Compost application and the interaction between compost-and native soil fauna: nematodes as indicator of biological compost maturity and soil food web processes.

Experiments will elucidate whether thoroughly characterized composts, differentiated based on their nematode communities, have different effects on soil properties and nematode assemblages. An ecometagenetics approach will distinguish between compost- and native assemblages and reveal if the nematodes in compost directly contribute to the nematode community in the soil vs. that observed effects are due to the overall stimulation of the soil fauna.