Field study

The field component in this project aims to understand the general trends in the relationships between microbial diversity and soil aggregate stability. We have collected samples at sites at three different climates (Subalpine, Temperate and Mediterranean) and different land uses (i.e. arable/crop, agroforest and forest; see Fig. 1). The philosophy of the field study is not to compare the results from the different field sites, but to identify similarities in relation to climate, type of soil and land use. We have measured soil aggregate stability, soil physical and chemical properties, microbial diversity and chemical exudates (e.g. glomalin related soil proteins) in the soil samples collected.

Fig. 1. Network of study field-sites.

Geolocation of the field-sites and surface pictures of each collected sample are shown in the interactive map below (you can zoom in to see the different land uses and click in each plot to see the surface picture).