Division: SSSA Division: Soil Mineralogy

Title: Symposium--Bugs and Dirt: Four Letter Words That Go Together (includes graduate student competition)

Lead Community Sponsor:
Cosponsor: Soil Mineralogy, Pedology, Soil Biology & Biochemistry
Community Cosponsor:
Format: Oral Symposium
Keywords: Insects, Invertebrates, Soil macrofauna and Soil mineral processes

Session Description: Soils provide habitat and life resources for a wide array of invertebrates. Invertebrates interact with the soil to control, in part, the precipitation, dissolution, and distribution of soil minerals, and are a major source of soil bioturbation. This symposium focuses on how insects and other invertebrates directly and indirectly modify and control soil mineral formation and weathering, and affect other soil physical and chemical properties. Special emphasis will be given to the role that ants and bees have in soil mineral processes as well as mineralogical, entomological, and ichnological methods used to study this interaction.