Join EGU's Soil System Science division in this seminar-style event, and join the discussion on this editions topic:  "soils under change", supported by three talks.

Talks:

Marta Basso (University of Idaho, US) - "Soil after the flame: beyond black and white"

For centuries, fires have been an integral part of many ecosystems. Native communities coexisted with it and used fire to promote biodiversity, creating resilient landscapes. However, over the last century, climate change and suppression-oriented management practices have altered natural fire regimes, contributing to more frequent and intense fires, known as wildfires. Since not all fires are the same, soils respond differently depending on the characteristics of the fire itself. So what really happens beneath our feet after the flames?

Alberto Canarini (University of Bologna, Italy) - "Living dry: microbial physiology under drought"

Drawing on results from a multifactorial climate change experiment, this talk explores how soil microbial physiology reorganizes under drought, highlighting fungal growth resistance and shifts in carbon allocation toward storage compounds — and what these patterns may suggest for microbial functioning under increasing climate variability.

Lena Philipp (Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research - UFZ, Halle, Germany) - "Agricultural management intensity shapes depth and drought effects on soil microorganisms"

The soil microbial response to global change is highly context dependent. Agricultural management intensity shapes depth-dependent buffering of microbial structure and function, and microbial communities in intensively managed systems are more responsive to extreme drought events.

Speakers:

Marta Basso (University of Idaho, US) - Marta Basso is a postdoctoral scholar interested in wildfire impacts on hydrological and erosion processes. She focuses primarily on predicting these impacts at watershed scale, bridging the gap between modeling and reality.

Alberto Canarini (University of Bologna, Italy) - Alberto Canarini is associate professor whose primary research interest is understanding the role of soil microbial community o n the biogeochemical cycles of carbon and nutrients, in managed and natural ecosystems. Their main focus has been on understanding how different climate change factors can affect soil microbial activity and functioning, and how this feedback to global warming. Alberto's early work (PhD) was focused on the investigation of drought effects on carbon cycling.

Lena Philipp (Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research - UFZ, Halle, Germany) - is a PhD candidate whose main focus is studying interacting global change effects on soil microorganisms and soil fauna, using the GCEF experimental platform. Lena is researching the effects on the structural and functional biodiversity and the consequences for related ecosystem processes.

If you want to know more about this and other online organised events by the Soil System Science division, or want to present yourself, please contact the division's Early Career Scientist representative at ecs-sss@egu.eu 

Need help?

If you have any questions about the campfire "SSS Campfire - Soils under change", please contact us via webinars@egu.eu.

Campfire

SSS Campfire - Soils under change

Start time

Wed, 25 Mar 2026 10:00 CET

Duration

ca. 1h 00m

Contact

webinars@egu.eu