No-till soil management increases microbial biomass and alters community profiles in soil aggregates

Helgason, Bobbi L.; Walley, F.L.; Germida, James J.

doi:10.1016/j.apsoil.2010.10.002

Cited by 227 publications

(121 citation statements)

References 65 publications

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“…Similar results were also found in semi-arid and marine climate conditions (Helgason et al, 2010;Kuntz et al, 2013). This may be due to the increased input of crop residues in NT and RT, which can serve as food resources for microorganisms (Scheu and Schaefer, 1998).…”

Section: Effects Of Tillage On Soil Microbial and Nematode Communitiessupporting

confidence: 74%

Conservation tillage positively influences the microflora and microfauna in the black soil of Northeast China

Zhang

Lü

et al. 2015

Soil and Tillage Research

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Section: Effects Of Tillage On Soil Microbial and Nematode Communitiessupporting

confidence: 74%

Conservation tillage positively influences the microflora and microfauna in the black soil of Northeast China

Zhang

Lü

et al. 2015

Soil and Tillage Research

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“…Studies in the NGP have also reported better soil aggregation, enhanced soil organic C, and increased potentially mineralizable N in no-till soils (McConkey et al 2003;Liebig et al 2004;Pikul et al 2009;Malhi et al 2009;Lafond et al 2011). Microbial biomass, especially of mycorrhizal fungi, is often, but not always, greater in no-till soils (Liebig et al 2004;Helgason et al 2010;Monreal et al 2011); soil organism community structure may also be different in no-till than tilled soils (Helgason et al 2010).…”

Section: Reducing Tillagementioning

confidence: 99%

Review: Redesigning Canadian prairie cropping systems for profitability, sustainability, and resilience

2015

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Thiessen Martens, J. R., Entz, M. H. and Wonneck, M. D. 2015. Review: Redesigning Canadian prairie cropping systems for profitability, sustainability, and resilience. Can. J. Plant Sci. 95: 1049Á1072. Redesign of agricultural systems according to ecological principles has been proposed for the development of sustainable systems. We review a wide variety of ecologically based crop production practices, including crop varieties and genetic diversity, crop selection and rotation, cover crops, annual polyculture, perennial forages, perennial grains, agroforestry systems, reducing tillage, use of animal manures and green manures, soil biological fertility, organic production systems, integrated cropÁlivestock systems, and purposeful design of farm landscapes (farmscaping), and discuss their potential role in enhancing the profitability, environmental sustainability, and resilience of Canadian prairie cropping systems. Farming systems that most closely mimic natural systems through appropriate integration of diverse components, within a context of supportive social and economic structures, appear to offer the greatest potential benefits, while creating a framework in which to place all other farming practices. Our understanding of ecological relationships within agricultural systems is currently lacking, and a major shift in research, education, and policy will be required to purposefully and proactively redesign Canadian prairie agricultural systems for long-term sustainability.

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“…On the other hand, under more aggressive, stressing conditions, as generally observed under conventional tillage, the bacterial community prevailed in relation to the fungal community (Pankhurst et al, 2002). Thus, it is not rare to find general increase of microbial biomass in soil under notillage in relation to conventional tillage (Helgason et al, 2010;Muruganandan et al, 2010), especially under tropical conditions, where the microbial biomass is greater and activity is more intense (Kaschuk et al, 2010).…”

Section: Indicators Of Soil Health Under Varying Soil Tillage Systemsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Soil health: looking for suitable indicators. What should be considered to assess the effects of use and management on soil health?

Cardoso¹,

Vasconcellos²,

Bini³

et al. 2013

Sci. agric. (Piracicaba, Braz.)

418

220

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Soil Health refers to the ecological equilibrium and the functionality of a soil and its capacity to maintain a well balanced ecosystem with high biodiversity above and below surface, and productivity. To understand and use soil health as a tool for sustainability, physical, chemical, and biological properties must be employed to verify which respond to the soil use and management within a desired timescale. Attributes with a rapid response to natural or anthropogenic actions are considered good indicators of soil health. Among the physical indicators, soil texture, aggregation, moisture, porosity, and bulk density have been used, while among chemical indicators total C and N, mineral nutrients, organic matter, cation exchange capacity, among others are well established. However, most of them generally have a slow response, when compared to the biological ones, such as microbial biomass C and N, biodiversity, soil enzymes, soil respiration, etc., in addition to macro and mesofauna. Thus, a systemic approach based on different kinds of indicators (physical, chemical and biological) in assessing soil health would be safer than using only one kind of attribute. Many human activities have caused desertification, loss of biodiversity, disruption of aggregates, loss of organic matter and nutrients, among others. Today, it is imperious to maintain soil health and productivity with increasing emphasis on reforestation and recuperation of degraded areas through the use of organic amendments, reintroduction of plants, soil fauna and microorganisms. This review focused on an integrative view on indicators of soil health to be used as tools for prediction of sustainability in production systems.

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No-till soil management increases microbial biomass and alters community profiles in soil aggregates

Cited by 227 publications

References 65 publications

Conservation tillage positively influences the microflora and microfauna in the black soil of Northeast China

Conservation tillage positively influences the microflora and microfauna in the black soil of Northeast China

Review: Redesigning Canadian prairie cropping systems for profitability, sustainability, and resilience

Soil health: looking for suitable indicators. What should be considered to assess the effects of use and management on soil health?

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