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Abstract
The loss of soil biodiversity through agricultural intensification is a major contributor to the collapse of ecosystem services. Despite their wide application to promote biodiversity, the impact of flower strips on soil organisms is largely unknown. Here, we studied the effects of perennial flower strips on earthworm communities at 46 sites with paired croplands and perennial flower strips. Earthworm population densities in flower strips were on average 231% greater than in adjacent croplands. Flower strips can enable the establishment of anecic and epigeic populations at sites at which they are absent in croplands. Furthermore, flower strips likely serve as a habitat for the reproduction of endogeic earthworms. We expect that the promotion of earthworms through flower strips improves soil functions and benefits higher trophic taxa. We propose that optimized seed mixtures, improved spatial configuration, and establishment of temporal continuity of flower strips can further promote soil ecosystem services.
Highlights
The loss of soil biodiversity through agricultural intensification is a major contributor to the collapse of ecosystem services
Earthworms were classified into three ecological groups as introduced by Bouché[33], which comprised two anecic species (Aporrectodea longa and Lumbricus terrestris), five endogeic species (Allolobophora chlorotica, Aporrectodea caliginosa, Aporrectodea rosea, Octolasion cyaneum, and Octolasion tyrtaeum), and two epigeic species (Lumbricus castaneus and Lumbricus rubellus) (Fig. 2B)
Epigeic communities were dominated by L. castaneus, which was found at 12 study sites, while L. rubellus was only found at six sites (Fig. 2B)
Summary
The loss of soil biodiversity through agricultural intensification is a major contributor to the collapse of ecosystem services. Despite their wide application to promote biodiversity, the impact of flower strips on soil organisms is largely unknown. Spatial and temporal agricultural diversification measures have been shown to promote ecosystem services such as soil fertility, water regulation, nutrient cycling as well as biodiversity without compromising yield[7]. The authors found that functional diversity increased from soybean fields to herbaceous to woody field margins[15] These findings agree with a recent review article that found that incorporating woody perennials into agricultural systems (i.e., agroforestry) benefits the abundance, diversity, and functions of soil microbial communities[16]. We demonstrated that two years post establishment, the population size and alpha diversity of soil bacteria and fungi do not differ among annual and perennial flower strips, as well as field margins[17]
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