Earthworm populations under different tillage systems in organic farming

Peigné, Joséphine; Cannavaciuolo, M.; Gautronneau, Yvan; Aveline, Anne; Giteau, Jean-Luc; Cluzeau, Daniel

doi:10.1016/j.still.2009.02.011

Cited by 104 publications

(72 citation statements)

References 30 publications

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“…In 2005, corn was sown into alfalfa mulch and soybean was planted under rye (Secale cereale L.) mulch in 2008. Results showed significantly more earthworms in MBNT with the cover crop biomass left on the soil surface providing food resources which foster biological activity [54]. This finding has been confirmed by several authors in conventional farming who underscore the role of high biological activity in generating resilient organic systems [6,58].…”

Section: Cover Crop Mulch-based No-tillage (Mbnt) Techniquessupporting

confidence: 63%

“…This paper also indicates the potential soil fertility benefits which could be provided by the further implementation of organic MBNT in Europe [44,54], although there is still a poor understanding of the longer-term effects of MBNT production on soil quality. Furthermore, despite farmers' recognized interest in MBNT, European research has provided very little knowledge to address their concerns (effects on soil structure, NT viability, skills, etc.…”

Section: European Research Challenges For the Futurementioning

confidence: 94%

“…Green manure, also called cover crop, is referred to as any crops implemented with the aim of soil fertility preservation and improvement. While certain aspects of these surveys' data have been published elsewhere, we will employ a unique approach focusing solely on the farmer-reported practices and perceptions regarding NT and cover crop management, and place the survey information against the backdrop of the European literature on conservation agricultural practices in both organic and conventional systems, creating a framework upon which to overview knowledge and challenges specific to the organic MBNT in Europe [13,17,18,54,55]. In particular, review papers focused on the implementation of NT practices within the European biological, physical, and chemical contexts are used to describe the pedo-climatic effects on MBNT implementation in Europe [3,8,46,56].…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…While a significant body of North American research is concentrated on organic NT, European studies are focused on RT and are mainly carried out in Germany, France, Switzerland, Greece, Italy, Slovakia, and the Netherlands [13,47,54,59,65,66]. Therefore, relatively little knowledge has been provided on organic MBNT or LBNT, despite the recognition by international researchers that this innovation may help to manage weeds and decrease soil disturbance while maintaining biodiversity [10,17].…”

Section: Overview Of Living or Killed (Mulch) Cover Crop-based No-tilmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Overview of Organic Cover Crop-Based No-Tillage Technique in Europe: Farmers’ Practices and Research Challenges

et al. 2017

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Cover crop mulch-based no-tillage (MBNT) production is emerging as an innovative alternative production practice in organic farming (OF) to reduce intensive soil tillage. Although European organic farmers are motivated to implement MBNT to improve soil fertility and achieve further management benefits (e.g., labor and costs savings), low MBNT practice is reported in Europe. Thus, this paper aims to understand the challenges of both farmers and researchers limiting the further adoption of MBNT in organic farming in temperate climates. The primary no-tillage (NT) practices of organic European farmers and findings of organic MBNT studies conducted in Europe are reviewed, focusing on living or mulch cover crop-based NT (LBNT or MBNT) for arable crop production. Major conclusions drawn from this review indicate consistent weed control and an establishment of best practices for cover crop management as the two main overarching challenges limiting adoption. In view of substantial gaps of knowledge on these issues, additional research should focus on cover crop selection and management (species, date of sowing) to increase cover crop biomass, particularly in warmer climates. Lastly, further research is needed to optimize cover crop termination to prevent competition for water and nutrients with cash crops, particularly in wetter northern conditions which promote vigorous cover crop growth.

