Looking to the future of soil biodiversity: the legacy of Diana Wall

Abstract

Diana Harrison Wall passed away on 25 March 2024 in Fort Collins, CO, USA, her home for more than 25 years and where she was the Director of the School of Global Environmental Sustainability (SoGES) and Distinguished Professor of Biology at Colorado State University (CSU) after having been faculty at the Natural Resource Ecology Laboratory (NREL) there for more than a decade. While Diana was to become respected globally for her work in soil ecology, soil biodiversity, and sustainability science, she began her career as a nematologist, receiving her PhD from the University of Kentucky-Lexington in plant pathology. When faced with the challenges of being a woman scientist in a male-dominated era, Diana blazed trails. Undoubtedly, her early-career years were formative. The meticulousness and focus she honed-in her science during these early years extended to the expectations she held for her mentees, and in her approach to leadership as she progressed in her career. Those of us who were mentored by Diana wish to honor her and her legacy by providing a glimpse of not only her research and achievements, but what lessons she left us, her mentees, to carry with us through our careers and lives. Those of us who were close collaborators and co-editors wish to honor Diana’s exemplary approach to science, forward-looking approach, and impact on the science community as a whole.