Researcher Louisa Moor feels lucky to be endeavouring on a 4-year PhD project supported by TMAF, entitled Not all Soil Carbon is Equal. In her first report to us about her work, she explains how she will be investigating whether carbon storage varies dependent on the agricultural management of the soil, and how this is reflected in communities of soil organisms known as mesofauna.
What is soil mesofauna?
Louisa Moor
Mesofauna includes organisms found in soil or litter between 0.2-2 mm, predominantly mites and springtails. These small invertebrates are often overlooked when compared to larger ‘ecosystem engineers’ such as earthworms that change the soil physical structure.
Mesofauna are just as essential to the soil food web that makes up the ecosystem beneath our feet. With better understanding of these organisms we may unlock more methods of integrating agricultural principles with the natural environment.
Why are these organisms important?
These soil microarthropods contribute to essential soil processes, both directly and indirectly. They aid with the decomposition of organic material and nutrient cycling directly by feeding on plant residues, and indirectly through interactions with soil microbes.
Studies show that mesofauna suppress pests and pathogens naturally due to their selective grazing, reducing the need for chemical applications such as pesticides and herbicides.
How do you sample these invertebrates?
Typically, these organisms are sampled with Berlese-Tullgren funnels, wherein mesofauna are extracted from samples with a heat source.
However, recently Marco Fioratti at the John Innes Centre developed a new-style pitfall trap which samples mesofauna efficiently and effectively. The trap is made with standard pipe fittings and a soil auger and is a cost-effective method of sampling the invertebrates.
How does farming impact these organisms and why should we care?
Fluctuations in soil characteristics influence the abundance of these microarthropods, thus they can be used as indicators of soil health through their response to management styles.
Through farming practices with natural principles, such as no till farming, mesofauna communities can be restored.
Through this restoration, their natural contributions to farming processes such as nutrient cycling will be elevated and improve crop yields whilst lowering demand for costly chemical applications.
How will my project explore this?
Throughout the course of the research project, I will use a combination of traditional pitfall trapping methods alongside modern environmental DNA investigation with tools at Norwich Research Park.
By combining these datasets across different agricultural regimes, I am hoping to explore if a shift to more regenerative agricultural methods (no-till, composting, limited chemical applications) will increase abundance and diversity of these important invertebrates.
