Beneath your feet, a secret soil “rave” is unfolding: Healthy soil produces noises that are inaudible to the human ear, but they’re real. Ecologists from Flinders University in Australia and the Chinese Academy of Sciences recently listened to this phenomenon, making special recordings of soil clicking and bubbles popping.
This chaotic fusion of soundscapes could be a way to gauge what organisms live in the soil. The complexity and diversity of the sounds the team picked up seems to be linked to the presence of soil invertebrates, such as spiders, earthworms, beetles and ants, meaning it could be a clear indicator of soil health. The recordings and findings are: Research published on August 16th Journal of Applied Ecology.
Acoustic monitoring was carried out on soils of remaining vegetation, degraded plots and land that was revegetated 15 years ago. Source: Flinders University.
meanwhile Soil degradation is a natural processAbout 75% of the world’s soil is thought to be degraded. According to UN estimates:Human activities such as over- and intensive agriculture, deforestation, forest fires and construction can accelerate this process – all of which can make soils more vulnerable to erosion by wind and water and damage complex underground ecosystems.
It takes It takes hundreds of thousands of years to form just one inch of topsoil. This could mean a incredibly long recovery time — and the diverse communities of species living underground face a dire and uncertain future if they don’t recover, according to the team.
[Related: The ingredients for a tastier, stronger tea could be in the soil.]
“Restoring and monitoring soil biodiversity is more important than ever,” says microbial ecologist Jake Robinson at Flinders University. It said in a statement“Though still in its early stages, ‘ecoacoustics’ is emerging as a promising tool for detecting and monitoring soil biodiversity and is now being used in Australian woodlands and other ecosystems in the UK.”
This new study aims to explore this hidden ecosystem. Home to approximately 60% of the world’s species By recording the sounds they made, the research team was able to compare the results of their acoustic monitoring. Remaining plants– the remaining communities of native trees, shrubs and grasses in urban areas – were transferred to degraded plots and land that had been revegetated in 2009.
The world’s soils are home to an incredible diversity of life, and scientists are just beginning to listen. Photo credit: Flinders University
of Passive Acoustic Monitoring They measured soil biodiversity over a five-day period in the Mount Bald area of the Adelaide Hills in South Australia, and the team also recorded and manually counted soil invertebrate communities using underground acoustic sampling equipment and sound-attenuating chambers.
[Related: Dying plants are ‘screaming’ at you.]
“Acoustic complexity and diversity are substantially higher in revegetated and remnant plots than in cleared plots, both in situ and in sound-attenuating chambers,” Robinson explains. “This technology holds promise for addressing the global need for more effective soil biodiversity monitoring methods to protect the most diverse ecosystems on Earth.”
