Soil zoology: an indispensable component of integrated ecosystem studies

Society is faced with environmental issues that exceed the level of local governments, but which need to be dealt with at international or even global scales. These issues include nature conservation and management, development of a more sustainable agriculture, effects of environmental pollution, biodiversity, and effects of global change. The development of political and technical protocols necessary to control the future state of such environmental issues requires a detailed knowledge of the structure and functioning of the world’s ecosystems. Studies that integrate the interpretation of results from (detailed) community and ecosystem process and pattern studies and that, moreover, include social and economic aspects might be defined as ‘integrated ecosystem studies’. Four examples of integrated ecosystem studies are presented, and it is concluded that a full understanding of the contribution of soil zoology to such studies requires detailed analyses of interactions of fauna with other system components. If not, analyses can result in superficial conclusions that possibly underestimate the vulnerability of ecosystems to disturbances or their sensitivity to management.