REVIEW OF EX SITU RESEARCH METHODS REGARDING THE PLANT - SOIL FAUNA RELATIONSHIP

While the plant community controls the quality and quantity of resources available to soil invertebrates, the soil invertebrates regulate plant growth and plant community composition. Soil invertebrates can modify plant traits, this effect cascading up to higher trophic levels, potentially thus determining changes in ecosystem functions. Thus, considering the special importance of this relationship between plants and soil invertebrates, our work aims to identify the various methods that support the study of this relationship. Although following the critical analysis of the literature, multiple methods were identified that highlight the interactions between underground and aboveground communities, we cannot claim that the study is exhaustive, which is caused by the immense number of works in the field. This aspect can only pave the way for new works and experiments to fill the knowledge gaps in this thematic area.