Soil bacterial and fungal diversity as soil quality indicator to complement soil erosion information derived from ^239+240Pu

Methods to quantify soil erosion are crucial for agro environmental assessments as well as for optimization of soil and water conservation practices. However, erosion also affects soil quality, and the microbial community of the soil in particular. It has been widely reported in the literature that microbial community is a key indicator of soil ecosystem health, which is responsible for the regulation of biogeochemical soil nutrients cycling, promoting plants growth and maintaining ecosystem stability, and could significantly influence soil conditions (Mabuhay et al. 2004; Xiao et al, 2018). New research has been initiated by the SWMCN Laboratory on the link between bacterial and fungal diversity and soil erosion at the Grabenegg research site in Austria. This work complements the on-going work on the use of radio-isotopes (e.g. Plutionium-239+240) as soil redistribution tracer. Topsoil samples (i.e. 0-15 cm) to determine soil microbial diversity were collected at 5 locations along the slope of our Grabenegg experimental agricultural field. At each location, a soil pit was dug and four soil replicates were taken along the four exposed walls of the pit using bulk density cylinders. For each sample, one part of the material extracted was freeze-dried for future soil properties and stable isotope analysis, and the rest was stored at -20 °C for DNA extraction and high throughput sequencing analysis.