Using Soil Organisms to Explore Ecosystem Functioning, Services, and Sustainability

Abstract

Soil organisms play crucial roles in the maintenance of ecosystem functioning and the provision of ecosystem services, including agricultural productivity and sustainability, ecological and community resilience, and climate regulation. Despite this, many high school, undergraduate, and graduate courses neglect soil biology in their environmental and sustainability curricula, making it difficult for students to bring a deep, comprehensive understanding of the environment and sustainability to their professional and personal lives. Adapted from an activity by Byrne (An in-class role-playing activity to foster discussion and deeper understanding of biodiversity and ecological webs. EcoEd Digital Library. http://ecoed.esa.org/. 2013), the playful, learner-centered activity described in this chapter introduces students to soil organisms, their relationships to one another, and their roles in ecosystem functioning and services and sustainability through a station-by-station, student-led teaching and worksheet component with virtual or living organisms. After completing this activity, students should be able to (1) identify and describe various soil organisms, their relationships in food webs, their ecological functions in soil, and the benefits they provide to human society; (2) explain the primary ecosystem functions and services of one taxonomic group of soil organisms; (3) apply new understanding of soil ecology and soil food webs to their analysis of ecosystem services in various ecosystem types, including agricultural ones; and (4) integrate understanding of soil organisms into broader comprehension of ecology, ecosystem functioning and services, sustainability, and human well-being.