Effects of compost application on earthworms and potworms (Oligocheta : Lumbricidae, Enchytraeidae)

Effects of compost application on earthworms and potworms (Oligocheta : Lumbricidae, Enchytraeidae). XVII International Colloquium on Soil Zoolog

Positive effects of alternative cultural practices on terrestrial oligochaetes (clitellate annelids)

Earthworms and enchytraeids are of great importance in soil agroecosystem functioning and are used as bioindicators in agricultural management. This study aimed at (1) understanding how the abundance and biomass of these soil organisms are affected by different cropping systems and cultural practices in two long-term experimental trials located near Paris, and (2) better defining the relationships linking earthworm and enchytraeid communities. In Feucherolles, the trial compared fields with repeated inputs of fresh manure (MAN) or sewage sludges (SLU) with a system without organic fertilization (CONT). The other trial, in Versailles, compared four cropping systems, differing mainly in soil tillage, crop rotations, pesticide use and mineral fertilization: a conventional system (CONV), an integrated system (INT), an organic system (ORG), and a living mulch cropping system (LIV), with no ploughing and a permanent living cover crop. Earthworm and enchytraeid communities were sampled in spring 2014.We found in average 114 and 177 earthworms m-² and 22 600 and 7 900 enchytraeids m-² in Feucherolles and Versailles, respectively. Organic matter inputs had a positive effect on earthworm density but no difference was found for enchytraeid density between the systems MAN, SLU, and CONT. In Versailles, earthworm density was not significantly different between the four cropping systems but it was between 1.5 and 2 times higher in the ORG and LIV systems than in the two others. We found a positive effect of LIV system on enchytraeid density, maybe due to the permanent plant cover. Enchytraeid density was between 2 and 3 times higher in the ORG system than in the INT and CONV systems. We thus found a positive effect of alternative cultural practices on the studied terrestrial oligochaetes. In Feucherolles, we found in average 1.9 times more biomass of enchytraeids than earthworms. This underlined the potential functional importance of enchytraeids in this trial. Finally, no significant correlation was found between enchytraeids and earthworms. In order to better understand the relationship between these soil organisms, more information should be collected at the species level

Positive effects of alternative cropping systems on terrestrial Oligochaeta (Clitellata, Annelida)

Agricultural intensification has reduced soil biodiversity in cultivated fields. Alternative cropping systems have been implemented to limit the harmful environmental effects of intensive conventional systems. This study aims at (i) assessing the impact of alternative systems on abundance and biomass of earthworms and enchytraeids, which are involved in key agroecological functions, and (ii) investigating the relationship between these soil organisms, under field conditions. Field data were collected in spring 2014 in two long-term agricultural sites near Paris, France. In Site 1, two types of organic amendments i.e. animal manure (MAN) and composted sludge (SLU) were compared to a control system (CONT) without organic fertilization. In Site 2, four different cropping systems were compared: a conventional (CONV), an integrated (INT), an organic (ORG) and a living mulch-based cropping system (LIV). They differed mainly in soil tillage, pesticide and fertilizer use, crop rotation and crop biomass production. In both sites, higher earthworm abundance was found in the alternative systems except in the INT system i.e. SLU, MAN vs CONT and LIV, ORG vs CONV, even if differences were not always significant. For enchytraeids, we found no significant effect of organic amendments but a higher abundance in LIV and ORG systems than in CONV and INT systems in Site 2. Positive effects of alternative systems on earthworm and enchytraeid communities could be explained by the organic amendments in Site 1 and the permanent plant cover, the absence of pesticide use and tillage and the crop rotations in Site 2. Finally, no significant correlation was found between enchytraeid and earthworm abundance or biomass. We concluded that under environmental favorable conditions, earthworms and enchytraeids could coexist without competitive exclusion

Positive effects of wheat variety mixtures on aboveground arthropods are weak and variable

