Scientists at Australia’s Flinders University have found that healthy soil is a surprisingly noisy place. And deforested places or those with poor soil “sound” much quieter.
Experts draw this conclusion thanks to a new field in science – ecoacoustics, which studies soundscapes.
They listened to sounds made by ants, worms and other creatures living underground in South Australia to assess the relationship between soil sounds and biodiversity.
In the Journal of Applied Ecology, the researchers describe experiments with three different types of forest patches: two deforested patches of land, two forested patches that have been reforested in recent years, and two largely untouched patches of land.
Soil sounds were recorded during daylight hours at all six sites, and were supplemented by recordings of soil samples taken in a soundproof chamber.
The researchers counted the number of invertebrates in each soil sample to determine how many living creatures lived at each location.
The analysis showed greater diversity in both intact and restored sites, both of which have more complex acoustics.
Soil sound recordings at these sites include snaps, gurgles and a variety of other sounds – evidence of the diversity and health of life below the surface. The deforested area was quieter.
“Listening” to the soil could help identify areas in need of restoration or protection, or even warn of environmental disturbances, the researchers wrote.
“All living organisms make sounds, and our preliminary results show that different soil organisms have different sound profiles depending on their activity, shape, limbs and size,” said Jake M. Robinson, an ecologist at Flinders University in Australia, one of the the authors of the study, cited by Besjournals.
Illustrative Photo by Muffin Creatives: https://www.pexels.com/photo/close-up-photo-of-person-holding-sand-2203683/
