I'm very excited to have been appointed head of the Soil Biology Group (@sbl-wur.bsky.social) at Wageningen University! Looking forward to lead this excellent, inclusive and diverse group, which is as ambitious in research as it is in teaching! @soilclusterwur.bsky.social www.wur.nl/en/news/jan-...

Jan Willem van Groenigen appointed Chair of Soil Biology

Jan Willem van Groeningen has been appointed Chair of Soil Biology at Wageningen University & Research (WUR) with effect from 1 April 2026.

wur.nl

🌱 The ISEE13 preliminary program is live! 🪱 A wonderfully diverse line‑up of earthworm talks and posters ✨🪱 🔗 Program: event.wur.nl/isee13/new-p... ⏳ Early‑bird registration closes 15 April! 📸 Frank Ashwood - invited speaker at ISEE13 Wageningen is getting ready for a worm‑filled conference! 🪱

Only three more days to submit your abstract for the 13th International Symposium on Earthworm Ecology. Hope to see you in Wageningen!!!!

Jan Willem van Groenigen@jwvangroenigen.bsky.social · 12mo ago

Abstract submission for ISEE13 is now open, and we have a general program and an invited speaker line-up!

📢 Calling all earthworm enthusiasts! 🪱✨ One week to submit your abstract for the Earthworm Symposium happening 23–28 August 2026/Wageningen. 🗓️ Deadline: 31 January You love the 😍 earthworm photography by @frankashwood.bsky.social? Then come 🤩! More info and abstract submission: lnkd.in/ehGwc3ze

Europa is geen avondland Mijn column in @nrc.nl www.nrc.nl/nieuws/2025/...

Column | Europa is geen avondland

Donald Trump weet precies hoe hij Europeanen het hardst kan raken: door te zeggen dat ze altijd verdeeld zijn, dat hun economieën in verval zijn, dat er niemand meer naar ze luistert en dat ze als bes...

nrc.nl

Happy #worldsoilday everyone! Together with artist Wim van Egmond we made a timelapse movie for the occasion, illustrating why you should be careful to not include any plastic or cigarette buds in your vermicompost bin. Enjoy! @sbl-wur.bsky.social @soilclusterwur.bsky.social youtu.be/yba2oWQntL8?...

Vermiplastics

YouTube video by MicropolitanMuseum

youtu.be

One of the reasons I very much like @economist.com is their endless capacity for wordplay. Even for them, this was a highlight! (Title of a podcast).

You can't make this stuff up....

Retraction Watch@retractionwatch.com · 10mo ago

In an ironic and possibly predictable turn of events, the conference has received “an unusually large proportion” of off-topic abstracts that show signs of being written by generative AI.

Dit bericht kreeg ik van een vader, die veel moeite moet doen om passende ondersteuning te krijgen voor zijn kind. Ik denk dat veel mensen met een beperking dit herkennen. 👇🏼

A soil scientist who resigned from several journals in 2017 after being linked to manipulated citations has been appointed to the editorial board of a journal copublished by Elsevier and China Science Publishing & Media.

Soil scientist previously named in citation scandal appointed to editor role at Elsevier journal

Artemi Cerdà A soil scientist who resigned from several journals in 2017 after being linked to manipulated citations has been appointed to the editorial board of a journal copublished by Elsevier a…

retractionwatch.com

I’m very proud of this chapter, written with some great international colleagues, led by my amazing colleague @alixvidal.bsky.social and with illustrations by the equally amazing @tulca.bsky.social. Everything you always wanted to know about earthworms and enchytraeids as indicators of soil health!

Alix Vidal 🪱@alixvidal.bsky.social · 11mo ago

📢 Our book chapter "Macrofauna as indicators of soil health: earthworms & enchytraeids" is out with Burleigh Dodds! 🪱 🔗 www.bdspublishing.com/open-access/ 📩 DM me for full chapter. Print edition coming end of year! Thanks to a great team @jwvangroenigen.bsky.social @tulca.bsky.social and more 🙌!

