• What is Below-Ground Biodiversity?
• Why Conserve and Manage BGBD?
• The CSM-BGBD Project: A Global Initiative
• Major Goals
• Project Partners and Organization
• Expected Impact

What is Below-Ground Biodiversity?

"Soil organisms" is a collective term for microorganisms and invertebrates that live in the soil, and includes such small organisms as bacteria, fungi, protozoa, insects, worms, and other invertebrates. Their numbers, types, and population numbers are staggering. For example, just 1 m2 of soil in a temperate forest may contain more than 1000 species of invertebrates, and the number and diversity of microbes in just 1 g of soil may be even greater. Soil organisms constitute what is now referred to as "below-ground biological diversity" (BGBD) or, sometimes, "soil biodiversity". The importance of this diversity is only just being fully recognized through ecological and phylogenetic studies, most of which have been carried out in temperate regions. Yet the highest levels of BGBD are found in the tropics, for which few detailed studies have been completed.

Why Conserve and Manage BGBD?

We need to conserve and manage BGBD because soil organisms provide essential services toward the sustainable functioning of all ecosystems, and are therefore important resources for the sustainable management of agricultural ecosystems. Not only are they important to agriculture, but soil organisms, especially fungi and microbes, are also potentially significant sources of pharmaceuticals and industrial chemicals. For example, the immuno-suppressant drug, cyclosporin, was discovered through bioprospecting, that is, it was first isolated from a microfungus (Tolypocladium inflatum) that was found in a sample of mountain soil from Norway.

Below-ground biodiversity is dramatically reduced when forests are converted to agricultural land, and when agricultural land use is intensified. Reduced BGBD may decrease agricultural productivity and reduce the "resilience" of agricultural systems, which then become more vulnerable to adverse climatic events, erosion, pests, diseases, and other threats.

Sustainable management of BGBD will enhance the resilience and sustainability of agroecosystems and, at the same time, help conserve soil genetic resources for bioprospecting.

Functions of below-ground biodiversity in the soil system

• Soil organisms provide a range of essential ecological services to terrestrial ecosystems. They help:
• Control mineral nutrient cycling
  
• Sequestrate carbon in soils and reduce greenhouse gas emissions
  
• Maintain the soil's physical structure and its water retention capacity
  
• Plants to acquire nutrients, especially through mycorrhizal fungi and nitrogen-fixing bacteria
  
• Maintain plant health through natural predation and parasitism of plant pathogens and pests

The CSM-BGBD Project: A Global Initiative

The urgency to slow down BGBD losses and better assess the potential uses of soil biodiversity in ecosystem management and bioprospecting is the driving force behind the establishment of the "Conservation and Sustainable Management of Below-Ground Biodiversity" (CSM-BGBD) Project. The Project is coordinated by the Tropical Soil Biology and Fertility Institute of CIAT (TSBF-CIAT). It is co-financed by the Global Environment Facility (GEF), which contributes more than US$9 million of the Project's total budget of US$16.5 million. The Project also receives support in implementation from the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).

The CSM-BGBD Project is being implemented in seven tropical countries: Brazil, Côte d'Ivoire, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Mexico, and Uganda. In each country, project sites have been selected to represent a wide continuum of globally significant ecosystems, ranging from Amazonian lowlands to Himalayan highlands, thus covering as broad a spectrum of tropical soil biodiversity as possible.

Major Goals

The Project's main goal is to generate information and knowledge that can be used to better manage and conserve BGBD in tropical agricultural landscapes. Such knowledge will also help maintain agricultural productivity and reduce the extensification of agriculture into natural landscapes (e.g., desertification in Africa). The Project also aims to build capacity for the conservation and sustainable management of BGBD by encouraging South-South information exchange and providing training with support from international institutions.

The Project's major goals are to:

1. Develop internationally accepted standards for characterizing and evaluating BGBD, including indicators of BGBD loss
2. Inventory BGBD at sites representing a broad range of globally significant ecosystems and land-use types, and to develop a global network to exchange that information
3. Identify sustainable and replicable land management practices for BGBD conservation, and to pilot implementation of these practices at demonstration sites in the seven countries
4. Promote alternative land-use practices that will enhance conservation of BGBD, especially through policy advice support systems
5. Through the above and other activities, improve the capacity of institutions and stakeholders to conserve and manage BGBD in a sustainable and efficient manner

Project Partners and Organization

The seven country programs of the overall project are being executed by a range of stakeholders, including governmental and other research institutes, and NGOs. Working groups (WGs), each linked to a major output of the Project, and representatives from each of the seven country programs provide scientific and technical inputs. Invited scientists from internationally recognized institutions advise the WGs on specialized technical matters.

Overall project supervision is provided by the BGBD Project Advisory Committee, which comprises scientists from each pilot country and from international organizations working on the interface between agriculture and environment. The Project is executed under TSBF's responsibility and therefore reports to the TSBF-CIAT Scientific Advisory Committee. The Project Steering Committee, responsible for the Project's overall execution, is made up of the Project Coordinator (PC), a GEF representative, the TSBF Director, and the participating Country Program Conveners. The PC and the conveners of the WGs constitute the Project Coordinating Committee. The PC is based at TSBF-CIAT headquarters in Nairobi and is supported by administrative, financial, and information management services offered by the Project Facilitating Staff.

Stakeholders include an interdisciplinary team of scientists working in BGBD taxonomy, ecology, economic evaluation, and soil management in agricultural, forestry, and other ecosystems. They range from field practitioners to decision makers, but all share the goal of raising awareness of the need for BGBD conservation and its potential benefits to agricultural production.

Expected Impact

By developing standard inventory and characterization methods for BGBD at the benchmark sites, the Project will generate knowledge that will aid in the study and understanding of the role of BGBD in a range of diverse ecosystems. This will contribute to the use of soil organisms to conserve the environment, improve ecosystem health and enhance agricultural productivity, thus contributing to enhanced food security, improved carbon sequestration, and conservation of soil genetic resources.

The global information platform developed and maintained by the Project will enhance exchange of knowledge and create awareness of the importance of BGBD in ecosystems, thus enhancing agricultural productivity, not only in the seven pilot countries, but also in other tropical countries.

Identifying and recommending alternative land-use practices will help manage BGBD, and thereby support soil processes that sustain crop production. Through this, the Project will contribute to improving the livelihoods of tropical farmers by improving the sustainability of their farming systems. At the same time, the enhanced environmental services provided by these farming systems will yield benefits to surrounding non-farming communities in towns and cities.

Contact

Jeroen Huising
CSM-BGBD Project Coordinator
TSBF Institute of CIAT (TSBF-CIAT)
c/o ICRAF, UN Avenue, Gigiri
P.O. Box 30677-00100
Nairobi, Kenya
Phone: +254 (20) 7224772
Fax: +254 (20) 7224764
E-mail: j.huising@cgiar.org

CSM-BGBD Project Coordination Office
TSBF Institute of CIAT (TSBF-CIAT)
c/o ICRAF, UN Avenue, Gigiri
P.O. Box 30677-00100
Nairobi, Kenya
Phone: +254 (20) 7224772 or 7224773
Fax: +254 (20) 7224764 or 7224763
E-mail: bgbd@cgiar.org
Web site: http://www.bgbd.net