No tillage increases soil microarthropod (Acari and Collembola) abundance at the global scale

Highlights

● Conservation tillage increases soil microarthropod abundance at the global scale.

● The effect of conservative tillage on microarthropods is soil texture-dependent.

● This positive effect of conservation tillage is particularly evident in nutrient-poor soil areas.

● In temperate humid regions, however, this positive effect of conservation tillage is limited.

● The effect of conservative tillage on microarthropods varies with fauna group and climate regions.

Abstract

Conservation tillage is crucial for preserving soil structure and fertility. However, the effects of no tillage on the abundance of soil microarthropods (Acari and Collembola) remain unclear, with contrasting results reported. To assess the global impact of no tillage, we compiled a data set consisting of 59 publications, from which we extracted 167 observations for microarthropod abundance, 193 observations for Acari abundance, and 176 observations for Collembola abundance. Our findings revealed significant increases in soil microarthropods (27.1%), Acari (22.1%), and Collembola (32.3%) compared to conventional tillage under no tillage. The impact varied with soil texture, precipitation, and soil nutrient availability. Furthermore, to assess the impact of reduced tillage, we extracted 46 observations for microarthropod abundance, 64 observations for Acari abundance, and 27 observations for Collembola abundance. Reduced tillage also showed positive effects, with a 28.4% increase in soil microarthropods and a 53.7% increase in Acari compared to conventional tillage. Our research demonstrates the beneficial effects of no tillage and reduced tillage on soil microarthropod abundance. However, the positive effect of conservation tillage on soil microarthropods differed in magnitude Collembola and Acari. Conservation tillage should be encouraged, particularly in regions with poor soil nutrients and high precipitation, to prevent further decline in soil microarthropod abundance.

Graphical abstract

Keywords

no tillage / soil microarthropod / Acari / Collembola / meta-analysis

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Data availability

The authors affirm that additional primary data supporting the results of this study can be found in this article and its supplementary materials. Furthermore, supplementary data further supporting the findings of this research can be obtained from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

Code availability

Upon request, the corresponding authors can provide the custom codes used for all analyses.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Acknowledgments

We would like to express our sincere appreciation to Professor Lei Chen from Sichuan University for providing invaluable guidance throughout the process of data collection and analysis. We are grateful to Kaiyu Li, a Masterʼs student from the College of Agriculture, Guizhou University, for their assistance in extraction and analyzing climate data using ArcGIS software. This research was supported from the National Key Research and Development Program of China (2022YFD1500201), the National Science & Technology Fundamental Resources Investigation Program of China (2021FY100404 and 2018FY100300) and the Strategic Priority Research Program of Chinese Academy of Sciences (XDA28020201), Natural Science Foundation of Jilin Province (2022101185JC).

Electronic supplementary material

Supplementary material is available in the online version of this article at https://doi.org/10.1007/s42832-023-0208-0 and is accessible for authorized users.

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