How soil fauna are sampled shapes what we know about them. Soil cores, extraction funnels, pitfall and pan traps, hand sorting and DNA-based approaches each capture a different fraction of the community, with different biases, costs and impacts, which limits comparability across studies. New technologies, including smart and automated traps, in situ and non-destructive detection, low-cost open-source devices and DNA-oriented sample collection, promise more scalable and reproducible sampling, but need validation and standardisation. Robust, comparable methods are also needed to support soil monitoring under Directive (EU) 2025/2360, which requires scientifically validated methods without prescribing taxa.
This session focuses on the sampling step: how soil animals are collected, extracted, preserved and documented. We welcome contributions on (i) sampling design and effort optimisation; (ii) comparison of extraction and trapping methods and preservatives; (iii) smart, automated and robotic sampling devices; (iv) in situ and non-destructive detection (imaging, tomography, acoustics, sensors); (v) low-cost, open and citizen-science tools; (vi) DNA-oriented collection and preservation, including non-destructive recovery from trap fluids; (vii) ethical, low-impact and non-lethal sampling; (viii) standardisation, ring tests, reference materials and FAIR metadata; and (ix) transferability across soils, climates and land uses. Method comparisons and negative results are especially welcome.
This session is dedicated to the memory of Prof. Dr. Vittorio Parisi, author of the QBS-ar index (2001), who showed how a simple, standardised sampling-to-index workflow can make soil microarthropods a practical tool for assessing soil quality.