International audienceAlthough modern agriculture generally relies on homogeneous varieties that are usually grown in pure stands, crop variety mixtures have been used for a long time, notably to improve resistance to fungal diseases. A growing number of studies suggest that intraspecific plant diversity may also enhance the abundance and diversity of wild species and thereby some ecosystem services such as biological control by natural predators. However, positive effects of the genetic diversity of plant species on the diversity of associated communities have mostly been documented in natural systems, with only a handful of studies targeting crop species in agroecosystems. Here, we investigated the ecological effects of the number of winter wheat varieties (Triticum aestivum) on aboveground arthropods and particularly predatory species. We manipulated the number of wheat varieties (1, 2,4 or 8) in 120 plots (80 m(2) each) to examine how wheat diversity and stand characteristics impact communities of three dominant aboveground arthropod groups that include many predatory species: ground beetles, rove beetles and spiders. The number of wheat varieties had a weak, but positive effect on predator abundance, notably spider abundance. In contrast, wheat functional diversity, as assessed by the number of wheat functional groups, was only negatively related to the diversity of spiders. Among wheat stand characteristics, the variance in plant height, wheat biomass and the Green Area Index were weakly correlated with ground beetle, rove beetle and predatory diversity, respectively. The Green Area Index was also weakly correlated with ground beetle abundance. Our study suggests that wheat variety mixtures have variable and limited effects on aboveground arthropods and probably low effectiveness to enhance biological control, but these results should be further tested under low-input agriculture in real field

An interdisciplinary approach to increase wheat within-field diversity and promote agro-ecosystem services

International audienceOne major challenge for increasing agriculture sustainability is to better mobilize crop genetic diversity, as prone by agroecology. A simple way to increase within-field diversity is to use cultivar mixtures, and this has been successfully applied to a few crops in the past. Despite numerous scientific papers documeting the value of cultivar mixtures in wheat and other cereals, especially to control diseases, their cultivation has remained marginal throughout the world. To understand the origin of this gap between scientific knowledge and agricultural practices, the French project Wheatamix explored the synergies mobilized by cultivar mixtures, their impact on various ecosystem services, and their potential to reinforce the sustainability, resilience, and multi-functionality of agriculture. It focused on the agro-ecological and socio-economic impacts of variety associations at different scales, from the plant level up to the wheat supply chain. The project aims at developing new blending and breeding methods to design performing mixtures.To understand how plant-to-plant interactions shape wheat mixtures performances, Wheatamix has set five objectives: 1) describe the variability of morphological and ecological traits in a panel of 57 varieties; 2) explore variability by blending 16 contrasted varieties from the panel into 72 mixtures, composed of 2, 4, and 8 components; 3) study the ecosystem services provided; 4) assess the technical and economic performances in farmer conditions; 5) evaluate the impact of cultivar mixtures on the wheat supply chain. To achieve these goals, this project has developed an interdisciplinary approach, mobilizing agronomy, ecology, economics, ecophysiology, epidemiology, genetics, and management sciences. The project brought together scientists from 10 labs, as well as agricultural advisers and farmers from 6 French counties. The project first described the functional diversity of 57 varieties, highlighting the effects of modern breeding on trait variability, that lowered variability of traits subject to direct selection, and impacted both plant architecture, physiological traits as nutrient absorption, but also trade-off between traits. Wheatamix then surveyed how variation in mixture diversity impacted wild communities. A first result highlighted the low abundance of macro-organisms in this experiment: no relationship was found between the number of varieties in a mixture and the diversity/abundance of earthworms, weeds, mycorrhizae, springtails, beetles, nematodes. However, a significant effect of mixture diversity on the abundance of some spiders, and on nitrifying bacteria, was observed. Coming to ecosystem services, disease regulation (rust and septoria) has been confirmed as the most strongly and positively affected by varietal associations, raising also the strong effects of architectural variability of the canopy (septoria). Diversity also contributed to higher predation rates on aphids. Lastly, soil nitrification and denitrification activities were significantly affected by mixture diversity on 4 surveyed sites, contributing to a shift in plant nutrition and positive effect of greenhouse gas emission.Co-design of variety mixtures was carried out with farmers, technical advisers, and scientists. For three years, 30 farmers in the Paris basin proposed varietal blends and measured their performance on their farms. This exchange first highlighted that the first goals for farmers was to i) secure their production ii) simplify plot management. Then co-design workshops allowed to propose assembly rules and design mixtures, resulting in a wide diversity of sown mixtures. Field trials revealed that in more than 70% of the cases, the mixture had a higher yield than the mean of its components. This work highlighted farmers needs and resulted in a Multicriteria Evaluation Tool, helping farmers and advisers to design mixtures. The survey of the wheat supply chain finally highlighted the need for a concerted innovation among the various actors. Finally, Wheatamix also developed new statistical method to infer mixing ability, allowing both to blend the best mixers, and also to propose new breeding methods.Coupling various disciplines and approaches, such as ecophysiological modeling of plant competition (FSPM WALTer), field and controlled experiments, theoretical framework in ecology (sampling vs complementarity effects, functional traits and tradeoff), and mixture co-design and surveys with stakeholders, Wheatamix has allowed to understand the interest of cultivar mixtures for farmers. Wheat cultivar mixtures are experiencing an exponential growth: they only represented 2% of bread wheat sown in 2010, and are presently at 8%, raking at the first position on the cultivar list. Wheatamix emphasizes the need for an interdisciplinary approach when addressing agroecological subjects, and illustrates the strong mutual benefices between agronomic and ecological sciences

