DÜNAMED - Fertilisation for sustainable management of edaphic diversity

The biodiversity of soil organisms is of particular importance for agriculture because they fulfil essential ecosystem functions in the soil. Currently however, it is largely unknown how various fertilization treatments affect this diversity. Previous studies have mainly focused on a limited number of taxa or only a small number of fertilization options. In this project, eight different fertilization treatments are studied with regard to their impact on a wide range of soil organisms, including Diptera, Collembola, carabid beetles and many others.

Project goals

Recording and analysis of the current status of the influence of different types of fertiliser on the biodiversity of soil organisms on the basis of a literature review;
Quantification of the effect of various organic and mineral fertilisers (including cattle manure, cattle slurry, biogas fermentation substrates, green waste compost, KAS) on the abundance and diversity of soil micro- and mesofauna by means of static field trials at two contrasting sites;
Derivation of practical recommendations from the knowledge gained for the targeted increase of soil biodiversity through adapted fertilisation strategies

Berlese' - extractions of soil samples © Isabel Kilian

Barber traps in trial © Isabel Kilian

The AOL work packages

WP 1: Systematic literature research
WP 2: Assessment of edaphic diversity as a function of short- to medium-term fertilisation measures.

(A) Establishment of static multi-year field trials

(B) Recording of the meso- and microfauna

(C) Multivariate statistical analysis.
WP 3: Field trials with selected species (mark-release-recapture)

Current results can be found on our publication list.

Project titel:	DÜngung für NAchhaltiges Management Edaphischer Diversität
Ackronym:	DüNaMed
Duration:	01.01.2021 – 30.4.2024
Funding code:	FKZ 3520 84 0800
Funding:	Bundesamt für Naturschutz, Bonn, www.bfn.de
Project partner:	Dr. Sarah Bourlat, Zoologische Forschungsmuseum Alexander Koenig, (ZFMK), Bonn, Email: S.Bourlat@leibniz-zfmk.de
Project coordination AOL: