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Soil Biology and Monitoring

Environmental Change

Matthew Shepherd

Senior Specialist, Soil Biodiversity, Natural England

Soil Biology and Monitoring Environmental Change

“ Generations have trod, have trod, have trod

And all is seared with trade; bleared, smeared with toil

And wears man’s smudge and shares man’s smell: the soil

Is bare now, nor can foot feel, being shod.

And for all this, nature is never spent...”

Gerard Manley Hopkins, 1877

Soil Biology and Monitoring Environmental Change

• A new long-term monitoring programme

• Assessing soils and soil biology

• Baseline results

• Implications for soil monitoring and function

• Soil biodiversity – an end in itself?

Long-term Monitoring

Programme

Glensaugh

Sourhope

Porton

Wytham

North Wyke

Drayton

Y Wyddfa

(Snowdon)

Rothamsted

Hillsborough Moor House - Upper Teesdale

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13

16

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1

1921

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NOP

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18

Alice Holt25

2324

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Cairngorms

20

• Builds on ECN

• What are long-term

effects on biodiversity

and ecosystem function

of:

� climate change

� air pollution

� land management

• Environmental Change

Biodiversity Network

proposed

• Develop cost effective,

integrated monitoring

to 2050 and beyond.

• 40 or more core monitoring sites in England by end 2014.

• Built on existing monitoring

• 20 current core sites – all SSSI, mostly NNRs and SACs.

• Data will be managed by CEH

Long-term Monitoring

Programme

• Climate and air quality

• Automatic weather station

• NH3 diffusion tubes

• Precipitation and chemistry

• Biodiversity

• Butterflies (BMS)

• Birds (BBS)

• Vegetation - 50 quadrats,

spp. cover, height, etc.

Long-term Monitoring Programme

Assessing soils and soil biology

• How to integrate soils?

• ECN - soil physico-chemical

properties

• Make compatible and follow

advice:

• SQuID project - biological

indicators of soil quality

• Countryside survey – soil

monitoring

• UK SIC – environmental

interactions

• New soil methodology trialled at

9 sites 2011-2012


• Five 20m square

plots marked out

in homogeneous

vegetation

• Each divided into

100 2m square

subplots

• Assessments

made in field

• Samples taken

for lab analysis

• Most samples

bulked from 4

sub-plots


• Field observations

• Photograph

• Main plant spp.

cover to 5%

• Biogenic

structures

• Soil pit – photo,

horizons, visual

assessment.


• Cores taken, bulked and

analysed for

• Bulk density

• %C, %N

• Loss On Ignition

• pH

• CEC and cations

• Olsen and Total P


• On unbulked cores

• Soil function and biology

• NO3 and NH4

mineralisation

• PLFAs

• tRFLP – bacterial

genetic diversity.

• Nematodes

• Mesofauna.


• Project delivered by Helaina

Black, Andrew Cuthbert, Jason

Owen, Roy Neilson et al at the

James Hutton Institute

• Fieldwork in collaboration

with SAC

• Intended for Sept –delays

meant Dec – Jan fieldwork

• Weather, flood, disease!

• Mesofauna and nematodes

will be ID’ed during coming

year

• NE staff and volunteers

trained at new FSC course

Baseline results – physico-chemical

• Sig. between-

site differences

for almost all

parameters

• Physico-

chemical results

not too

surprising!

Baseline results – physico-chemical

Baseline results – soil function: N mineralisation

Baseline results – soil function: C storage

Baseline results – soil biology: PLFA’s

Baseline results – soil biology : PLFA’s

Baseline results – soil biology: tRFLP

Baseline results – interactions

Implications for soil monitoring and soil function

• What size of changes can we detect?

– pH – ~0.4 pH units

– ~20% change in bulk density

– Over 100% change in NH4 mineralised!

– tRFLP - 7% change in evenness, 12% change in richness

– PLFA – 35-50% changes - better than soil cations!

• Soil physico-chemical properties change slowly

– detect change of habitats? Easier ways...

• Soil biological properties may be more sensitive

• Soil function – little evidence so far

• Future - link above and below-ground changes

• Recent NE review – what practices and systems could provide

benefits to soil biota and agriculture?

– Organic matter management

– Reduced or no-till

– Diversification of cropping

• Much evidence from disparate and non-UK sources

• Coordinated UK research/demonstrations needed

Implications for soil monitoring and soil function

• Soil biology a sensitive indicator...

• Different habitats have distinct soil communities

• Soil biodiversity is now better understood than ever

• Expertise is waning – can new technologies be used?

• Some groups are simply neglected – traditional conservation?

• Others (eg. microbes) may require new genetic approaches

Workshop on Conservation of Soil Organisms,

July 12th, Natural History Museum, London.

Soil biodiversity – an end in itself?

Thank you!

Helaina Black, Andrew Cuthbert, Jason Owen, Roy Neilson

Andy Nisbet, Sarah Escott, Christine Innes

David Harding, Peter Shaw