Earthworm communities are supported by perennial bioenergy cropping systems

Emmerling, Christoph; Ruf, Thorsten; Audu, Varentta; Werner, Willy; Udelhoven, Thomas

doi:10.1016/j.ejsobi.2021.103331

Cited by 13 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 38 publications

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“…The key differences between these highly productive species result from differences in pollination biology and life history. First, the perennial habit of cup plant and other perennial energy crops reduces the need for tillage (compared with annual crops), and this protects soil from erosion and degradation [200], allows for the development of a litter layer, and changes the amount of root biomass allowing, for example, higher populations of earthworms to develop [201,202]. Second, because it is insect-pollinated, cup plant provides a greater range and quantity of floral resources than wind-pollinated maize [203].…”

Section: Dual-use Oilseedsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ecological Intensification of Food Production by Integrating Forages

et al. 2021

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Forage crops have the potential to serve multiple functions, providing an ecological framework to sustainably intensify food production, i.e., ecological intensification. We review three categories of forages (annual forages, perennial forages, and dual-use perennial crops/forages) we believe hold the greatest promise for ecologically intensifying food production. Annual cover crops can provide additional forage resources while mitigating nutrient losses from agricultural fields when they are intercropped with, interseeded into, or following an annual crop, for instance. The integration of perennial forages either temporally, such as annual crop rotations that include a perennial forage phase, or spatially, such as the intercropping of perennial forages with an annual cash crop, provide weed suppression, soil quality, and yield and crop quality benefits. Dual-use crops/forages can provide forage and a grain crop in a single year while providing multiple ecological and economic benefits. However, tradeoffs in balancing multiple functions and limitations in reducing the risks associated with these practices exist. Advancing our understanding of these systems so we can overcome some of the limitations will play a critical role in increasing food production while promoting positive environmental outcomes.

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Section: Dual-use Oilseedsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ecological Intensification of Food Production by Integrating Forages

et al. 2021

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“…Additionally, remaining plant residues with no till or reduced tillage can provide shelter from predation and increased SOM can provide food resources for soil fauna . Together, management diversification provides favourable conditions for associated belowground communities Emmerling et al, 2021;. Soil arthropods are involved in important processes such as nutrient cycling and decomposition.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Short term plot experiments show that the diversification practice of adding organic fertilisers can support diverse and abundant communities of beneficial arthropods such as carabid beetles (Aguilera et al, 2020), but there are few examinations of combining this with other diversification practices (Tamburini et al, 2020). For instance, combining organic fertilisation and perennial leys in crop rotations, increases soil organic matter (SOM) and improves soil aggregation, providing complex habitats for soil fauna (Emmerling et al, 2021;Haynes, 1999). These effects could persist despite perturbations from annual cropping in subsequent years.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Benefits on abundance and diversity of soil organisms are, however, dependent of the quality of organic fertilisers applied . Perennial leys in crop rotations increase carbon and nitrogen content in the soil, improve its chemical and physical properties and benefit abundance and diversity of soil fauna communities Emmerling et al, 2021). Positive effects on abundance and diversity of soil organisms persist for several years after the transition from perennial leys to annual arable crops .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Multi-level trophic interactions in diversified cropping systems : Functioning and dynamics among above- and belowground arthropods

Heinen

2023

Acta Universitatis Agriculturae Sueciae

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Cropping practices alter the occurrence and abundance of species, and their interactions, in agricultural fields. Such alterations can impede the delivery of ecosystem functions by disrupting processes that would otherwise nourish and protect the crops. I examine how single and combined diversification practices of lowering tillage intensity or including perennial leys in crop rotations with or without amendment of organic fertiliser affect predatory ground beetles, herbivores, and soil fauna within and across crop growing seasons. I examined the effects of changes in coupled above- and belowground communities on predator-prey interactions, focusing on consequences for biological pest regulation. Molecular gut content analysis of what predators had eaten demonstrated that species rich predator communities strengthen pest regulation through predators’ trophic redundancy. Increased tillage intensity decreased the abundance of soil mesofauna, resulting in resource discontinuity for predators relying on soil fauna as alternative prey early in the crop growing season. I discovered that communities of above- and belowground arthropods are inextricably linked in time, and that arthropods benefit from habitat continuity and increased structural complexity of arable habitats. However, the recovery and recolonisation after disturbance was only marginally linked to predator overwintering within arable fields. Although results vary across diversification practices and temporal scales examined in this thesis, I identified habitat and resource continuity across the growing season as a key property of diversified management that bolsters predatory and soil arthropods. Variable effects found across taxa emphasise the need to focus on species ecology, and to put effort into identifying ecological linkages across species. By this approach, we can understand the impact of management on ecosystem functions derived from these communities.

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“…Although leave shedding takes place in summer with a lack of precipitation, the decomposition of the litter proceeds very rapid. The large amounts of organic residues at the soil surface in perennial energy crops in combination with the absence of tillage present valuable habitat conditions for soil flora and particularly macro-fauna like earthworms (Emmerling et al 2021 ; Schorpp and Schrader 2016 ). Moreover, the damp and warm microclimate after canopy closure, resulting from (i) high transpiration rates as long as soil water availability given (Schoo et al 2017a ) and (ii) capillary water rise combined with reduced evaporation due to the shaded soil surface, accelerates the decay of organic residues at the soil surface.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Biomass partitioning and nutrient fluxes in Silphium perfoliatum and silage maize cropping systems

Ruf

Emmerling

2022

Nutr Cycl Agroecosyst

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Cup plant cultivation as feedstock for anaerobic digestion has become an emerging topic in European Agriculture. Although there is a gap in methane yields between cup plant and the benchmark crop silage maize, cup plant as a perennial crop provides several ecological advantages. Amongst others, studies have proven its potential for carbon sequestration. With the present study, we addressed the gap in knowledge about biomass partitioning above- and belowground as well as recycling of organic matter and nutrients for cup plant and compared the results to silage maize. Therefore, a 2 year field experiment was conducted under practical conditions on rather shallow soil conditions in a low mountain landscape in Western Germany. Relevant plant fractions like litterfall, yield biomass and stubbles were collected continuously and analyzed for their nutrient contents. Results show that the cup plant is characterized by more than 2000 kg ha− 1 a− 1 of pre-harvest losses with a high palatability. In sum, only 77% of the grown cup plant biomass can be harvested in contrast to 96% of silage maize. Thus, an intense, element-specific nutrient recycling takes place in cup plant whereas this is negligible in silage maize. Furthermore, clearly different, element-specific nutrient exports with yield were highlighted. In cup plant, exports were distinctly lower for nitrogen but several times higher for calcium compared to silage maize. Cup plant also showed 36% more roots with higher root masses particularly in the subsoil. Graphical abstract

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Earthworm communities are supported by perennial bioenergy cropping systems

Cited by 13 publications

References 38 publications

Ecological Intensification of Food Production by Integrating Forages

Ecological Intensification of Food Production by Integrating Forages

Multi-level trophic interactions in diversified cropping systems : Functioning and dynamics among above- and belowground arthropods

Biomass partitioning and nutrient fluxes in Silphium perfoliatum and silage maize cropping systems

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