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UID:pretalx-soil-health-now-2026-QUT8EQ@pretalx.earthmonitor.org
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/Athens:20261208T144500
DTEND;TZID=Europe/Athens:20261208T150000
DESCRIPTION:Soil biological properties are increasingly considered key indi
 cators of soil health because soil biota regulate essential ecosystem func
 tions such as nutrient cycling\, organic matter turnover and plant product
 ivity. However\, their use in monitoring programmes remains challenging du
 e to potentially high temporal and spatial variability. This raises an imp
 ortant question: are soil biological properties too sensitive for long-ter
 m and large-scale soil monitoring?\nTo address this\, we evaluated the tem
 poral dynamics of total and active soil microbial communities in an experi
 mental grassland managed by NEIKER\, where rotational grazing has been app
 lied since 2013 and compared with a free-grazing system. Soil samples were
  collected every three weeks from April to November 2024 at two depths (0-
 20 cm and 20-50 cm). Environmental DNA (eDNA) and environmental RNA (eRNA)
  metabarcoding of 16S rRNA and ITS markers were used to characterize total
  and active prokaryotic and fungal communities.\nDNA- and RNA-derived prof
 iles showed clear differences. DNA-based community composition and alpha d
 iversity remained relatively stable over time\, indicating that the reside
 nt microbial community may provide robust indicators for long-term monitor
 ing. In contrast\, RNA-based profiles varied substantially between samplin
 gs\, suggesting that active microbial communities respond rapidly to short
 -term changes in climate and pasture conditions.\nThese results highlight 
 that the suitability of biological indicators depends on monitoring object
 ives and temporal scale. DNA-based metrics may be more suitable for detect
 ing long-term trends\, while RNA-based analyses can better capture short-t
 erm ecosystem responses. Our findings underline the importance of understa
 nding seasonal variability and defining ecosystem-specific normal operatin
 g ranges to identify appropriate sampling periods and improve the integrat
 ion of biological indicators into soil health monitoring programmes.
DTSTAMP:20260825T193912Z
LOCATION:Amphitheater I
SUMMARY:Implications of total and active soil microbiome dynamics for long-
 term soil health monitoring - Lur Epelde
URL:https://pretalx.earthmonitor.org/soil-health-now-2026/talk/QUT8EQ/
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