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Air-drying of soil preserves microbial and faunal eDNA abundance and diversity regardless of land-use type or management intensity

Han, Xingguo LU orcid ; Cuartero, Jessica ; Koppe, Verena ; Nohl, Seraina ; Sneyders, Astrid ; Vancampenhout, Karen ; Frey, Beat and Frossard, Aline (2026) In Soil Biology and Biochemistry 215.
Abstract

Soil biodiversity monitoring requires standardized and practical sample storage methods, particularly for large-scale surveys. Yet, the influence of the soil storage conditions on eDNA-based assessments of microbial and faunal communities remains a key concern. Here, we assessed whether air-drying of soils at room temperature alters microbial (prokaryotes, fungi, micro-eukaryotes) and faunal (nematodes, annelids, micro-arthropods) abundance and diversity compared to freezing at −20 °C across different land-use types and management intensities through quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) and multi-marker DNA metabarcoding. We sampled topsoil (0–10 cm) from 42 sites of the Swiss Central Plateau spanning forests, grasslands,... (More)

Soil biodiversity monitoring requires standardized and practical sample storage methods, particularly for large-scale surveys. Yet, the influence of the soil storage conditions on eDNA-based assessments of microbial and faunal communities remains a key concern. Here, we assessed whether air-drying of soils at room temperature alters microbial (prokaryotes, fungi, micro-eukaryotes) and faunal (nematodes, annelids, micro-arthropods) abundance and diversity compared to freezing at −20 °C across different land-use types and management intensities through quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) and multi-marker DNA metabarcoding. We sampled topsoil (0–10 cm) from 42 sites of the Swiss Central Plateau spanning forests, grasslands, arable lands, orchards, wetlands, and urban areas. Forests, grasslands and arable lands were sampled in sites varying in management intensities. Across land-use types and management intensities, air-drying of soil followed by four to eight weeks of storage at room temperature or at −20 °C and freezing soil directly yielded comparable gene abundances, alpha-diversity, and community structure for all microbial and faunal groups. Moreover, microbial and faunal community structure were consistently shaped by land-use types and soil physicochemical variables regardless of the soil storage method used. These findings demonstrate that air-drying is a cost-effective and reliable method for short-term storing soil samples in large-scale biodiversity monitoring without compromising data quality.

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author
; ; ; ; ; ; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Air-dried and frozen soils, eDNA, Gene abundances, Land-use type and management intensity, Soil biodiversity, Soil storage
in
Soil Biology and Biochemistry
volume
215
article number
110082
publisher
Elsevier
external identifiers
  • scopus:105027936978
ISSN
0038-0717
DOI
10.1016/j.soilbio.2026.110082
language
English
LU publication?
yes
additional info
Publisher Copyright: Copyright © 2026. Published by Elsevier Ltd.
id
a2fa7734-7eab-4c3e-9b43-27d880c54cb0
date added to LUP
2026-01-29 11:06:00
date last changed
2026-02-09 09:40:22
@article{a2fa7734-7eab-4c3e-9b43-27d880c54cb0,
  abstract     = {{<p>Soil biodiversity monitoring requires standardized and practical sample storage methods, particularly for large-scale surveys. Yet, the influence of the soil storage conditions on eDNA-based assessments of microbial and faunal communities remains a key concern. Here, we assessed whether air-drying of soils at room temperature alters microbial (prokaryotes, fungi, micro-eukaryotes) and faunal (nematodes, annelids, micro-arthropods) abundance and diversity compared to freezing at −20 °C across different land-use types and management intensities through quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) and multi-marker DNA metabarcoding. We sampled topsoil (0–10 cm) from 42 sites of the Swiss Central Plateau spanning forests, grasslands, arable lands, orchards, wetlands, and urban areas. Forests, grasslands and arable lands were sampled in sites varying in management intensities. Across land-use types and management intensities, air-drying of soil followed by four to eight weeks of storage at room temperature or at −20 °C and freezing soil directly yielded comparable gene abundances, alpha-diversity, and community structure for all microbial and faunal groups. Moreover, microbial and faunal community structure were consistently shaped by land-use types and soil physicochemical variables regardless of the soil storage method used. These findings demonstrate that air-drying is a cost-effective and reliable method for short-term storing soil samples in large-scale biodiversity monitoring without compromising data quality.</p>}},
  author       = {{Han, Xingguo and Cuartero, Jessica and Koppe, Verena and Nohl, Seraina and Sneyders, Astrid and Vancampenhout, Karen and Frey, Beat and Frossard, Aline}},
  issn         = {{0038-0717}},
  keywords     = {{Air-dried and frozen soils; eDNA; Gene abundances; Land-use type and management intensity; Soil biodiversity; Soil storage}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  publisher    = {{Elsevier}},
  series       = {{Soil Biology and Biochemistry}},
  title        = {{Air-drying of soil preserves microbial and faunal eDNA abundance and diversity regardless of land-use type or management intensity}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.soilbio.2026.110082}},
  doi          = {{10.1016/j.soilbio.2026.110082}},
  volume       = {{215}},
  year         = {{2026}},
}