Compound-specific amino acid analyses – a novel tool to unravel the trophic structure of soil food webs
relationships among consumers. The analysis of stable isotopes of carbonand nitrogen in amino acids can identify trophic positions and relative energy fluxesfrom different basal resources, such as bacteria [...] fungi and plants, to consumers in unprecedented detail. Here, I will explain how this novel method can be used tosolve some long-standing questions in soil ecology, but I will also highlight potential drawbacks