Olaf Schmidt

TL;DR: Stable isotope ratio analysis of light elements offers a powerful research tool to reveal and quantify trophic relationships of earthworms in soil food webs, while molecular techniques can further enhance understanding of the interactions between earthworms and microorganisms and their functional significance.

TL;DR: It is proposed that relationships between soil food web structure and carbon cycling in soils need to be reconsidered and the efficiency of nutrient cycling and carbon uptake can increase by a shift in fungal composition and/or fungal activity during nature restoration.

TL;DR: It was found that local species richness and abundance typically peaked at higher latitudes, displaying patterns opposite to those observed in aboveground organisms, which suggest that climate change may have serious implications for earthworm communities and for the functions they provide.

TL;DR: A quantitative review based on a global meta-analysis showed that disturbing the soil less significantly increased earthworm abundance and biomass compared to when the soil is inverted by conventional ploughing, and confirmed that epigeic and the bigger-sized anecic earthworms were the most sensitive ecological groups to conventional tillage.

TL;DR: In this article, the analysis of natural stable isotope compositions of carbon, nitrogen and sulphur is one potential tool for the verification of the geographical origin and feeding history of beef cattle.