Why did 1,000 world citizens bury their underpants?
Why did 1,000 world citizens bury their underpants?
为什么全球有 1,000 名公民埋掉了他们的内裤？
A thousand people voluntarily buried their cotton underpants for two months—not to keep the Underpants Gnomes from stealing them, but as part of a citizen science project to map out soil health in 25 countries around the world. The results of this unique experiment were reported in a new paper published in the journal Plants People Planet.
一千名志愿者自愿将他们的棉质内裤埋在地下两个月——这并非为了防止“内裤小矮人”偷走它们，而是作为一项公民科学项目的一部分，旨在绘制全球 25 个国家的土壤健康状况。这项独特实验的结果发表在《植物、人类与地球》（Plants People Planet）期刊的一篇新论文中。
“Our results show that how soil is managed can significantly affect both soil life and soil quality,” said co-author Marcel van der Heijden, an agroecologist at the University of Zurich. “Healthy, biologically active soil is crucial for fertility, nutrient cycling and many other ecosystem services.”
“我们的研究结果表明，土壤的管理方式会显著影响土壤生物和土壤质量，”苏黎世大学的农业生态学家、合著者马塞尔·范·德·海登（Marcel van der Heijden）表示，“健康且具有生物活性的土壤对于肥力、养分循环以及许多其他生态系统服务至关重要。”
Soil health is critical for agriculture and, by extension, food security, not to mention a healthy global ecosystem, but it has been declining worldwide, per the authors. One key indicator of soil health is decomposition rates of complex organic matter, breaking down stuff like leaves, wood, even cadavers into simpler organic and inorganic compounds, releasing CO2 and nutrients in the process.
作者指出，土壤健康对农业乃至粮食安全至关重要，更不用说对维持全球生态系统的健康了，但目前全球土壤健康状况正在下降。衡量土壤健康的一个关键指标是复杂有机物的分解速率，即通过分解树叶、木材甚至尸体等物质，将其转化为更简单的有机和无机化合物，并在此过程中释放二氧化碳和养分。
There have been relatively few large-scale national decomposition studies involving different land use types, although smaller studies have shown that how humans use a site can significantly affect the soil’s biological diversity. Commercially available teabags are a common material used to measure decomposition rates, known as the “teabag index” (TBI).
尽管已有小型研究表明人类对土地的使用方式会显著影响土壤的生物多样性，但涉及不同土地利用类型的大规模国家级分解研究相对较少。市售茶包是衡量分解速率的常用材料，被称为“茶包指数”（TBI）。
However, Van der Heijden and colleagues felt the teabag index could be improved upon, given that it requires careful handling and specific tools, like a fine-scale balance. They opted for a more playful approach to illustrate soil composition. Prior research had shown that cotton strips could also be used to assess decomposition, so why not engage in a bit of citizen science and ask volunteers to bury cotton underpants for a couple of months, then dig them up and record the results? That’s exactly what the authors did in a national project they dubbed “Proof by Underpants.”
然而，范·德·海登及其同事认为茶包指数仍有改进空间，因为它需要精细的操作和特定的工具（如精密天平）。他们选择了一种更有趣的方法来展示土壤成分。先前的研究表明，棉条也可用于评估分解情况，那么何不开展一项公民科学活动，让志愿者埋下棉质内裤几个月，然后再挖出来记录结果呢？这正是作者们在一个名为“内裤证明”（Proof by Underpants）的国家项目中采取的做法。
Van der Heijden et al. recruited 1,000 volunteers from 25 countries—240 of whom are listed as co-authors on the paper—and sent them an activity pack: two pairs of organic cotton men’s underpants, 12 teabags, and a sampling bag for soil collection, along with detailed instructions.
范·德·海登等人从 25 个国家招募了 1,000 名志愿者（其中 240 人被列为论文的合著者），并向他们发送了一个活动包：两条有机棉男士内裤、12 个茶包、一个用于采集土壤样本的袋子，以及详细的操作说明。
Each volunteer selected a site, dug a hole, and collected a soil sample. Then they inserted the two pairs of underpants vertically, side by side, with the synthetic waistband visible on the surface. They also placed six teabags in front of each of the garments to compare how the underpants performed versus the TBI in terms of decomposition assessment, and then refilled the hole.
每位志愿者选择一个地点，挖一个坑，并采集一份土壤样本。然后，他们将两条内裤垂直并排埋入，合成纤维腰带露在地面上。他们还在每条内裤前放置了六个茶包，以便在分解评估方面对比内裤与茶包指数的表现，随后将坑填平。
Participants dug up the first pair of underpants and associated tea bags after 30 days and the second after 60 days, documenting the condition of the items and mailing all the materials to the scientists for analysis.
参与者在 30 天后挖出第一条内裤及相关茶包，在 60 天后挖出第二条，记录物品的状态，并将所有材料寄回给科学家进行分析。
The results: Land use was the most important factor. Underpants decomposed the fastest in private gardens, where soil analysis also revealed the highest levels of organic matter, making it an ideal environment for earthworms, fungi, bacteria, and so forth. Lawns showed the least activity of soil organisms, with agricultural fields and meadows ranging in the middle. Temperature and moisture levels also affected organism activity, particularly if conditions were too cold or too dry, as did soil nutrient levels.
结果显示：土地利用方式是最重要的因素。内裤在私人花园中分解最快，土壤分析也显示那里的有机物含量最高，是蚯蚓、真菌、细菌等生物的理想环境。草坪的土壤生物活性最低，农田和草原则处于中间水平。温度和湿度水平也会影响生物活性，特别是在环境过于寒冷或干燥的情况下，土壤养分水平同样如此。
Overall, the authors found that their “underpants index” provided information about soil conditions as meaningful as the TBI, including chemical and physical properties, elevation, and moisture. And unlike TBI, the underpants “provide a direct visual and haptic measure of decomposition that is easier to interpret,” they wrote. This makes it “an ideal tool to be used in citizen science projects and to raise awareness for soil-related issues.”
总的来说，作者发现他们的“内裤指数”所提供的土壤状况信息与茶包指数一样具有参考价值，包括化学和物理性质、海拔和湿度等。他们写道，与茶包指数不同，内裤“提供了一种更直观、更易于解读的分解测量方式”。这使其成为“公民科学项目以及提高人们对土壤相关问题认识的理想工具”。