10051896Soil ecoacoustics for land managementClosedCollaborative R&DISCFThe aim of this project is to develop a system for monitoring the activity of earthworms and other soil fauna in agricultural soils using bioacoustics. Recording and storing natural sounds at 'big data' scales is possible and processing can rapidly identify sounds to distinguish species or functional groups of animals. Earthworms are critically important for maintaining soil health across all outdoor cropping systems, helping in the sustainable production of crop yields. They are also important as a food resource for many species of farm wildlife. At present, farmers assess the numbers and diversity of earthworms by digging sample pits and then extracting the worms within them, but this is labour intensive, costing time and money. Farmers have told us that a technologically assisted system of earthworm mapping is needed. In pilot work we have shown that it is possible to record the acoustic signatures of organisms within the soil, which could then be used for biodiversity monitoring including earthworm abundance and activity. There would be substantial benefits in soil acoustic monitoring which could generate results in minutes compared to manual assessment. Farmers would place probes within the soil at night (when worm activity is loudest) and record the sound output. This would then be analysed by algorithms that compare the output to a sound library to identify the abundance, diversity and activity levels of earthworms present. Soil soundscapes contain information that helps us understand and monitor functional biodiversity. Descriptions of earthworm noises include popping, slurping and rasping, which may come from their mouth or movements. Nocturnal anecic earthworms use their mouths to tear and drag leaves, move stones and lever twigs into their burrows. Earthworms burrow extensively through the soil profile and materials undergoing deformation generate acoustic emissions. Here we are using a biomimicry inspired product design, based on the fact that birds use sound to identify worms in the soil for food. We will use acoustic monitoring devices, under perturbation and passive scenarios, to record and analyse the soil soundscape and relate this to the abundance and diversity of earthworms within fields. This project will (1) develop a prototype to record and analyse the sounds of worms in soil, (2) construct a library of acoustic signatures from earthworms and other macroinvertebrates in controlled experiments, (3) deploy recording devices within the field to record soundscapes in different field types and land management practices and relate these to earthworm distribution.