K III
Ilka Engell
K III - Soil biology and soil ecology
Commission III scientifically studies organisms living in soil (mainly microorganisms and soil fauna) and their activities. The focus of the work of commission III is on the interactions of soil organisms with each other and with their habitat, the soil, which defines the physical and chemical environment of the organisms. We also study the role of the organisms and their interactions in ecosystems and their significance for maintaining soil functions. A central aim of Commission III is applying and further developing methods for the observation and quantification of soil organisms and their functions for different soil processes. A particular focus is the analysis of the consequences of human activities, in particular related to land use, on soil organisms and their activities.
News
Various events and activities are scheduled around the topic of soil biology and ecology, plenty of them within the framework of the priority progamm „SoilSystems – Systems ecology of soils“: latest announcements can be checked on the homepage of the SPP 2322 under the category “events” (https://soilsystems.net/events/);
Several conferences, meetings or workshops with a focus or themes within soil biology and ecology are scheduled within the year 2024:
- Conference European Geoscience Union, SSS4 "Soil Biology, Microbiology and Biodiversity" https://meetingorganizer.copernicus.org/EGU24/sessionprogramme
- International Conference on „Soil Systems Ecology – Organic Matter, Energetics and Turnover” at the Humboldt-University Berlin (https://soilsystems.net/events/soil-systems-ecology-international-conference/
- International Symposium on Microbiology ISME19 in 2024 in Cape Town, South Africa (https://isme19.isme-microbes.org/)
- Workshop Biological Soil Monitoring (in German language) from the 25.-26.11.2024 in Göttingen (for more details see section activities), organized by the commission III of the DBG in cooperation with the Ecological Society of Germany, Austria and Switzerland (GfÖ)
Contact
Anja Miltner, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research- UFZ Leipzig, Department of Molecular Environmental Biotechnology
Deputy chair:
Michaela Dippold, Department of Geosciences, University of Tübingen