Soil Biological Quality index (QBS-ar): 15 years of application at global scale

Menta, Cristina; Conti, Federica D.; Pinto, Stefania; Bodini, Antonio

doi:10.1016/j.ecolind.2017.11.030

Cited by 98 publications

(89 citation statements)

References 38 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…Among the several indices developed in the past few years, QBS-ar (Soil Biological Quality-arthropod based on Biological Forms approach) index links biodiversity of soil microarthropod community to the degree of soil vulnerability [8]. Up to now, several papers have reported the results of the QBS-ar application, and elaborating the QBS-ar data reported in numerous papers, Menta et al [167] highlighted the relationship between soil quality, expressed as QBS-ar, and different land uses. In a study aimed to evaluate the effects of two soil conservation management practices in a long-term (10 years) olive orchard management, Vignozzi et al [149] reported a multiple approach.…”

Section: Indices Of Soil Quality Based On Soil Arthropodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Soil Health and Arthropods: From Complex System to Worthwhile Investigation

Menta

Remelli

2020

Insects

Self Cite

130

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The dramatic increase in soil degradation in the last few decades has led to the need to identify methods to define not only soil quality but also, in a holistic approach, soil health. In the past twenty years, indices based on living communities have been proposed alongside the already proven physical-chemical methods. Among them, some soil invertebrates have been included in monitoring programs as bioindicators of soil quality. Being an important portion of soil fauna, soil arthropods are involved in many soil processes such as organic matter decomposition and translocation, nutrient cycling, microflora activity regulation and bioturbation. Many studies have reported the use of soil arthropods to define soil quality; among taxa, some have been explored more in depth, typically Acari and Collembola, while generally less abundant groups, such as Palpigradi or Embioptera, have not been investigated much. This paper aims to evaluate and compare the use of different soil microarthropod taxa in soil degradation/quality studies to highlight which groups are the most reported for soil monitoring and which are the most sensitive to soil degradation. We have decided not to include the two most present and abundant taxa, Acari and Collembola, in this paper in consideration of the vast amount of existing literature and focus the discussion on the other microarthropod groups. We reported some studies for each taxon highlighting the use of the group as soil quality indicator. A brief section reporting some indices based on soil microarthropods is proposed at the end of this specific discussion. This paper can be considered as a reference point in the use of soil arthropods to estimate soil quality and health.

show abstract

Section: Indices Of Soil Quality Based On Soil Arthropodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Soil Health and Arthropods: From Complex System to Worthwhile Investigation

Menta

Remelli

2020

Insects

Self Cite

130

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…The identification process uses a biological form approach towards morphological class according to their level of adaptation to the soil environment (Gagnarli et al, 2015). The scoring of EMI values, wich ranged from 1 (zero adaptation to the soil) to 20 (maximum adaptation to the soil) was defined according Parisi et al (2005) and Menta et al (2017).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Effectiveness of Plastic Mulch for Maintaining the Potato Farmland in Dieng Plateau Using Soil Biological Quality Index

2019

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Dieng farmers apply plastic mulch to reduce erosion and to prevent the loss of nutrients. This study aimed to determine the effectiveness of plastic mulch in maintaining the quality of potato farmland using the Soil Biological Quality Index (QBSar) based on the existence of microarthropods. Soil sampling was conducted in six different locations, i.e., flat area with mulch, sloped area with mulch, the flat area without mulch, sloped area without mulch, flat forest area, and sloped forest area. Microarthropods were obtained from soil samples using a Berlese Funnel method. Soil quality was analyzed using QBS-ar index which was calculated based on Ecomorphological Index (EMI). The results showed that the value of QBS-ar index in potato farmland with the use of plastic mulch was much higher than in farmland without plastic mulch in bothflat and sloped area. Compared to the soil in the forest area, the value of QBS-ar index in farmland with the use of plastic mulch, especially in the flat area, was relatively similar. Hence, the use of plastic mulch for potato cultivation in the hilly area is effective in maintaining soil quality. This finding would be beneficial for developing a soil conservation strategy to achieve sustainable agriculture in Dieng agricultural area.

show abstract

“…The disturbance created by farming techniques (e.g., mowing, ploughing, massive use of fertilizers and pesticides) favors the colonization of weeds and invasive alien species able to displace native non-weed species [3][4][5]. On the other hand, this disturbance has negative impacts on above-and below-ground fauna [6][7][8][9]. As a consequence, a serious reduction of agroecosystem quality, in terms of biological community (plants, bacteria and arthropods) and of soil organic matter and carbon content has been registered [1].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Seeding and Overseeding Native Hayseed Support Plant and Soil Arthropod Communities in Agriculture Areas

Cardarelli

Gentili

Rocca

et al. 2020

Life

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Using native seed mixtures to create or recover grassland habitats in rotation to crops or in strips surrounding fields is considered a cost-effective practice to enhance ecosystem resilience and agro-biodiversity. The aim of this research was to assess the effects of native hayseed mixtures on plant and microarthropod communities in an agricultural area of Northern Italy. Three different experimental treatments were set up. The first was a control (C) (i.e., non-seeded plots left to spontaneous vegetation succession after ploughing no deeper than 15 cm). The second, hayseed seeded (Hs) after ploughing no deeper than 15 cm. The third experimental treatment was hayseed overseeded (Ov) on the resident plant community after only a superficial harrowing. Ov plots exhibited the preeminent positive effects on the total productivity and quality of the grassland in terms of total vegetation cover, cover and richness of typical grassland species (i.e., Molinio-Arrhenatheretea species), and cover of legumes, grasses and perennial species. Moreover, Ov sites exhibited the highest abundance of microarthropod taxa and soil biological quality (QBS-ar) but only in spring, when the disturbance of ploughing negatively affected Hs and C plots. On the other hand, Hs sites showed a great reduction of invasive alien (i.e., Ambrosia artemisiifolia and Artemisia verlotiorum) and segetal weed species (i.e., Capsella bursa-pastoris and Spergula arvensis) in terms of cover. This study provides valuable indication on using hayseed mixtures to create grassland habitats as reservoir of native flora and soil biodiversity in agriculture areas.

show abstract

Soil Biological Quality index (QBS-ar): 15 years of application at global scale

Cited by 98 publications

References 38 publications

Soil Health and Arthropods: From Complex System to Worthwhile Investigation

Soil Health and Arthropods: From Complex System to Worthwhile Investigation

The Effectiveness of Plastic Mulch for Maintaining the Potato Farmland in Dieng Plateau Using Soil Biological Quality Index

Seeding and Overseeding Native Hayseed Support Plant and Soil Arthropod Communities in Agriculture Areas

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About