Welcome to the Global Soil Biodiversity Initiative

Seeking to promote expert knowledge on soil biodiversity in environmental policy and sustainable land management to protect and enhance ecosystem services

 
snail-1628478_960_720.jpg
 

Dr. Diana Wall’s Passing

It is with deep sadness that we announce that Diana Wall, GSBI founder and scientific chair, has passed. A staunch champion for soil biodiversity science, Diana founded GSBI as a grassroots organization in 2011 together with Wim van der Putten, Richard Bardgett, Johan Six, and Luca Montanarella to connect scientists and inform policy, education, and the public on soil biodiversity. As the leader of GSBI, Diana prioritized the inclusion of scientists from underrepresented groups, the global South, and early career researchers, and advocated for their access to resources. There are very few scientists who have reached out with the intensity and breadth across their field as she did. Diana Wall placed soil biodiversity on the map.

Diana was tireless in her efforts to build up the GSBI and bring soil biodiversity onto the international policy stage. By 2012 she had secured funding from Colorado State University (CSU), hired an Executive Director, organized an international workshop, was invited to speak at the RIO+20 Convention, and initiated work on the Global Soil Biodiversity Atlas (published in 2016). Over the last decade, Diana encouraged the production of the first Global Soil Biodiversity Assessment (2020), secured GSBI participation in the UN’s Convention on Biological Diversity-COP14 and international monitoring efforts such as the Soil Biodiversity Observation Network (SoilBON) and the UN Food and Agriculture Organization’s (FAO) Global Soil Biodiversity Observatory (GLOSOB). She spearheaded the creation of the international Global Soil Biodiversity Conferences (Dijon, Nanjing, and Dublin), and during Covid produced ‘GSBI Speaks’ a series of online webinars to keep the global soil biodiversity community connected. 

GSBI Scientific Chair was only one of many scientific roles that Diana held across the field of ecology. We will share additional details about any tributes or celebrations of her life as they become available.


Check out the latest blog on Beneath Our Feet by Dr. Patrick Lavelle (France)

Patrick Lavelle (Paris Sorbonne University, France) discusses their latest paper where they produced an indicator of soil macrofauna that can be used as indicator of overall soil quality. This indicator can be used by land managers, farmers, etc to evaluate soil quality.


Save the Date for the 4th Global Soil Biodiversity Conference in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada from April 12-15 2026!


Check out the latest blog on Beneath Our Feet by Dr. Daniel Rath (USA) and Dr. Kate Scow (USA)

Daniel Rath (National Resources Defense Council, USA) and Kate Scow (University of California Davis, USA) discuss the latest report out of California's Department of Food and Agriculture: Soil Biodiversity in California Agriculture: Framework and Indicators for Soil Health Assessment. The report is the first US report to outline how to measure and monitor soil biodiversity in agroecosystems.


The XIX International Colloquium of Soil Zoology (ICSZ) and the XVI International Colloquium of Apterygota (ICA) has been announced for 26-29 August 2024 in Cape Town, South Africa


“GSBI Speaks” February Webinar

Threats to mycorrhizae -

February 7th 2024,


 
 

The Humboldt Foundation is searching for a postdoc from underrepresented regions of the globe

The German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) is searching for a female scientist with expertise in soil microbial ecology and data analysis/synthesis. The scholarship has up to two years of funding. See here for more information on the project and how to apply.


GSBI will be featured in Colorado State University’s booth at COP28 in Dubai.

Check out booth 6 December 10th - 11th to see GSBI featured. To find more information on CSU led events at COP 28, see CSU’s website here. Attendees, let us know by email if there is any soil health or soil biodiversity presence at COP and we will update our website.


Check out Solid Science’s recent podcasts led by Carlos Guerra (iDiv) and Romy Zeiss (Leipzig University and iDiv)

Find the podcasts here to learn more about Antarctic soils, tidal systems, soil ecology in Africa, and more. See our podcasts tab for more soil related podcasts.


 

“GSBI Speaks!” November Webinar

Diatoms in Soil: A Hidden World

November 7, 2023

 

 

Catch up on previous webinars on the GSBI YouTube Channel

Mites: Grappling with a hyperdiverse taxon in soil with Valerie Behan-Pelletier.

Soil Biodiversity and Sustainable Agriculture with Gerlinde de Deyn, Stuart Grandy, and Sara Sanchez Moreno.

Soil Biodiversity and the Stabilisation of Carbon in the Soil with Gerrit Angst, Colin Averill, Kate Buckeridge, and Cynthia Kallenbach.


Major decision on Soil Biodiversity monitoring and protection adopted at COP-15 of Convention of Biological Diversity (CBD) in Montreal, QC, December 2022

THE PLAN OF ACTION 2020-2030 FOR THE INTERNATIONAL INITIATIVE FOR THE CONSERVATION AND SUSTAINABLE USE OF SOIL BIODIVERSITY

 

 

Soil Biodiversity Science challenges and international policy are the highlight of a new paper in Science by Global Soil Biodiversity Initiative colleagues

Soil Biodiversity needs policy without borders

A new paper in the recent issue of Science by W. van der Putten, R. Bardgett, M. Farfan, L. Montanarella, J. Six, and D. Wall highlights the importance of soils and soil biodiversity science for soil health the challenges and promises of new regional and international policies for soil protection and sustainable management.


THE GLOBAL SOIL BIODIVERSITY INITIATIVE PARTNERS WITH SOIL BIODIVERSITY OBSERVATION NETWORK (SoilBON)

The first soil biodiversity assessment across the United States has begun in association with the global SoilBON.

See the SoilBON USA partners

See the global SoilBON network


 

Read the first-ever report on the State of Knowledge of Soil Biodiversity!

Produced in conjunction with the UN-FAO, ITPS, GSBI, SCBD, the European Commission (EC), and 300+ contributing-scientists, this report is the primary science and policy guiding-document in the world for connecting science to policy recommendations for the conservation and monitoring of soil biodiversity.

Citation: FAO, ITPS, GSBI, SCBD, and EC. 2020. State of knowledge of soil biodiversity - Status, challenges and potentialities, Report 2020. Rome, FAO. https://doi.org/10.4060/cb1929en


The Global Soil Biodiversity Atlas

Soil biodiversity affects our environment and our wellbeing. Learn about soil organisms around the world in the Global Soil Biodiversity Atlas jointly published by the European Commission Joint Research Centre and the GSBI.


GET INVOLVED WITH GSBI!

Get updates on what the GSBI is up to and never miss an opportunity to participate in GSBI events and efforts.

Stay up-to-date with the work other GSBI members are doing or share some of your own work in the GSBI blog “Beneath Our Feet.”

Embed Block
Add an embed URL or code. Learn more