An interdisciplinary approach to increase wheat within-field diversity and promote agro-ecosystem services

International audienceOne major challenge for increasing agriculture sustainability is to better mobilize crop genetic diversity, as prone by agroecology. A simple way to increase within-field diversity is to use cultivar mixtures, and this has been successfully applied to a few crops in the past. Despite numerous scientific papers documeting the value of cultivar mixtures in wheat and other cereals, especially to control diseases, their cultivation has remained marginal throughout the world. To understand the origin of this gap between scientific knowledge and agricultural practices, the French project Wheatamix explored the synergies mobilized by cultivar mixtures, their impact on various ecosystem services, and their potential to reinforce the sustainability, resilience, and multi-functionality of agriculture. It focused on the agro-ecological and socio-economic impacts of variety associations at different scales, from the plant level up to the wheat supply chain. The project aims at developing new blending and breeding methods to design performing mixtures.To understand how plant-to-plant interactions shape wheat mixtures performances, Wheatamix has set five objectives: 1) describe the variability of morphological and ecological traits in a panel of 57 varieties; 2) explore variability by blending 16 contrasted varieties from the panel into 72 mixtures, composed of 2, 4, and 8 components; 3) study the ecosystem services provided; 4) assess the technical and economic performances in farmer conditions; 5) evaluate the impact of cultivar mixtures on the wheat supply chain. To achieve these goals, this project has developed an interdisciplinary approach, mobilizing agronomy, ecology, economics, ecophysiology, epidemiology, genetics, and management sciences. The project brought together scientists from 10 labs, as well as agricultural advisers and farmers from 6 French counties. The project first described the functional diversity of 57 varieties, highlighting the effects of modern breeding on trait variability, that lowered variability of traits subject to direct selection, and impacted both plant architecture, physiological traits as nutrient absorption, but also trade-off between traits. Wheatamix then surveyed how variation in mixture diversity impacted wild communities. A first result highlighted the low abundance of macro-organisms in this experiment: no relationship was found between the number of varieties in a mixture and the diversity/abundance of earthworms, weeds, mycorrhizae, springtails, beetles, nematodes. However, a significant effect of mixture diversity on the abundance of some spiders, and on nitrifying bacteria, was observed. Coming to ecosystem services, disease regulation (rust and septoria) has been confirmed as the most strongly and positively affected by varietal associations, raising also the strong effects of architectural variability of the canopy (septoria). Diversity also contributed to higher predation rates on aphids. Lastly, soil nitrification and denitrification activities were significantly affected by mixture diversity on 4 surveyed sites, contributing to a shift in plant nutrition and positive effect of greenhouse gas emission.Co-design of variety mixtures was carried out with farmers, technical advisers, and scientists. For three years, 30 farmers in the Paris basin proposed varietal blends and measured their performance on their farms. This exchange first highlighted that the first goals for farmers was to i) secure their production ii) simplify plot management. Then co-design workshops allowed to propose assembly rules and design mixtures, resulting in a wide diversity of sown mixtures. Field trials revealed that in more than 70% of the cases, the mixture had a higher yield than the mean of its components. This work highlighted farmers needs and resulted in a Multicriteria Evaluation Tool, helping farmers and advisers to design mixtures. The survey of the wheat supply chain finally highlighted the need for a concerted innovation among the various actors. Finally, Wheatamix also developed new statistical method to infer mixing ability, allowing both to blend the best mixers, and also to propose new breeding methods.Coupling various disciplines and approaches, such as ecophysiological modeling of plant competition (FSPM WALTer), field and controlled experiments, theoretical framework in ecology (sampling vs complementarity effects, functional traits and tradeoff), and mixture co-design and surveys with stakeholders, Wheatamix has allowed to understand the interest of cultivar mixtures for farmers. Wheat cultivar mixtures are experiencing an exponential growth: they only represented 2% of bread wheat sown in 2010, and are presently at 8%, raking at the first position on the cultivar list. Wheatamix emphasizes the need for an interdisciplinary approach when addressing agroecological subjects, and illustrates the strong mutual benefices between agronomic and ecological sciences

