire biodiversity from microorganisms to small springtails and large earthworms. ‘This is extremely time-consuming and requires the collaboration of many different experts,’ says the researcher from the Institute for Alpine Environment at Eurac Research.
She is therefore working on her own project on the forest habitat. She will be presenting this on 22 and 23 November in Bolzano as part of the Eubireco (Euregio Biodiversity Research Conference). The event, organised by the South Tyrol Museum of Nature in the Waltherhaus, the South Tyrol Museum of Nature and the Waaghaus, brings together experts from the Euregio - Tyrol, South Tyrol and Trentino - to present the latest scientific findings in the field of biodiversity.