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Nematodes play an important role in agricultural soil in terms of their pest status and their contribution to soil quality, where they may serve as a valuable indicator of soil health. The aim of the study was to assess changes occurring in nematode community structure, as affected by soil tillage applied to high N-input and irrigated pastures in South Africa. Such practices were investigated by means of analysing diversity and ecosystem function indices, as well as the faunal profile, to enable analysis of their effect on soil quality. The pre-treatment soil analyses showed a low overall mean nematode density. No clear and predictable pattern was present in the nematode community structure in relation to tillage. The lack of indicative information leading from the nematode community structure to the tillage disturbance types might be linked to the fact that such systems were able to recover from soil disturbance within the relatively short period of less than a year.

Soil is a non-renewable resource and supports all land-based forms of life. The sustainable production of crops is becoming progressively more critical as human populations increase and viable agricultural land decreases. Soil health plays an indispensable part in the sustainability of soil as a resource for future generations. For this very reason it is important to have suitable tools to measure the improvement or deterioration of soil health in vineyards and orchards. In this review, the use of different bio-indicators to indicate soil health will be discussed, with special emphasis on the use of nematode population structure and function as indicators of soil health. The use of nematodes as a bio-indicator of soil health can play a crucial role in the establishment of future sustainable production of grapes and fruit in the Western Cape. This paper provides a comprehensive review of soil health, the use of different biological indicators, and the potential of nematodes as suitable indicators thereof, aimed at vineyards and deciduous fruit orchards.