2018: Project “The biodiversity hidden in the soils of FCUL campus and their importance for urban ecosystems and human well-being (Raquel C. Mendes, Margarida Santos-Reis) @ FCUL Program “Ser Cientista”, 23-27 July, Faculdade de Ciências da Universidade de Lisboa (FCUL), Lisbon
Within this project, a small group of secondary students performed a research experiment in the FCUL campus (accompanied by SER researchers) to answer questions such as: “Which invertebrates can be found in the soil and what methodologies are used to sample them? Does their diversity vary between green spaces with different land uses? What roles do soil invertebrates play in ecosystems and why they are important to the environment and humans through the provision of ecosystem services? To answer these questions students collected soil and environmental parameters in different green spaces on the FCUL campus for later laboratory analysis. Then, they identified the main groups of soil invertebrates, analysed how environmental variables influence their occurrence, understood the importance of soil invertebrates for ecosystem functioning (particularly in urban context) and how these taxa can contribute to environmental quality and human well-being.
The Faculty of Sciences of the University of Lisbon (FCUL) Program “Ser Cientista” aims to provide secondary school students with an approach to the reality of scientific research through a full week integration with scientists from different scientific areas. The participants undertake a scientific project of their own, accompanied by FCUL researchers.