Why scientists asked 1,000 people to bury their underwear
A Swiss citizen science project called 'Proof by Underpants' used the decomposition of buried cotton underwear to measure soil biological activity across 1,000 sites. The results showed that private gardens had the highest soil health, while lawns showed the lowest, highlighting the impact of land management on soil ecosystems.
Why it matters
Soil biodiversity is vital for food security and climate regulation, and this study provides a simple, scalable method for monitoring the health of the world's hidden ecosystems.
Soil supports the food we eat, stores water, carbon and nutrients, and provides habitat for an enormous share of life on Earth. Scientists estimate that more than half of global biodiversity exists below the surface. But soil biodiversity is declining around the world, threatening agriculture, food security and the ability of ecosystems to function properly.
To investigate this hidden world, researchers from the University of Zurich (UZH) and Agroscope, the Swiss federal center of excellence for agricultural research, launched the citizen science project Proof by Underpants ( Beweisst ck Unterhose ) in 2021. The project was designed both to raise awareness of soil ecosystems and to generate scientific data.
Get smarter about the news
Sign up free for a feed built around what you actually care about, Dive Deeper research on any story, and the full text of every article.
Create free accountAlready have an account? Sign in