Soil is the foundation of our food supply. It stores water, carbon and nutrients and is home to a large share of the world's biodiversity. More than half of global biodiversity is estimated to live below ground. Yet biodiversity, and with it soil health, is declining worldwide, with consequences for agriculture, food security and the functioning of entire ecosystems.
  • Sims@lemmy.mlEnglish
    9·
    2 days ago

    Wondered about the ‘childish’ choice of underpants:

    “Citizen scientists enable large-scale research. The “Proof by Underpants” project demonstrates the potential of citizen science for research. Without the help of the many volunteers, a study of this scale across 1,000 sites would not have been possible. […] The exceptionally high level of participation is also reflected in the authorship: Around 240 citizen scientists are listed as co-authors of the publication.”

    “The project was launched under the title “Proof by underpants,” and the extent of decomposition was termed the “Underpants Index” (UI).”

    I guess the ‘exceptional participation’ was a small psychological study in it self. Seemed to work beautifully at least…

    study