Oldest permafrost in Siberia discovered
While determining the age of a permafrost layer in Siberia, an international team of experts set a new record: at its deepest point, the soil is at least 650,000 years…
Carpets of moss help stop erosion
Every year, billions of tons of valuable soil are lost worldwide through erosion, much of it deposited in bodies of water that fill with sand or silt as a result.…
Measuring the belowground world
Life above ground depends on the soil and its countless inhabitants. Yet, global strategies to protect biodiversity have so far paid little attention to this habitat. In the journal Science,…
New book: Essentials of Soil Science
This book is a concise, yet comprehensive modern introduction to soil science and describes the development of soils, their characteristics and their material composition as well as their functions in…
New book: The Nexus of Soils, Plants, Animals and Human Health
The contributions in this book describe the role soils play for plant, animal and human health. They show that soil- and human health are intricately connected, because healthy soils produce…
Hydrological processes in the soil – Water supplies in karst regions
Starting 1 August 2017, a new junior research group headed by Dr. Andreas Hartmann at the Faculty of Environment and Natural Resources will be investigating water stress in karst landscapes…
Pasture Management and Riparian Buffers Reduce Erosion
Sediment is the number one pollutant in U.S. waterways. Overgrazing can increase soil erosion from pastures as well as sediment loading into aquatic systems. Grazing management and buffer strips may…
Microbial activity in dry soils: Fungi awake bacteria from their slumber
When a soil dries out, this has a negative impact on the activity of soil bacteria. Using an innovative combination of state-of-the-art analysis and imaging techniques, researchers at UFZ have…
The function of tiny organisms
Tiny organisms are the object of postdoctoral studies by French biologist Dr. Amandine Erktan at the University of Göttingen and the Freie Universität Berlin. With funding by the European Union…
How does the loss of species alter ecosystems?
Bad Lauchstädt. The iDiv Ecotron, a central experimental platform of the DFG Research Centre iDiv, was officially launched during a ceremony last Wednesday. Researchers will use this unique facility to…