Insight into soil ecosystems
Listening to worms, spiders and insects
Insight into soil ecosystems
Witteveen+Bos is the frontrunner in the Netherlands when it comes to soil acoustics. By monitoring soil life acoustically, we can map bioactivity underground and thus obtain an indication of the biodiversity in the soil. Compared to conventional methods, this is a more cost-effective, more accessible, and non-invasive technique.
Soil ecosystems are extremely important for how nature operates, and thus influence many natural processes that are essential to society. Soil provides ecosystem services, such as water regulation in the soil, nutrient availability, fertility and carbon storage, which are essential for e.g. agriculture, effective management of natural areas, climate adaptation in cities, coastal defence and water management.
Important indicator
An important indicator for a healthy soil ecosystem is the diversity and degree of soil biology, such as insects, worms and spiders. But how does one get an insight into this? Audio recordings are one possibility.
All organisms move around and feed themselves. And they never do this without making sounds. These sounds can be detected using very sensitive microphones. Our experts can then use audio analysis to gain an insight into soil biology.
Innovative pre-screening
This means we have something that supplements the conventional measurement method where samples are taken from the soil, which is a labour-intensive and relatively expensive method.
Ecoacoustic measurements can be used to identify representative soil zones, so that not all zones must be sampled via a conventional approach. This innovative pre-screening minimises soil disruption and improves the efficiency of biodiversity studies.
Pilot at Deltares
At the beginning of 2025, a pilot study was launched at the Deltares Campus to investigate the practical applicability of various soil health frameworks. The physical, chemical, and biological soil parameters of four test fields (an urban wadi, a field with native vegetation, a sidewalk, and a control field) will be monitored for a year. This will allow us to determine which of these parameters really add value to assessing soil health. Witteveen+Bos is participating as a research partner and is providing the above innovative measurement technique.
The test measurements will take place from March to December 2025, during which the collected soil noise data will be validated using biological reference methods, such as nematode and earthworm counts and eDNA analysis, and related to soil parameters such as organic matter content, chemical composition, and pH value.
Promising
‘The initial results of the ecoacoustic measurements are promising’, says Sem Zeeman, advisor and measurement technician in area noise. ‘This new method will not only help us to research soil biology more efficiently, but will also serve as cheap, accessible and non-invasive monitoring and pre-screening for identifying soil biodiversity and activity.’
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