The Secret Ecosystem

It’s often said that we know less about the depths of our oceans than the surface of the Moon. In agriculture there’s a pretty important resource that is probably even more unknown.

Biodiversity is a word we’re getting used to in farming. But soil biodiversity? Essential to water, carbon, and nutrient cycling, soil microorganisms such as bacteria and fungi mediate essential ecological processes such as degradation of organic matter, carbon sequestration and the development and maintenance of soil structure.

Research suggests that the number and variety of these species below ground is almost certainly far greater than that which lives above it. This diversity is crucial to healthy soil – and healthy soil means healthy yields.

But in spite of what they do for us, we humans could be considered the worst enemy of soil biota. Human activity can exacerbate natural processes like erosion, with some agriculture potentially damaging or removing fertile soil that could have taken hundreds of year to form.

The importance of good nutrient management or low intensity practices like CTF has a role to play in rebuilding or maintaining soil biodiversity. But increasingly, research or products are focusing on individual or groups of soil microorganisms that could have a bigger impact. An example is Twin N (one of our most popular recent blogs) which is exploring how nitrogen-fixing bacteria can maintain yield but also reduce GHG emissions. In the academic world, the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology has just finished a study into microbial fungi – they’ll be posting a blog about it here soon.

With a recent study by the European Commission suggesting that only 1% of soil organisms are known, it is difficult not get excited by the prospect of what further research could reveal.
It is now not unusual for farmers to host bee hives to overcome problems of pollinator diversity. I may be getting a little ahead of myself but who is to say that in the future farmers may not host their own ‘farm’ of soil biota for application to their land. They may select microorganisms to overcome problems in local soil conditions, climate change impacts or water stress.

Soil biota will certainly not be giving pandas or dolphins a run for their money in terms of charisma – but perhaps rather than aiming to be a planet of tree-huggers, we should embrace the “critters” that probably help get the trees there in the first place. We might just reap the rewards.

What techniques do you rely on to maintain the quality of soil on your farm? Have you looked into using Twin N on your farm?

Kate O’Hagan is the Farming Futures administrator.

This is the third blog in a series of three exploring the importance of biodiversity to the agricultural industry. Read the first on crop diversity here and the second on pollinators here.

• Read the Farming Futures factsheets on Soil Management and Nutrient Management.
• Watch the Farming Futures Video Case Study on Controlled Traffic Farming.
• Visit the Tried & Tested website for more information on Nutrient Management.