Soil ecosystem modelling by means of PCA metasyntactic variable evaluation of Soil ecosystem modelling by means of PCA metasyntactic variable evaluation of metabolomics, faunal diversity, and bioactivity screenings, faunal diversity, and bioactivity screening : Poster presented at EUROSOIL 2008, August 25 – 29, 2008
Introduction: Contemporary sophisticated biochemical methods allow for a tremendous lot of data to be acquired. But, after having done a first calculation, we either tend to produce an impressing but confusing lot of diagrams and tables or forward the data to a modeler, who compiles the lot into a mathematic model that may even be more confusing and is only understood by few people. Alternatively, we suggest to employ multivariate statistics, using self extracted meta variables representing ecological services and functions instead of the default PCA components. The differences and connections found are later compiled into simple conceptual models using the Odum symbols and tree to five size categories. Results; The monitored ecosystems exhibit different ecosystem traits. Whereas “valley” and “plateau” are systems featuring well established recycled systems with low loss of nutrient pools by water movement, “slope” is a flow through system with much less organisms both on the microorganismal and on the macrofaunal side. The main difference between valley and plateau is the fact that in the drier, more acidic plateau fungi and POM are predominating, while the valley is more alkaline, has more soluble nutrients available and by consequence, bacteria are more abundant.
