Mapping biological activity of soils using the ‘Life in Undies’ citizen science programme

In 2021, Institute for Soil Sciences, HUN-REN Centre for Agricultural Research launched ‘Life in Undies’, the first Hungarian citizen science project with the aim of obtaining information on the biological activity of soils through a simple estimation procedure. Hungarian adaptation of the international ‘Soil your Undies’ programme gained decomposition data from 1078 site countrywide by getting buried standardised cotton underwear for 60 days, at a depth of 20–25 cm. Over this time buried, the underwear began to decompose to varying degrees, influenced by the activity of the soil's biological decomposers. The average decomposition rate of the underwear was 24.57%, which was studied also in the context of landcover and soil genetic type. The countrywide biological activity map was generated using Ranger method supported by 71 environmental covariates. Our model systematically underestimates soil biological activity, with an average decomposition discrepancy of 15% and a mean prediction error of 11.64%.