Sustainable measures for the protection and restoration of soil biodiversity in Germany
Soils are habitat for the majority of terrestrial life and soil biodiversity plays a crucial role in providing important ecosystem services. However, soil biodiversity is under threat and measures need to be taken to protect and restore it, but conservation so far usually focuses on the protection...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Senckenberg Gesellschaft für Naturforschung
2025-08-01
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| Series: | Soil Organisms |
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| Online Access: | https://www.soil-organisms.org/index.php/SO/article/view/447 |
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| author | Nicole Scheunemann Luise Xiaqian Doms-Grimm Christian Ristok Ricarda Lehmitz |
| author_facet | Nicole Scheunemann Luise Xiaqian Doms-Grimm Christian Ristok Ricarda Lehmitz |
| author_sort | Nicole Scheunemann |
| collection | DOAJ |
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Soils are habitat for the majority of terrestrial life and soil biodiversity plays a crucial role in providing important ecosystem services. However, soil biodiversity is under threat and measures need to be taken to protect and restore it, but conservation so far usually focuses on the protection of attractive or endangered aboveground species. Furthermore, the small size of soil organisms and the considerable taxonomic expertise required for their identification result in a poor consideration of soil biodiversity when evaluating conservation measures. In this review, we compile the available knowledge on the effectiveness of conservation and restoration measures for soil biodiversity in Germany. We provide information on the following habitats: forests, inland wetlands (peatlands and floodplains), coastal sites, and urban areas; and on aboveground as well as belowground soil micro-, meso-, and macrofauna, as well as (to a lesser extent) soil microorganisms. Repeated measures, like management of forest sites are mainly applied in economically utilized areas, with soil biodiversity benefitting from reduced land-use intensity and the creation of a more natural environment. In strongly degraded landscapes (e.g., dried wetlands), an initial impulse measure is usually needed to restore natural conditions, with subsequent conservation management afterwards. In general, habitat heterogeneity is an important factor for increasing soil biodiversity not only above- but also belowground. Its positive effects apply at landscape scale by providing diverse environmental conditions and stepstone habitats, as well as at the small scale with many microhabitats at a few square meters. The main goal of protection and restoration measures must not be to maximize the number of species in a given area, but to establish a habitat-specific species community.
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| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-eba5c166d5db48d3b6721bd95433c1c8 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1864-6417 2509-9523 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-08-01 |
| publisher | Senckenberg Gesellschaft für Naturforschung |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Soil Organisms |
| spelling | doaj-art-eba5c166d5db48d3b6721bd95433c1c82025-08-20T04:00:44ZengSenckenberg Gesellschaft für NaturforschungSoil Organisms1864-64172509-95232025-08-0197210.25674/447Sustainable measures for the protection and restoration of soil biodiversity in GermanyNicole Scheunemann0https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1845-6236Luise Xiaqian Doms-Grimm1Christian Ristok2https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1446-977XRicarda Lehmitz3https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3122-5002Senckenberg Museum of Natural History GörlitzGerman Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Leipzig-Jena; Leipzig UniversityGerman Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Leipzig-Jena; Leipzig UniversitySenckenberg Museum of Natural History Görlitz Soils are habitat for the majority of terrestrial life and soil biodiversity plays a crucial role in providing important ecosystem services. However, soil biodiversity is under threat and measures need to be taken to protect and restore it, but conservation so far usually focuses on the protection of attractive or endangered aboveground species. Furthermore, the small size of soil organisms and the considerable taxonomic expertise required for their identification result in a poor consideration of soil biodiversity when evaluating conservation measures. In this review, we compile the available knowledge on the effectiveness of conservation and restoration measures for soil biodiversity in Germany. We provide information on the following habitats: forests, inland wetlands (peatlands and floodplains), coastal sites, and urban areas; and on aboveground as well as belowground soil micro-, meso-, and macrofauna, as well as (to a lesser extent) soil microorganisms. Repeated measures, like management of forest sites are mainly applied in economically utilized areas, with soil biodiversity benefitting from reduced land-use intensity and the creation of a more natural environment. In strongly degraded landscapes (e.g., dried wetlands), an initial impulse measure is usually needed to restore natural conditions, with subsequent conservation management afterwards. In general, habitat heterogeneity is an important factor for increasing soil biodiversity not only above- but also belowground. Its positive effects apply at landscape scale by providing diverse environmental conditions and stepstone habitats, as well as at the small scale with many microhabitats at a few square meters. The main goal of protection and restoration measures must not be to maximize the number of species in a given area, but to establish a habitat-specific species community. https://www.soil-organisms.org/index.php/SO/article/view/447German Biodiversity AssessmentCollembolaOribatidaCarabidaeAraneaeFaktencheck Artenvielfalt |
| spellingShingle | Nicole Scheunemann Luise Xiaqian Doms-Grimm Christian Ristok Ricarda Lehmitz Sustainable measures for the protection and restoration of soil biodiversity in Germany Soil Organisms German Biodiversity Assessment Collembola Oribatida Carabidae Araneae Faktencheck Artenvielfalt |
| title | Sustainable measures for the protection and restoration of soil biodiversity in Germany |
| title_full | Sustainable measures for the protection and restoration of soil biodiversity in Germany |
| title_fullStr | Sustainable measures for the protection and restoration of soil biodiversity in Germany |
| title_full_unstemmed | Sustainable measures for the protection and restoration of soil biodiversity in Germany |
| title_short | Sustainable measures for the protection and restoration of soil biodiversity in Germany |
| title_sort | sustainable measures for the protection and restoration of soil biodiversity in germany |
| topic | German Biodiversity Assessment Collembola Oribatida Carabidae Araneae Faktencheck Artenvielfalt |
| url | https://www.soil-organisms.org/index.php/SO/article/view/447 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT nicolescheunemann sustainablemeasuresfortheprotectionandrestorationofsoilbiodiversityingermany AT luisexiaqiandomsgrimm sustainablemeasuresfortheprotectionandrestorationofsoilbiodiversityingermany AT christianristok sustainablemeasuresfortheprotectionandrestorationofsoilbiodiversityingermany AT ricardalehmitz sustainablemeasuresfortheprotectionandrestorationofsoilbiodiversityingermany |