Regional Mountain Conference

Alpine soils are under growing pressure. They must accommodate demands for human land use, while also being increasingly affected by a changing climate. Thus, alpine soils are changing rapidly, and the diverse fauna living within must adapt or perish. Yet this soil fauna is integral to the many ecosystem services that alpine soils provide, including e.g. carbon sequestration. Monitoring these processes is essential to understand patterns, determine the status of soil biodiversity indicators, and maintain associated ecosystem services.  

The newly established project “SoilBioClimPol” aims to create a framework for assessing soil biodiversity indicators and carbon sequestration for alpine grasslands for monitoring purposes. This will be achieved by using both traditional and modern assessment methods. The project will also (i) evaluate the impact of current and future climate conditions on soil biodiversity indicators and carbon sequestration, (ii) assess and inform stakeholders and policymakers regarding soil management in these regions, and (iii) advise practitioners on optimal management practices.  

For this, 100 alpine grassland sites spanning an altitudinal and management gradient will undergo assessment for soil macro-, meso-, and microfauna. Sites in protected areas (National and Biosphere Parks) will be compared with unprotected sites to identify the impact of specific management practices (e.g. pasturing and mowing intensity). Throughout the project, stakeholders – including practitioners, the general public, and policymakers – will be involved to maximize the real-world impact of our findings and to promote soil biodiversity and carbon sequestration already in the short-term.  

In a nutshell, this interdisciplinary approach enables us to comprehensively evaluate and implement soil biodiversity indicators, improving our understanding of how to manage alpine soils to support soil biodiversity and associated ecosystem services.