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CC BY V4.0, Open Access
Journal article
Herbal leys have no effect on soil porosity, earthworm abundance, and microbial community composition compared to a grass-clover ley in a sheep grazed grassland after 2-years
Agriculture, ecosystems & environment, Vol.365, 108928
2024
Abstract
Herbal leys (multispecies swards) can potentially deliver greater agronomic and environmental benefits than conventional grass-clover swards in grazed agroecosystems. However, despite their popularity in agri-environment schemes, little is known about the effect of herbal leys on soil physical (e.g., porosity), chemical (e.g., carbon), and biological (e.g., soil fauna) characteristics. In the UK, a 2-ha replicated-field experiment utilising a herbal or grass-clover ley (n = 3 per sward) aimed to investigate the effect of sward type on soil quality. Each sward was rotationally grazed by weaned lambs (3.2 LU ha−1) over two grazing seasons, with soil physiochemical and biological characteristics assessed after 2-years using techniques such as X-ray micro-Computed Tomography (µCT) and microbial shallow shotgun sequencing. Soil chemical characteristics (e.g., pH) were unaffected by sward type. Similarly, topsoil (0–10 cm) organic carbon stocks measured after 2-years did not differ between the herbal (26.1 ± 1.1 t C ha−1) and grass-clover ley (25.7 ± 1.1 t C ha−1). X-ray µCT analysis revealed greater pore connectivity (Euler number) in grass-clover ley intact soil cores (0–10 cm depth, 7.5 cm width) than herbal ley cores dominated by Plantago lanceolata (p = 0.008). However, there was no sward-type difference in aggregate stability or general pore characteristics, determined using X-ray µCT, in air-dried 4 mm aggregates obtained from 0–5 or 5–10 cm depth, nor did sward type affect earthworm abundance, microbial community composition or the functional gene profile. This study is the first to explore the effects of a commercial herbal ley on physical, chemical, and biological soil quality indicators in a rotationally grazed sheep pasture. While no improvements in soil quality indicators were observed after 2-years, these findings have significant implications for agri-environment schemes promoting herbal leys to achieve soil quality and sustainability, with further research needed to optimise the seed mixture and management regime to deliver greater long-term below-ground ecosystem service benefits.
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Details
- Title
- Herbal leys have no effect on soil porosity, earthworm abundance, and microbial community composition compared to a grass-clover ley in a sheep grazed grassland after 2-years
- Authors/Creators
- Emily C. Cooledge - Bangor UniversityCraig J. Sturrock - University of NottinghamBrian S. Atkinson - University of NottinghamSacha J. Mooney - University of NottinghamFrancesca L. Brailsford - Murdoch University, Centre for Sustainable Farming SystemsDaniel V. Murphy - Murdoch University, Centre for Sustainable Farming SystemsJonathan R. Leake - University of SheffieldDavid R. Chadwick - Bangor UniversityDavey L. Jones - Murdoch University, Centre for Sustainable Farming Systems
- Publication Details
- Agriculture, ecosystems & environment, Vol.365, 108928
- Publisher
- Elsevier B.V
- Identifiers
- 991005638869207891
- Copyright
- © 2024 The Author(s).
- Murdoch Affiliation
- Centre for Sustainable Farming Systems
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Journal article
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- Collaboration types
- Domestic collaboration
- International collaboration
- Citation topics
- 3 Agriculture, Environment & Ecology
- 3.45 Soil Science
- 3.45.112 Soil Carbon Dynamics
- Web Of Science research areas
- Agriculture, Multidisciplinary
- Ecology
- Environmental Sciences
- ESI research areas
- Environment/Ecology