Working with UK farmers to investigate anecic earthworm middens and soil biophysical properties

Abstract

The conversion from conventional tillage to no-tillage soil management practices is generally associated with an improvement in aggregate stability and anecic earthworm populations. We worked with UK farmers who measured Lumbricus terrestris midden area (%) and earthworm numbers associated with middens compared to the general soil. They found that middens covered up to 42% of the soil surface.Middened soil (i.e., soil underlying the middens) was associated with significantly more earthworms than the general soil (i.e., non-middened soil) in agreement with research from scientific field trials. We compared the biophysical properties of middened soil to general soil across an experimental field trial recently converted to no-tillage soil management practices. We measured water-stable aggregation, soil porosity at scales relevant to water storage and gas diffusion and invertebrate feeding activity. Middened areas covered up to 13% of the field trial and were associated with significantly improved aggregate stability and porosity compared to the general soil. Our findings highlight the importance of considering middens when surveying soil quality and health in arable systems.

Monitoring the effects of pesticide pellets to address farmers' concerns on soil fauna, specifically earthworms

“…How to cite this article: Dummett, I., Sturrock, C. J., & Stroud, J. L. (2023). Monitoring the effects of pesticide pellets to address farmers' concerns on soil fauna, specifically earthworms.…”

“…The trial was performed on the New Zealand (NZ) field as a 75-plot experiment in a complete randomized block design with 15 replicates per treatment (n = 75 plots, 4 m × 9 m). Previous organic matter amendments (2012)(2013)(2014)(2015) had no effect on the population size, biomass or species diversity of earthworms (Stroud et al, 2023;Whitmore et al, 2017). The experiment is managed under conservation agriculture with crops established using a direct disc drill (Weaving GD3000M).…”