Diversity of soil animals in organic farming systems: an environmental DNA approach
Soil micro-, meso- and macrofauna are key producers of ecosystems services, e.g. decomposition of soil organic matter, sequestration of C and recycling of nutrients. The services are particularly essential and expected in organic farming where plant nutrition rests on inherent soil processes driven by decomposers. Many features of organic farming may benefit soil fauna but the verified effects often remain uncertain because traditional morphological identification of soil animals is highly laborious. We aim to apply the eDNA method with high-throughput sequencing for the quantification of soil animal diversity in an experimental field under long-term organic and conventional cultivation. With the earlier results about soil microbial and earthworm diversity from the same site, we will achieve a holistic view of key soil organisms in system. It will allow the evaluation of soil biodiversity's roles in resilience of arable soils and the mitigation of climate change in organic farming.