Toolkit for evaluating soil biodiversity
Biodiversity is an important aspect of soil quality, especially since much of the Earth's soil is degraded through pollution or agricultural activities. Entomopathogenic nematodes (EPNs) are key as they are often responsible for controlling the insect pests that attack crop plants. Funded by the EU, the ECOLOGY-EPN-FOOD WEB project developed a molecular toolkit that will enable the study of food webs in soil ecosystems. Due to the broad knowledge and agronomic importance of EPNs, researchers focused on these nematodes and other common members of their food web. The toolkit can identify several bacteria that are EPN parasites. It also identifies free-living nematodes that compete for resources with EPNs, and four of the most common EPN species. Project members used the toolkit to investigate common soil treatment strategies (irrigation, fertilisation and mulching), and to compare food webs in cultivated and natural soils. The study revealed important insights into how abiotic (non-living) factors can influence soil food webs and consequently affect crop productivity. The toolkit was also used to investigate the effects of mine dumping on food webs, and on EPNs in particular. Researchers found that high lead content heavily impacted soil biodiversity, with the exception of certain well-adapted nematode species. ECOLOGY-EPN-FOOD WEB has demonstrated the value of analysing soil food webs at the molecular level. It is clear that this toolkit can be applied to various soil quality challenges around the world.
