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PhD Research: Integrating eDNA and Ecoacoustic to Assess Soil Fauna and Soil Health Along Degradation Gradients within the Land Degradation Surveillance Framework

Summary of research

The PhD research investigates the integration of environmental DNA (eDNA) metabarcoding and ecoacoustic monitoring to assess soil biodiversity and soil health across degradation gradients in Kenyan rangelands using the Land Degradation Surveillance Framework (LDSF). The study aims to develop scalable, non-invasive approaches for monitoring soil fauna and microbial communities and to evaluate their relationships with conventional soil health indicators.

By combining molecular, acoustic, and environmental datasets, the research seeks to improve understanding of soil ecosystem functioning and provide innovative tools to support restoration monitoring, sustainable land management, and evidence-based decision-making in rangeland ecosystems.

Methodological approaches

My research employs an interdisciplinary approach that integrates environmental DNA (eDNA) metabarcoding, ecoacoustic monitoring, and conventional soil health assessments within the Land Degradation Surveillance Framework (LDSF). Soil samples are collected across degradation gradients in Kenyan rangelands and analysed using high-throughput DNA sequencing to characterise soil biodiversity. Simultaneously, ecoacoustic recordings are used to quantify soil fauna activity through acoustic indices.

These biological datasets are integrated with soil physical and chemical properties to evaluate ecosystem condition. Statistical analyses, including multivariate and mixed-effects modelling, are used to identify relationships between biodiversity, soil health indicators, and land degradation, with the aim of developing scalable monitoring tools for restoration and sustainable land management.

Team members and resources

  1. Marcello Di Bonito
  2. Franziska Elsner-Gearing
  3. Alex Dittrich
  4. Solomon Kamau
  5. Leigh Ann Winowiecki

  1. CIFOR-ICRAF, Nairobi, Kenya

Research publication

  1. Mwangi, L., Kamau, S., Cheruto, G., Vågen, T. G., Bargués‐Tobella, A., Mwangi, A., & Winowiecki, L. A. (2026). Soil Texture and Chemical Properties Influence Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi Abundance, Diversity, and Richness in East African Rangelands. European Journal of Soil Science, 77(3), e70351.
  2. Winowiecki L, Bargués-Tobella A, Chevallier R, Linden H, Trautman S, Arinloye Ademonla D, Bayala J, Chacha R, Hannam J, Kimaro A, Mwangi L, Betserai Nyoka I, Ouko L, Pittaki Z, Snapp S, Stewart Z, Takousing B, Vågen T-G and Lal R (2026) Measuring what matters: soil health as the missing metric in climate-smart agriculture monitoring. Front. Sustain. Food Syst. 10:1814366. doi: 10.3389/fsufs.2026.1814366
  3. Winowiecki, L.A., Bargués-Tobella, A., Takoutsing, B., Ahmad, M.N., Ademola, D.A., Ateku, D., Bayala, J., Chacha, R., Magaju, C., Mwangi, L. and Onkware, B., Towards a Global Monitoring Framework of Soil and Rangeland Health: Building on 20 years of the LDSF. Cambridge Prisms: Drylands, pp.1-22.

  1. Lelei, D. K., Sultan, M. S., Kuboja, N. M., Mwangi, L. N., & Sinclair, F. (2025). Enhancing maize (Zea mays) productivity through integrated soil fertility management: a participatory approach in the degraded soils of Kigoma, Tanzania. Frontiers in Agronomy, 7, 1537292.
  2. Cheruto, G., Nungula, E. Z., Nyawira, L., Chappa, L. R., Kahuthia-Gathu, R., Mwadalu, R., ... & Gitari, H. I. (2025). Agroforestry tree species: Acacia tortilis, biology, importance, agroforestry production, and biotechnology application. In Tree biology and biotechnology (pp. 145-161). Singapore: Springer Nature Singapore.

  1. Mwangi, L. N., Kamau, S., Cheruto, G., Vågen, T., Lelei, D., & Winowiecki, L. (2024). Site characteristics and vegetation drive the abundance and diversity of arbuscular mycorrhiza fungi in selected land degradation surveillance framework study sites in Kenya. Tropical and Subtropical Agroecosystems, 27(3).
  2. Haile, M. A., Karanja, N. N., Nyawade, S. O., Gitari, H. I., Cheruto, G., Nyawira, L., ... & Kamau, S. (2024). Lupin and Lima beans diminish Potatoes’ N and P uptake, uptake efficiency, and use efficiency. Potato Research, 67(1), 37-53.

  1. Namoi, N., Pelster, D., Rosenstock, T. S., Mwangi, L., Kamau, S., Mutuo, P., & Barrios, E. (2019). Earthworms regulate the ability of biochar to mitigate CO2 and N2O emissions from tropical soil. Applied Soil Ecology, 140, 57-67.