Soil Biology and Monitoring Environmental Change - CIEEM · Soil Biology and Monitoring Environmental Change “ Generations have trod, have trod, have trod And all is seared with

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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Alice Holt25

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Cairngorms

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• 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

Assessing soils and soil biology

• 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

Assessing soils and soil biology

• Field observations

• Photograph

• Main plant spp.

cover to 5%

• Biogenic

structures

• Soil pit – photo,

horizons, visual

assessment.

Assessing soils and soil biology

• Cores taken, bulked and

analysed for

• Bulk density

• %C, %N

• Loss On Ignition

• pH

• CEC and cations

• Olsen and Total P

Assessing soils and soil biology

• On unbulked cores

• Soil function and biology

• NO3 and NH4

mineralisation

• PLFAs

• tRFLP – bacterial

genetic diversity.

• Nematodes

• Mesofauna.

Assessing soils and soil biology

• 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 – physico-chemical

Baseline results – physico-chemical

Baseline results – soil function: N mineralisation

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