Agroecology and organic farming foster soil health by promoting soil fauna

Abstract

Agriculture is the main human land use that modifies the environment. The industrial paradigm is the current predominant agricultural model in the Pampean region of Argentina. Its sustainability is being questioned since the detection of soil degradation and water and food pollution. We aimed to assess if alternative farming systems foster soil health-indicated by soil fauna-compared to industrial systems in the Pampean region of Argentina. We sampled soil meso and macrofauna in fields under agroecology (AEC), organic farming (ORG), industrial agriculture (IND) and semi-natural grasslands (GRA). Most functionally relevant faunal groups, ecosystem engineers, litter transformers and predators were more abundant in AEC and ORG than in IND. Mean earthworm biomass was 8 and 2 times greater in AEC and ORG than in IND, respectively. Our results suggest a better development of nutrient cycling and soil structure formation in the alternative systems than in the industrial; together with a better preservation of soil health, crucial for achieving sustainability. We think that recognizing the negative impact of the current model on soil health is a necessary step to promote a change toward agricultural systems that are more socially and environmentally sustainable, in Argentina and also in other Latin American countries that face similar situations.