Impact of Tillage on Soil Biota: an investigation into the effect of crop establishment on soil health
Booyse, Yolande (2021) Impact of Tillage on Soil Biota: an investigation into the effect of crop establishment on soil health. Other thesis, Royal Agricultural University.
|
Text
YB Thesis Final Submission.pdf - Accepted Version Download (2MB) | Preview |
Abstract
Soil health is a key component of the UK government’s “25 Year Plan for the Environment” and is an important factor in defining the sustainability of agricultural systems. Understanding the effect agriculture has on long-term soil health is therefore vital for sustainability and ensuring profitable farming practices. However, how we define soil health still requires evaluation particularly for long term implications on agricultural management practices. Soil biology plays a pivotal role as a soil health indicator however it is less regularly measured in comparison to soil chemistry and physical properties. Soil ecosystems take time to stabilise after perturbations, and this is likely to vary under crop establishment techniques which involve different levels of tillage intensification. To investigate tillage intensity on soil health, a long-term trial was selected. The long-term experiment was established in August 2012 at Quarry Field, Harnhill Manor Farm, Cirencester. This comprised three different cultivation treatments (plough and power harrow drill; minimum tillage and direct drill) replicated six times in a randomised block design. To assess soil health, complete analysis of soil biological, physical and chemical parameters were undertaken as well as consideration given to environmental factors. The parameters investigated included atmospheric and soil temperatures, rainfall, soil compaction, soil profile composition, organic-, carbon- and moisture content, nitrate, ammonium, and phosphorus content as well as diversity and abundance of microfauna (nematodes), mesofauna (collembola and acari) and macrofauna (earthworms and arthropods). Samples were taken at four intervals over a twelve-month period (summer, autumn, winter and spring). Significant variance was consistently found between inversion tillage (conventional) and non-inversion (minimal till and direct drill) types, particularly in soil organic matter which consistently showed higher percentage means in both direct drill and minimal tillage plots when compared to conventional tillage plots. Collembola showed higher abundance counts in all sampling intervals, but in different taxonomic orders for non-inversion types and anecic earthworms showed significant differences in spring samples for minimal tillage plots alone when compared to conventional tillage plots. Significant differences in soil physical properties were limited to either one or two sampling intervals. Soil organic matter standardised sampling methods came under scrutiny as significance varied when sampling method was altered to compensate for clay composition of soil. Non-inversion methods were interchangeable in terms of their performance when compared to inversion tillage which consistently performed worse in all significant results indicating that traditional cultivation practices are fundamentally impacting soil health and therefore potentially impacting crop yields.
| Item Type: | Thesis (Other) |
|---|---|
| Keywords: | Soil biota, tillage, crop establishment, soil health |
| Divisions: | Agriculture, Science and Practice |
| Depositing User: | Ms Susan Baker |
| Date Deposited: | 22 Jul 2026 14:19 |
| Last Modified: | 22 Jul 2026 14:19 |
| URI: | https://rau.repository.guildhe.ac.uk/id/eprint/17118 |
Actions (login required)
 |
Edit Item |