Vandaag staat mijn visie als hypothetische minister van Landbouw, Natuur, en Stikstof in dit prachtige artikel in @volkskrant.nl Dat stuk is natuurlijk erg kort en simpel, daarom hier een 🧵 van mijn hoofdpunten met wat meer onderbouwing! www.volkskrant.nl/kijkverder/v...

Analyse Wonen, stikstof, migratie: deze wetenschappers weten wél hoe je dat oplost

Hoe zouden wetenschappelijke experts omgaan met de vele uitdagingen waarvoor Nederland staat? De uitkomsten zijn opvallend eenduidig – en hoopgevend.

volkskrant.nl

Abstract submission for ISEE13 is now open, and we have a general program and an invited speaker line-up!

Alix Vidal 🪱@alixvidal.bsky.social · 12mo ago

•📢 🪱 🎉Abstract submissions are now OPEN for the upcoming 13th International Symposium on Earthworm Ecology (ISEE13) — hosted in Wageningen, from August 23–28, 2026! ➡️https://event.wur.nl/isee13/author •🔗🪱🌍 Discover the speaker lineup and our initial program: ➡️ event.wur.nl/isee13/new-p...

De balans van vanavond: drie punten én nul kans dat de Baltische staten in geval van een Russische aanval een beroep zullen gaan doen op Nederlandse verdedigers. #litned

Zo leuk en weer eens iets anders: ik ben bezig met het schrijven van het voorwoord in een kinderboek over een regenworm! Een geweldig verhaal met prachtige tekeningen! Komt binnenkort uit, grote aanrader (zeg ik zonder commerciële belangen). boekenvankoko.nl/robbie/

"Hoe gaat het?" Robbert Dijkgraaf Eppo Bruins Gouke Moes Zo gaat het.

Very interesting! It’s not often that interests of defense, climate mitigation and nature restoration align.

Caroline de Gruyter@carolinedegruyter.bsky.social · last yr.

Flooding: it stops enemy tanks and is good for nature www.politico.eu/article/russ...

Call for manuscripts - joint special Issue #Geoderma / #GeodermaRegional - "Tropical Soil Science: Bridging Knowledge Gaps in Biogeochemistry, Plant-Soil Interactions and Climate change Mitigation" Geoderma: tinyurl.com/bdf2989c Geoderma Regional: tinyurl.com/3yarxaan photos: Sebastian Doetterl

📣Last week new doctor Enno Sonntag, joint PhD with Thuenen Institute of Organic Farming, successfully defended his thesis: “Earthworm Farming for Circular Food Systems: Upcycling Residual Biomass into Edible Protein and Organic Soil Amendments.” 🪱🪱 Congratulations Dr. Enno!🎉

Onder zonnepanelen groeien planten slechter of niet, wat zijn weerslag heeft op de biodiversiteit en de kwaliteit van de bodem. De mate van het effect hangt sterk af van de opstelling van de panelen. Luuk Scholten doet daar onderzoek naar. www.resource-online.nl/index.php/20...

Hoeveel schaduw kan een zonnepark aan? - Resource online

Met zijn eigen zonnepark neemt promovendus Luuk Scholten de proef op de som.

resource-online.nl

🤩✨Feeling incredibly lucky to be part of such a vibrant, creative team — and a very proud supervisor of @tulca.bsky.social 🪱, alongside @mhagens.bsky.social & @jwvangroenigen.bsky.social 💫. We will make very good use of this new chair 😆!

Soil Biology Group - Wageningen UR@sbl-wur.bsky.social · last yr.

