Abstract
The current focus on intensification and maximizing productivity in agriculture can endanger soil biota and the ecosystem services they provide in such a way that it acts counterproductive and increases the dependence on external inputs. In this study, we aimed to identify the factors that are most limiting for the restoration of soil biota and their ecosystem services on sandy soils. To this end, we assessed microarthropod communities, their relationship with the aboveground food web and their effect on organic matter decomposition, in two land-use types: grasslands with agricultural land use and grasslands with nature land use. The latter are grasslands converted from agricultural land use, for the development of the Dutch National Ecological Network. For these land-use types, we took into account two main factors of disturbance: the number of years since the last tillage (i.e., plowing event), and the current grassland management (mowing or grazing). We found that the diversity of microarthropods was higher in nature grasslands than in agricultural grasslands. The abundance of microarthropods increased with time since last tillage for grasslands that were mown, but not for grasslands that were grazed. An agricultural grassland without tillage since 39 years had a microarthropod abundance similar to reference natural grasslands reported in previous research. The number of predatory beetles increased with a higher microarthropod abundance in mown grasslands, but not so in grazed grasslands. The number of fungivorous and herbofungivorous grazer microarthropods positively influenced the decomposition of soil organic matter as measured with the Tea Bag Index. Furthermore, we found a negative effect of Difenyl and total fungicide concentrations in the soil on (herbo)fungivorous grazers. Contrary to our expectations, we found more pesticide residues in nature grasslands than in agricultural grasslands. In conclusion, to restore the soil microarthropods and the ecosystem services they contribute to, the best practice is to strive for permanent grassland (without tillage) with mowing or low-intensity grazing (without compaction of the topsoil).
Highlights
To sustain the economic viability of agriculture, there is an increased focus on cost reduction through the intensification of agricultural pro duction
We focused on microarthropods as indicators of soil biota and soil biodiversity, their relation to the aboveground food web, and their effect on soil organic matter decom position, which is an ecosystem service
We found a negative relationship between the number of grazing days per ha and the abun dance of microarthropods
Summary
To sustain the economic viability of agriculture, there is an increased focus on cost reduction through the intensification of agricultural pro duction This process of intensification conflicts with the management and conservation of belowground and aboveground biodiversity, and with biodiversity-related long-term ecosystem services (Siepel, 2018; WNF, 2015; EEA, 2015; Hallmann et al, 2017). Larger predators will have an advantage here compared to smaller prey in terms of development and population density, making top-down control more likely This is why elucidating the relative strength of top-down and bottom-up forces in complex and tight interactions between belowground and aboveground biota has been a major focus of research on grassland ecosystems. There is consensus that both of these play a role (Denno et al, 2003; Lenoir et al, 2007); it is not yet clear whether these processes affect predator-prey dynamics involving soil microarthropods differently, what factors underlie this potential variation, and how they influence ecosystem services
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