Soil chemistry changes beneath decomposing cadavers over a one-year period.

Decomposing vertebrate cadavers release large, localized inputs of nutrients. These temporally limited resource patches affect nutrient cycling and soil organisms. The impact of decomposing cadavers on soil chemistry is relevant to soil biology, as a natural disturbance, and forensic science, to estimate the postmortem interval.

Comparative analysis of bones, mites, soil chemistry, nematodes and soil micro-eukaryotes from a suspected homicide to estimate the post-mortem interval.

Criminal investigations of suspected murder cases require estimating the post-mortem interval (PMI, or time after death) which is challenging for long PMIs. Here we present the case of human remains found in a Swiss forest. We have used a multidisciplinary approach involving the analysis of bones and soil samples collected beneath the remains of the head, upper and lower body and "control" samples taken a few meters away.

Response of forest soil euglyphid testate amoebae (Rhizaria: Cercozoa) to pig cadavers assessed by high-throughput sequencing.

Decomposing cadavers modify the soil environment, but the effect on soil organisms and especially on soil protists is still poorly documented. We conducted a 35-month experiment in a deciduous forest where soil samples were taken under pig cadavers, control plots and fake pigs (bags of similar volume as the pigs). We extracted total soil DNA, amplified the SSU ribosomal RNA (rRNA) gene V9 region and sequenced it by Illumina technology and analysed the data for euglyphid testate amoebae (Rhizaria: Euglyphida), a common group of protozoa known to respond to micro-environmental changes.

Can soil testate amoebae be used for estimating the time since death? A field experiment in a deciduous forest.

Estimation of the post-mortem interval (PMI, the time interval between death and recovery of a body) can be crucial in solving criminal cases. Today minimum PMI calculations rely mainly on medical and entomological evidence. However, beyond 4-6 weeks even entomological methods become less accurate.