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Section: Cover Crop Mulch-based No-tillage (Mbnt) Techniquessupporting

confidence: 63%

Section: European Research Challenges For the Futurementioning

confidence: 94%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Overview Of Living or Killed (Mulch) Cover Crop-based No-tilmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Overview of Organic Cover Crop-Based No-Tillage Technique in Europe: Farmers’ Practices and Research Challenges

et al. 2017

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“…Service crops and reduced soil perturbation provide resources that maintain higher trophic levels in soils (Sánchez-Moreno et al, 2009). Additionally, compared to soil tillage, the introduction of service crops and mulches has a positive impact on earthworm abundance and activity (Coll et al, 2011;Peigné et al, 2009;Vrsic, 2011). Schreck et al (2012) also underlined that chemical weeding can favour overall earthworms abundance (non-disturbed soil) but may also decrease the number of specific populations (epi-anecic worms) and cause toxic stress, cellular dysfunction or apoptosis for earthworms.…”

Section: Soil Biodiversity and Biological Activitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Management of service crops for the provision of ecosystem services in vineyards: A review

Garcia

Celette

Gary

et al. 2018

Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment

178

116

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Service crops are crops grown with the aim of providing non-marketed ecosystem services, i.e. differing from food, fiber and fuel production. Vineyard soils face various agronomic issues such as poor organic carbon levels, erosion, fertility losses, and numerous studies have highlighted the ability of service crops to address these issues. In addition to their ability to increase soil organic matter and fertility, and reduce runoff and erosion processes, service crops provide a large variety of ecosystem services in vineyards such as weed control, pest and disease regulation, water supply, water purification, improvement of field trafficability and maintenance of soil biodiversity. However, associating service crops with grapevines may also generate disservices and impair grape production: competition for soil resources with the grapevine is often highlighted to reject such association. Consequently, vinegrowers have to find a balance between services and disservices, depending on local soil and climate conditions, on their objectives of grape production and on the nature and temporality of the ecosystem services they expect during the grapevine cycle. This study proposes a review of the services and disservices provided by service crops in vineyards, and a framework for their management. Vinegrowers' production objectives and pedoclimatic constraints form the preliminary stage to consider before defining a strategy of service crop management. This strategy assembles management options such as the choice of species, its spatial distribution within the vineyard, the timing of its installation, maintenance and destruction. These management options, defined for both annual and long-term time scales, form action levers which may impact cropping system functioning. Finally, we underline the importance of implementing an adaptive strategy at the seasonal time scale. Such tactical management allows adapting the cropping system to observed climate and state of the biophysical system during the grapevine cycle, in order to provide targeted services and achieve satisfactory production objectives.

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In‐situ tin casting combined with three‐dimensional scanner to quantify anecic earthworm burrows

Zhang

Zeng

Wen

et al. 2022

Vadose Zone Journal

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Earthworms (Lumbricus terrestris) play a critical role in soil ecosystems. Analyzing the spatial structure of earthworm burrows is important to understand their effect on water flow and solute transport. The aim of this study was to quantitatively characterize structural characteristics (cross-sectional area [A], circularity [C], diameter [D], actual length [L t ], tortuosity [τ]) of anecic earthworm burrows that were open and connected at the soil surface at two sites of different tillage treatments (no-till at Lu Yuan [LY] and rotary tillage at Shang Zhuang [SZ]) by combining a new insitu tin casting method with three-dimensional (3D) laser scanning technology. The cross-sections of anecic earthworm burrows were almost circular, and the C values were significantly negatively correlated with D and A. Statistically, there were no significant differences in the τ values (1.143 ± 0.082 vs. 1.133 ± 0.108) of anecic earthworm burrows at LY and SZ, but D (6.456 ± 1.585 mm) and A (36.929 ± 21.656 mm 2 ) of anecic earthworm burrows at LY were significantly larger than D (3.449 ± 0.531 mm) and A (9.786 ± 2.885 mm 2 ) at SZ. Our study showed that burrow structures at two different sites differed from each other. Soil tillage methods, soil texture, and soil organic matter content at the two sites could have affected earthworm species composition, variation of earthworm size and the morphology of burrows. The method used in this research enabled us to adequately assess the spatial structure of anecic earthworm burrows in the field with a limited budget.

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Earthworm populations under different tillage systems in organic farming

Cited by 104 publications

References 30 publications

Overview of Organic Cover Crop-Based No-Tillage Technique in Europe: Farmers’ Practices and Research Challenges

Overview of Organic Cover Crop-Based No-Tillage Technique in Europe: Farmers’ Practices and Research Challenges

Management of service crops for the provision of ecosystem services in vineyards: A review

In‐situ tin casting combined with three‐dimensional scanner to quantify anecic earthworm burrows

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