An interdisciplinary approach to increase wheat within-field diversity and promote agro-ecosystem services

International audienceOne major challenge for increasing agriculture sustainability is to better mobilize crop genetic diversity, as prone by agroecology. A simple way to increase within-field diversity is to use cultivar mixtures, and this has been successfully applied to a few crops in the past. Despite numerous scientific papers documeting the value of cultivar mixtures in wheat and other cereals, especially to control diseases, their cultivation has remained marginal throughout the world. To understand the origin of this gap between scientific knowledge and agricultural practices, the French project Wheatamix explored the synergies mobilized by cultivar mixtures, their impact on various ecosystem services, and their potential to reinforce the sustainability, resilience, and multi-functionality of agriculture. It focused on the agro-ecological and socio-economic impacts of variety associations at different scales, from the plant level up to the wheat supply chain. The project aims at developing new blending and breeding methods to design performing mixtures.To understand how plant-to-plant interactions shape wheat mixtures performances, Wheatamix has set five objectives: 1) describe the variability of morphological and ecological traits in a panel of 57 varieties; 2) explore variability by blending 16 contrasted varieties from the panel into 72 mixtures, composed of 2, 4, and 8 components; 3) study the ecosystem services provided; 4) assess the technical and economic performances in farmer conditions; 5) evaluate the impact of cultivar mixtures on the wheat supply chain. To achieve these goals, this project has developed an interdisciplinary approach, mobilizing agronomy, ecology, economics, ecophysiology, epidemiology, genetics, and management sciences. The project brought together scientists from 10 labs, as well as agricultural advisers and farmers from 6 French counties. The project first described the functional diversity of 57 varieties, highlighting the effects of modern breeding on trait variability, that lowered variability of traits subject to direct selection, and impacted both plant architecture, physiological traits as nutrient absorption, but also trade-off between traits. Wheatamix then surveyed how variation in mixture diversity impacted wild communities. A first result highlighted the low abundance of macro-organisms in this experiment: no relationship was found between the number of varieties in a mixture and the diversity/abundance of earthworms, weeds, mycorrhizae, springtails, beetles, nematodes. However, a significant effect of mixture diversity on the abundance of some spiders, and on nitrifying bacteria, was observed. Coming to ecosystem services, disease regulation (rust and septoria) has been confirmed as the most strongly and positively affected by varietal associations, raising also the strong effects of architectural variability of the canopy (septoria). Diversity also contributed to higher predation rates on aphids. Lastly, soil nitrification and denitrification activities were significantly affected by mixture diversity on 4 surveyed sites, contributing to a shift in plant nutrition and positive effect of greenhouse gas emission.Co-design of variety mixtures was carried out with farmers, technical advisers, and scientists. For three years, 30 farmers in the Paris basin proposed varietal blends and measured their performance on their farms. This exchange first highlighted that the first goals for farmers was to i) secure their production ii) simplify plot management. Then co-design workshops allowed to propose assembly rules and design mixtures, resulting in a wide diversity of sown mixtures. Field trials revealed that in more than 70% of the cases, the mixture had a higher yield than the mean of its components. This work highlighted farmers needs and resulted in a Multicriteria Evaluation Tool, helping farmers and advisers to design mixtures. The survey of the wheat supply chain finally highlighted the need for a concerted innovation among the various actors. Finally, Wheatamix also developed new statistical method to infer mixing ability, allowing both to blend the best mixers, and also to propose new breeding methods.Coupling various disciplines and approaches, such as ecophysiological modeling of plant competition (FSPM WALTer), field and controlled experiments, theoretical framework in ecology (sampling vs complementarity effects, functional traits and tradeoff), and mixture co-design and surveys with stakeholders, Wheatamix has allowed to understand the interest of cultivar mixtures for farmers. Wheat cultivar mixtures are experiencing an exponential growth: they only represented 2% of bread wheat sown in 2010, and are presently at 8%, raking at the first position on the cultivar list. Wheatamix emphasizes the need for an interdisciplinary approach when addressing agroecological subjects, and illustrates the strong mutual benefices between agronomic and ecological sciences