Since I joined this research group in 2016, I have helped my friend to identify her plants, including moss (remember from my last article?), sedges, shrubs, herbs and tree seedlings. I have helped another colleague to sample her flying insects with a special vacuum. I also helped another friend to sample water for her studies as well as air to see how much plants, animals, fungi and bacteria were respiring.
To investigate what warming is doing to the soil animals, I need to sample them. To sample these tiny animals, I actually have to the collect soil itself as you can see in the picture. The animals are so small that is almost impossible to see them without the help of a microscope or hand lenses. In other words, I sample the soil that is their home and take it back in the lab to observe it. We'll talk more about this next week, stay tuned!
