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.
Newsletter
We send newsletter in irregular frequencies with information about upcoming events and other topics related to soil biology. If you want to receive these newsletters you have to actively register, by setting a tick on the appropriate box on the mailing list website of the DBG internet page.
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 2026:
· Annual Meeting of the Austrian Soil Science Society 2025 / Jahrestagung der Österreichischen Bodenkundlichen Gesellschaft 2025
this year with soil biology focus!
02.12.-03.12.2025
abstract deadline: 24.10.2026
https://conferences.uibk.ac.at/event/65/overview
· 4th Global Soil Biodiversity Initiative
12.-15.04.2026, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
abstract deadline: 15.8.2025
registration deadline: 15.12.2025 (early bird)/16.02.2026 (regular)
https://globalsoilbiodiversity2026.org/
· General Assembly of the European Geoscience Union EGU, specifically within SSS4 „Soil Biology, Microbiology and Biodiversity“
03.05.-08.05.2026, Vienna, Austria
abstract deadline: 15.01.2026
https://www.egu26.eu/
· Integrating emerging topics in long-term and large-scale biodiversity research
BE20 Conference 2026
International Conference at the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the biodiversity exploratories
08.06.-12.06.2026, Berlin
· 13th International Symposium on Earthworm Ecology
23.08.-28.08.2026, Wageningen, Netherlands
abstract deadline: 04.01.2026
https://event.wur.nl/isee13/home-2
· Nordic Oikos 2026
Integrating the Diversity of Ecology
co-organized with GfÖ
13.09.-17.09.2026, Odense, Dänemark
abstract submission deadline: 17.04.2026
https://nordicsocietyoikos.glueup.com/event/nordic-oikos-2026-135623/home.html
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