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Working with UK farmers to investigate anecic earthworm middens and soil biophysical properties
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Stroud, Jacqueline L., Dummett, Iain, Kemp, Simon J. and Sturrock, Craig J. (2023) Working with UK farmers to investigate anecic earthworm middens and soil biophysical properties. Annals of Applied Biology, 182 (1). pp. 92-100. doi:10.1111/aab.12795 ISSN 0003-4746.
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WRAP-working-UK-farmers-investigate-anecic-earthworm-middens-soil-biophysical-properties-Stroud-2023.pdf - Published Version - Requires a PDF viewer. Available under License Creative Commons Attribution 4.0. Download (1535Kb) | Preview |
Official URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/aab.12795
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.
| Item Type: | Journal Article | |||||||||
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| Subjects: | S Agriculture > S Agriculture (General) | |||||||||
| Divisions: | Faculty of Science, Engineering and Medicine > Science > Life Sciences (2010- ) | |||||||||
| Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH): | Agriculture, Agricultural conservation, Earthworm culture, Earthworms, Soil structure, Soil management, Conservation tillage, No-tillage | |||||||||
| Journal or Publication Title: | Annals of Applied Biology | |||||||||
| Publisher: | Wiley-Blackwell Publishing Ltd. | |||||||||
| ISSN: | 0003-4746 | |||||||||
| Official Date: | January 2023 | |||||||||
| Dates: |
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| Volume: | 182 | |||||||||
| Number: | 1 | |||||||||
| Page Range: | pp. 92-100 | |||||||||
| DOI: | 10.1111/aab.12795 | |||||||||
| Status: | Peer Reviewed | |||||||||
| Publication Status: | Published | |||||||||
| Access rights to Published version: | Open Access (Creative Commons) | |||||||||
| Date of first compliant deposit: | 19 January 2023 | |||||||||
| Date of first compliant Open Access: | 19 January 2023 | |||||||||
| RIOXX Funder/Project Grant: |
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