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UID:pretalx-soil-health-now-2026-M9XGPJ@pretalx.earthmonitor.org
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/Athens:20261207T170000
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DESCRIPTION:The development of reliable and scalable biological indicators 
 is a major challenge for the implementation of the EU Soil Strategy and Mi
 ssion Soil. Among soil mesofauna\, Collembola (springtails) are key regula
 tors of decomposition processes\, microbial dynamics\, and nutrient cyclin
 g\, yet their potential as indicators of soil health remains insufficientl
 y explored at continental scale.\nWithin the Horizon Europe SOB4ES project
 \, we analysed Collembola communities across more than 430 sites distribut
 ed among nine European pedoclimatic regions and contrasting land-use syste
 ms. Using a harmonized dataset of sampling plots integrating biological\, 
 soil\, climatic\, management\, and Earth Observation data\, we identified 
 the key environmental drivers and anthropogenic pressures shaping Collembo
 la abundance and diversity.\nBiological observations were integrated with 
 soil physico-chemical properties\, climatic variables\, topographic descri
 ptors\, management information\, and Earth Observation products. Machine-l
 earning models and explainable artificial intelligence (SHAP) were applied
  to identify the factors governing Collembola abundance and diversity.\nTh
 e analyses revealed a striking contrast between density and species-richne
 ss responses. Collembola density showed relatively low predictability\, re
 flecting strong local-scale variability and dependence on soil structure\,
  moisture conditions\, and climate. In contrast\, species richness was pre
 dicted with very high accuracy by the XGBoost model (R² ≈ 0.92)\, indic
 ating a strong and consistent response to broad environmental gradients. S
 oil pH emerged as the dominant predictor\, followed by precipitation\, soi
 l moisture\, nitrogen availability\, temperature\, and pedoclimatic contex
 t. Species richness increased under alkaline\, nutrient-rich\, and moist c
 onditions\, while specific soil and landscape characteristics further modu
 lated diversity patterns.\nThese findings demonstrate that Collembola spec
 ies richness is a robust and sensitive indicator of soil ecological condit
 ion across Europe. By combining standardized biodiversity monitoring with 
 Earth Observation data and explainable artificial intelligence\, this stud
 y provides a scientifically grounded and operational framework for integra
 ting soil biodiversity into future European soil health monitoring systems
 .\nAuthors: Cristina Fiera¹\, Minodora Manu1\, Ioana Vicol1\, Monica Mito
 i1\, Constantin-Tiberiu Sahlean1\, Dariusz Skarżyński²\, Jörg-Alfred S
 alamon3\, Marjetka Suhadolc4\, Karen Vancampenhout5\, Wim H. van der Putte
 n6\,7\, George Zalidis8\, María Jesús Iglesias Briones9\, and SOB4ES con
 sortium
DTSTAMP:20260825T180311Z
LOCATION:Basement (Foyer)
SUMMARY:Assessing Soil Health Across Europe Using Collembola Diversity Indi
 cators - Fiera Cristina
URL:https://pretalx.earthmonitor.org/soil-health-now-2026/talk/M9XGPJ/
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