Elsevier

Soil Biology and Biochemistry

Volume 42, Issue 9, September 2010, Pages 1491-1504
Soil Biology and Biochemistry

Ecosystem services in grassland associated with biotic and abiotic soil parameters

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.soilbio.2010.05.016Get rights and content

Abstract

Biotic soil parameters have so far seldom played a role in practical soil assessment and management of grasslands. However, the ongoing reduction of external inputs in agriculture would imply an increasing reliance on ecosystem self-regulating processes. Since soil biota play an important role in these processes and in the provision of ecosystem services, biological soil parameters should be an integral part of soil assessment. The general objective of the current study is to investigate to what extent biotic soil parameters provide additional value in soil quality assessment of grassland on sandy soils. We measured abiotic and biotic soil parameters together with process parameters underlying ecosystem services in 20 permanent production grasslands. Cross-validated stepwise regression was used to identify abiotic and biotic soil parameters that explained the soil ecosystem services soil structure maintenance, water regulation, supply of nutrients, and grassland production, respectively.

Process parameters underlying the ecosystem service soil structure maintenance such as bulk density and the percentage of sub-angular blocky elements were mainly influenced by SOM and its qualities. The correlations between penetration resistance at 0–10 cm and the percentage of soil crumbs with earthworms suggested a relationship to earthworm activity. Parameters underlying the service of water regulation showed no clear relationship to biotic soil parameters. Water infiltration rate in the field was explained by the penetration resistance at 10–20 cm. Process parameters underlying the service of nutrients’ supply such as the potentially mineralizable C and N were mainly determined by soil total N. The potential C and N mineralization were more related to biotic soil parameters, whereby each parameter was the other’s antithesis. The grassland production without N fertilization viz. the nitrogen supply capacity of the soil measured as N yield, was mainly explained by soil organic matter (SOM) and soil moisture, and to a lesser extent by soil total N. One gram of SOM per kg of dry soil corresponded to 3.21 kg N yield ha−1, on top of a constant of 15.4 kg N ha−1. The currently applied calculations in the Dutch grassland fertilization recommendation, underestimated in 85% of the production grasslands, the measured nitrogen supply capacity of the soil by on average 42 kg N ha−1 (31%). This legitimizes additional research to improve the currently applied recommendations for sandy soils. The response of N yield to N fertilization ranged from 35 to 102%. This wide range emphasizes the importance of a better recommendation base to target N fertilizer. The response of N yield to N fertilization was predicted by the total number of enchytraeids, the underlying mechanism of which needs further investigation on different soil types. This knowledge can be important for the optimal use of fertilizer and its consequences for environmental quality.

Introduction

Soil quality is globally acknowledged as the major factor determining yield and quality of crops. Although many definitions exist, agronomic soil quality can be defined as the sustained ability of a soil to (i) provide enough water and nutrients to crops, (ii) maximize the use efficiency of external inputs, (iii) minimize negative influences on the environment and (iv) sustain soil biodiversity. In The Netherlands, soil quality of production grasslands has not been a matter of concern in the last few decades. Nutrients and irrigation could be applied in abundance and could thus compensate for a lack, if any, of agricultural soil quality. Legislative restrictions have, however, reduced the use of organic and inorganic fertilizers (Vellinga, 2006), and irrigation. This has led to a renewed interest in the potential for optimizing yield and nutrient use efficiency by improving soil quality.

Soil quality can be assessed by parameters based on chemical, physical and biological properties. Soil quality of permanent grassland is generally assessed on the basis of a number of abiotic parameters (e.g. soil organic matter, total N, pH, K-HCl and P-Al). Biological soil properties have so far seldom played a role in practical soil assessment. However, the reduced use of external inputs implies a greater reliance on self-regulating processes (Brussaard et al., 2007). Soil biota play an important role in these processes and in the associated provision of various ecosystem services, such as supply of nutrients to plants, maintenance of soil structure, water regulation and grass production (Brussaard et al., 1997, Swift et al., 2004; Mulder, 2006, Kibblewhite et al., 2008). Therefore, biotic soil parameters could play a role in future soil assessment. Relationships between soil biota, soil ecosystem services including grass yield and/or soil quality, have been established in different microcosms and field experiments. Bacteria and fungi govern nutrient supply via nutrient mineralization and immobilization (De Ruiter et al., 1993). In regard to the service of soil structure maintenance, there is evidence that the polysaccharides produced by bacteria bind aggregates together, and that fungal hyphae entangle soil particles and smaller aggregates into larger aggregates (Tisdall and Oades, 1979, Six et al., 2002, Mäder et al., 2002).

