Session: Symposium--Soil Biodiversity Knowledge in a Digital Age

Title: Symposium--Soil Biodiversity Knowledge in a Digital Age

Session Description: Soils house a quarter of the planet’s biodiversity and momentum for its research and conservation are accelerating – aided by groups like the Global Soil Biodiversity Initiative. An open-access global platform has been proposed to unify taxonomic information and biodiversity patterns – improving access to soil biodiversity and ecosystem function knowledge, benefiting multiple disciplines, and improving decision-making of policy-makers and land managers.  The present: How can digital tools be best utilized to unite existing soil biodiversity data?  The future: How can a soil biodiversity observation network improve our understanding of anthropogenic influences on soil biodiversity and associated ecosystem functions?