Exploring the Hidden Biodiversity Beneath Our Feet

Restoring ecosystems is essential to bending the curve of biodiversity loss — yet much of nature’s recovery remains hidden underground.

Institute for Biodiversity and Freshwater Conservation (UHI Inverness) researcher Dr. Cristian Navarro Waggershauser, uncovering how soil life responds to restoration efforts across Europe as part of the Endangered Landscapes & Seascapes Programme’s “Metabarcoding for Restoration” project. His latest fieldwork took him from the rewilded valleys of Portugal to the regenerating forests of Scotland.

The Endangered Landscapes & Seascapes Programme supports partners working to restore landscapes and seascapes across Europe for the benefit of nature and people, building a healthier and more hopeful future.

In Portugal’s Greater Côa Valley, Rewilding Portugal is restoring natural grazing processes through the reintroduction of Sorraia horses and Tauros cattle, helping to revive a dynamic Mediterranean landscape where vultures and wolves are returning. Dr. Navarro Waggershauser collected soil samples from experimental sites to study how rewilding influences underground ecosystems.

Further north, in Scotland’s Cairngorms Connect area, the focus shifts to forest expansion. Sampling took place across a gradient of forest types — from open heath to ancient woodland — to reveal how soil biodiversity changes as trees reclaim the landscape.

Across both regions, 120 soil samples were collected for environmental DNA (eDNA) metabarcoding analysis. These findings will help fill crucial knowledge gaps about below-ground biodiversity and guide more effective, measurable restoration strategies.

To learn more, visit:
🔗 Digging deeper into soil biodiversity in Portugal and Scotland | Endangered Landscapes & Seascapes Programme

For more about the programme, visit:
🔗 Endangered Landscapes & Seascapes Programme