Abstract
(1) Background: Strategies aimed at managing freshwater eutrophication should be based on practices that consider cropland invertebrates, climatic change, and soil nutrient cycling. Specifically, detritivores play a crucial role in the biogeochemical processes of soil through their consumptive and burrowing activities. Here, we evaluated the effectiveness of increasing detritivore abundance as a strategy for nutrient management under varied rainfall. (2) Methods: We manipulated soil macroinvertebrate abundance and rainfall amount in an agricultural mesocosms. We then measured the phosphorus, nitrogen, and carbon levels within the soil, corn, invertebrates, and soil solution. (3) Results: Increasing detritivore abundance in our soil significantly increased corn biomass by 2.49 g (p < 0.001), reduced weed growth by 18.2% (p < 0.001), and decreased soil solution nitrogen and total organic carbon (p < 0.05) and volume by 31.03 mL (p < 0.001). Detritivore abundance also displayed a significant interaction effect with rainfall treatment to influence soil total P (p = 0.0019), total N (p < 0.001), and total C (p = 0.0146). (4) Conclusions: Soil detritivores play an important role in soil nutrient cycling and soil health. Incorporating soil macroinvertebrate abundance into management strategies for agricultural soil may increase soil health of agroecosystems, preserve freshwater ecosystems, and protect the valuable services they both provide for humans.
Highlights
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA) reported that 2017 was the fourthworst algal bloom season in history for Lake Erie, Ohio, USA [1]
(4) Conclusions: Soil detritivores play an important role in soil nutrient cycling and soil health
Incorporating soil macroinvertebrate abundance into management strategies for agricultural soil may increase soil health of agroecosystems, preserve freshwater ecosystems, and protect the valuable services they both provide for humans
Summary
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA) reported that 2017 was the fourthworst algal bloom season in history for Lake Erie, Ohio, USA [1]. N have increased, causing the stimulation of more toxic strains of algae such as Mycrocystis [10]. Members of this genus cannot convert N2 to ammonia (i.e., “fix” N), so they require combined N sources such as ammonium, organic N, or nitrate to support growth. This shift in understanding of harmful algal blooms and their toxicity presents an opportunity for investigation in new nutrient reduction strategies that combine P and N controls
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