Project Page Views: [ 641 ]
| Project Metadata Element | Details |
| Project Title | Ecological Function and Biodiversity Indicators in European Soils |
| Research Area | Water |
| Project Acronym | EcoFINDERS |
| Principal Investigator or Lead Irish Partner | Olaf Schmidt (IE), Bryan Griffiths (IE), Tom Bolger (IE) |
| Lead Institution or Organisation | University College Dublin (UCD); Teagasc |
| Lead Country | Ireland |
| Latitude, Longitude (of Lead Institution) | 53.30859, -6.22577; 52.84828, -6.91743 |
| Lead Funding Entity | European Commission |
| Approximate Project Start Date | 01/01/2011 |
| Approximate Project Finishing Date | 31/12/2014 |
| Project Website (if any) | |
| Links to other Web-based resources | |
| Project Keywords | Sustainability; Soil; Characterisation; Monitoring |
| Project Abstract | The strategic goal of EcoFINDERS is to provide the EC with tools to design and implement soil strategies aimed at ensuring sustainable use of soils, including: characterisation of European soil biodiversity; determination of relations between soil biodiversity, soil functions and ecosystem services; design of policyrelevant and cost-effective indicators for monitoring soil biodiversity. The project will: *Develop and standardise tools and procedures to measure microbial and faunal diversity; *Describe the diversity of soil organisms (microbes and fauna), decipher their interactions through foodwebs and determine the role they play in soils functions and ecosystem services (nutrient cycling, carbon storage, water retention, soil structure regulation, resistance to pests and diseases, and regulation of above-ground diversity); *Establish cost-effective bioindicators for measuring sustainability of the microbial and faunal diversity and their associated functions (using a combination of metrics and meta-analysis); *Evaluate the economic value of ecosystem services, the added value of these bioindicators; and *Develop and implement effective communication strategies to engage the European public around issues associated with the sustainability of soil biodiversity. |