Soil research

In this audio I am sharing one of the main finding from our study that focused on the nitrification inhibition by polyphenols.

Smart and sustainable land and water management is crucial to secure the well-being of future generations, especially in highly populated areas like the Netherlands, where many different functions are combined in a small area. Decision makers therefore require accurate and up-to-date soil information at a high resolution. To meet these demands, we developed a spatio-temporal soil modelling and mapping platform for the Netherlands called "Bodemkundig Informatie Systeem 4D" (BIS-4D). The objectives of this project are to prioritize soil information according to user requirements, develop and apply a data-driven, 3D modelling strategy of soil properties and harmonize outdated soil data to a common age. Ultimately, we aim to provide information of key soil properties at any location, depth and time for every 25 m pixel in the Netherlands. In this way, we can ensure that BIS-4D is useful for regional, national, European and global initiatives contributing to the sustainable use of soils.

Recent research shows that the hyphae of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi is inhabited by very specific bacteria, in particular, bacteria able to mineralize phosphorous, a crucial nutrient in the symbioses between those fungi and 80% of land plants. Furthermore, there seems to be core microbiome of such bacteria across vastly different sites. We suggest that the plant host plus some mycorrhizal fungi plus some bacteria living in the hyphae of such fungi might constitute a unit of natural selection.