Soil is the living skin of our earth – a unique biotope that provides a home for bacteria, fungi and many other microorganisms. Knowledge of the spatial distribution and temporal dynamics of soil organisms is key to understanding soil quality and function. In recent decades, vast amounts of data on soil biodiversity have been collected, for example in Senckenberg’s Edaphobase database. On this basis, advanced models of the dynamics and productivity of soil biodiversity can be created for all soils in the world.
History of the Section
The section was founded in 2001 as the Mesofauna Section and has been headed by Dr. David Russell since then. Since 2009, it has been part of the Department of Soil Zoology at the SMNG along with 6 other soil zoology sections. In 2025, it was given a new section head, Dr. Andrey Zaytsev, and its content was realigned. The name of the section was changed to Soil Biodiversity Modeling.