Cropping Systems to Improve Soil Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services: The Outlook and Lines of Research

Abstract

The intensive farming practices that have been developed over the past 60 years are based mainly on the use of chemical inputs such as fertilisers and pesticides, mechanical tillage and monoculture. The limitations of these methods are now clear: long-term degradation of soil fertility, impacts on the environment and human health, high consumption of fossil fuels, low efficiency of inputs and threats to food security in a context of climate change. Would farming practices that rely on the activation of ecological processes be an alternative to achieve a balance between high productivity and environmental preservation? While many studies suggest a positive relationship between soil biodiversity and ecosystem services, there is considerable debate on the form such agricultural systems should take. This study reviewed the state of current knowledge and identified aspects requiring further research to achieve the aim of sustainable intensification of agriculture. The following major points emerged: 1) Most studies focused on the evaluation of individual practices. However, changes in farmers’ cropping practices to take advantage of soil biodiversity services would need to manage not only the interactions between various practices but also the trade-off between the technical and socio economic constraints of cropping systems. Advances in agricultural system design approaches may help to ensure appropriate trade-offs. 2) More attention should be given to drawing on knowledge from different sources: laboratory studies focusing on the ecological functions of soil biodiversity, experimental surveys on farmers’ fields to rank the farming practices and processes to be included in site-specific models, and on- station experiments to test hypotheses and acquire additional reference material. 3) Whereas advances in technical and scientific knowledge provide an increasing number of relevant indicators for characterizing biodiversity and ecological functions, studies are rarely targeted at the development of indicators that are accessible to farmers or their technical advisors. The lack of indicators accessible to grassroots players for evaluating the impacts of their decisions on soil biodiversity remains a serious obstacle to the development of innovative agro-ecological systems

The Impact of Agricultural Practices on Soil Organisms: Lessons Learnt from Market-gardens

“…In our study, farmers from type A applied mineral fertilizer, which globally, improve crop yields and food security [56,57]. Nevertheless, the overdose of mineral fertilizer contributed to soil deterioration, water pollution, and soil biodiversity through soil acidification [58,59,60]. Farmers from type A also applied a high amount of herbicides which also had a negative effect on fauna, by reducing soil fauna abundance or fitness, due to the destruction of habitat and food resources [61].…”

“…Soil macrofauna plays an important soil organic matter decomposition transformers), regulation of pests (predators), formation of stable aggregates, water and erosion control (ecosystems engineers) Our results showed that soil macrofauna directly or indirectly impacted by practices. In type A, we observed intensive agricultural practices application of high amounts pesticides, synthetic fertilizer, and which are well known to have a negative on soil biodiversity [59] [73,74], which indirectly impacted soil fauna abundance and diversity. In order to overcome the impacts of intensive agriculture, sustainable agricultural methods have been developed to minimize environmental footprints and preserve natural environments and resources [75,30].…”

Soil Fauna and Ecosystem Services in Agroecological Cropping Systems: Focus on Experimental Open-Field Market Gardens

“…Growing awareness and increasing evidence that soil biodiversity is inextricably linked to the provision of soil-based ecosystem services appears in the literature [17]. Therefore, defining and designing cropping systems that better consider the belowground biodiversity and soil ecological processes are fundamental [18,19].…”

Crop performance is predicted by soil microbial diversity across phylogenetic scales

“…Soils are the base of agricultural ecosystems, and many of the most important limitations to plant growth are soil‐based (Clermont‐Dauphin et al, 2014; Lehman et al, 2015). Soils contain highly diverse microbial communities, and research has documented that microbial communities play a vital role in promoting key plant functions (Berendsen et al, 2012; Ellouze et al, 2014; Hinsinger et al, 2009; Janvier et al, 2007; Mendes et al, 2011; Richardson et al, 2009).…”