A relationship between microbial biomass nitrogen and nitrogen uptake by grass was detected by Hassink (1995a). Protozoans, nematodes, Collembolans and mites affect nutrient cycling through grazing on micro-organisms and excretion of nutrients (Ingham et al., 1985, Griffiths, 1989, Bardgett and Chan, 1999, Vreeken-Buijs et al., 1996), and thus increase the N content and growth of grass (Ingham et al., 1985, Griffiths, 1989). Earthworms and enchytraeids increase nutrient cycling processes through fragmentation and mixing (Mackay et al., 1982, Clements et al., 1991, Brown, 1995, Cole et al., 2000, Mulder et al., 2006, Postma-Blaauw et al., 2006). Furthermore, they affect soil structure through the production of faecal pellets, promotion of humification and creation of pores (Hoogerkamp et al., 1983, Clements et al., 1991), and support water regulation through burrows, stable crumb formation and root growth stimulation (Logsdon and Linden, 1992, Bouché and Al-Addan, 1997, Haria, 1998). Introduction of earthworms has led to an increase in grass production (Stockdill, 1982, Hoogerkamp et al., 1983, Baker, 1998). Hence, it is well established that the soil biota play vital roles in the functioning of the ecosystem and associated ecosystem services, including grassland production.

To date, the observed relationships are virtually not translated into biotic soil indicators useful for soil quality assessment, although references to biotic soil parameters (Rutgers et al., 2009) and the effect of grassland management on soil biota (Van Eekeren et al., 2008, Van Eekeren et al., 2009a, Van Eekeren et al., 2009b) have recently been assessed. The general objective of this study is to investigate to what extent biotic soil parameters have indicative and explanatory value in soil quality assessment of grassland on sandy soils. At one sampling point, abiotic and biotic soil parameters were measured together with process parameters underlying ecosystem services in 20 production grasslands with comparable management histories. In the growing season, grass yield at 0 kg N ha−1 and response of grass yield to N fertilizer was measured in experimental plots fertilized with 0, 150 and 300 kg N ha−1 yr−1. Measured soil parameters were used to explain process parameters underlying the following ecosystem services:

We hypothesized that soil structure maintenance is positively influenced by SOM, and the biomass of roots, bacteria, fungi and earthworms.

We hypothesized that water regulation is positively correlated with the biomass of earthworms, thanks to the positive effect of their burrowing activities on soil structure, penetration resistance and hence water infiltration and root development.

We hypothesized that nutrient supply of the soil is positively influenced by the quality of SOM (organic C, total N and C/N ratio) and correlated with the abundance and biomass of micro-organisms, microbivorous grazers (protozoans, nematodes, micro-arthropods), and their predators (nematodes and mites).

We hypothesized that the dry matter yield of grassland and the response to N fertilization are explained by one or more of the process parameters for nutrient supply.

Section snippets

Experimental sites

The experiment was conducted in 2006, on 20 permanent grasslands on sandy soil distributed over ten conventional dairy farms. The grasslands were selected using the following criteria: sandy soil, minimum age of the sward of three years, and a botanical composition with a minimum of 65% grass cover (mainly Lolium perenne L.) and maximum 2% legumes (Table 1). On 15 grasslands, the historical management was mixed grazing and cutting, while on five it was purely cutting. On average, the 20

Results

This section starts with the analysis of soil processes underlying the ecosystem services soil structure maintenance, water regulation and nutrient supply. They are related to abiotic and/or biotic soil parameters. This is followed by the explanation of grass production by abiotic or biotic soil or process parameters or a combination of these. In general, data examination followed the pattern of correlation analysis followed by a stepwise regression procedure for the different process

Soil structure maintenance

In our experiment, the variation in bulk density was best explained by Hot Water-extractable Carbon (HWC), which is regarded as one of the key labile components of SOM responsible for soil micro-aggregation (Haynes, 2005). Both bulk density and HWC were strongly correlated with SOM. Soil organic particles weigh less than mineral soil particles, which makes soil bulk density highly dependent on SOM (Locher and de Bakker, 1990). Clements et al. (1991) showed that earthworms decreased the soil

Acknowledgements

We would like to thank Riekje Bruinenberg, Bert van Dijk, Henri den Hollander, Popko Bolhuis, Meint Veninga, An Vos and Marja Wouterse for their assistance with soil sampling and the analyses of the various parameters. Bert Philipsen and Coen ter Berg are acknowledged for their assistance in the execution of the experiment, and Christian Mulder for his remarks on an earlier concept of this manuscript. The experiment was conducted under the project Care for Sandy Soils financed by the Dutch

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