🎉New design addition to the SBL coffee room 😊 our PhD @tulca.bsky.social designed the fabric, our education coordination Florien Vernooy re-upholstered this chair with it. Tullia designed also some SBL logos and is working on her portfolio! Florien is also an upholsterer: www.atelierflorien.nl✨🪱✨

🏅EGU Awards & Medals 2026 nominations are open! Celebrate excellence in geoscience research, outreach, journalism & policy. 🗓️ Deadline: 15 June 2025 🔗 www.egu.eu/awards-medals #EGU #Geoscience #SciComm #SciencePolicy #STEMRoleModels #Awards

EGU awards & medals

EGU, the European Geosciences Union, is Europe’s premier geosciences union, dedicated to the pursuit of excellence in the Earth, planetary, and space sciences for the benefit of humanity, worldwide.

egu.eu

Highlight of the year for our group :-). Congratulations to the Louis Bolk Institute for winning the trophy this year!

Soil Biology Group - Wageningen UR@sbl-wur.bsky.social · last yr.

🎉✨Great 2025 edition of the Earthworm 🪱 charming championship. 17 teams participating including a kids' team and an international team💪! The soil was very dry, but we had a winnner: the PFAS team from the Luis Bolk found 10 earthworms🪱🪱✨ So many different strategies applied to charm the earthworms😀

Another Timelapse movie in the making. We are so lucky to work with Wim, his Timelapse movies with us have done so much for illustrating the importance of soil biota. See this classic, for example. vimeo.com/246948827

Vermicompost - Life in the compost bin

Two weeks in a typical vermicompost bin: two compost earthworm species (Eisenia fetida and Dendrobaena veneta) in a base of aged vermicompost with plenty of fresh…

vimeo.com

Soil Biology Group - Wageningen UR@sbl-wur.bsky.social · last yr.

An exciting day - we have teamed up again with the amazing Wim van Egmond to make one of his fantastic time lapse movies! What will it be about? Enchytraeids, fungi, collembola or perhaps even tardigrades?!?! Stay tuned!!! @soilclusterwur.bsky.social

👋 Heading to #EGU25 tomorrow! Excited to catch up with many of you. Will be talking about earthworms🪱, roots, AMF and how they shape soil phosphorus and carbon cycling🌱!

✊📚📣Once again, speaking out against the Dutch government’s disastrous cuts to science and research 🚫. Some of our SBL team showed up to make noise and stand up for the future of knowledge! www.fnv.nl/cao-sector/o...

In our Soil Quality course, today special @sbl-wur.bsky.social professor Gerard Velthof of Wageningen Environmental Research explains the long and complex history of Dutch / European manure policy. Slightly intimidating and exasperating…

The first announcement of ISEE13 is up! Hope to see all earthwormologists in Wageningen on August 23-28, 2026! We will still improve the website a bit, but we already have the best organizing team and an amazing logo (thanks @tulca.bsky.social !) With @niooknaw.bsky.social, VU, Louis Bolk Institute

Soil Biology Group - Wageningen UR@sbl-wur.bsky.social · last yr.

📢 🪱 Earthworms enthusiasts 😁 : The official website for the 13th Symposium on Earthworm Ecology is now live! ✨ 🪱 📅 SAVE THE DATE: August 23-28, 2026 in Wageningen, the Netherlands 🔗 Check it out and stay tuned for updates! event.wur.nl/isee13/home-2 📸Amazing pictures @frankashwood.bsky.social

Last week Frans fertilized our plots in the earthworm hotel: manure, compost, mineral fertilizer are going to feed our guests, we need to satisfy their needs🌿The hotel is used for research and outreach purposes. Find more informaton in the poster designed by PhD Tulllia Calogiuri @tulca.bsky.social

📣Freshly published by Jordy van' Hull, PhD in our group and Wageningen Environmental Research. Congratulations Jordy for this first paper 🥳! How can we reduce nitrogen losses from renovated grasslands 💧☁️🌱? Check it out 😉. 🔽 www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Potential measures to reduce nitrate and nitrous oxide losses from renovated grasslands

Grassland renovation (grassland renewal or temporary conversion to arable land) is a common practice employed by farmers to reverse declining yields i…

sciencedirect.com