Beneficial effects of conservation agriculture on earthworm and Collembola communities in Northern France

Aim Conservation agriculture is increasingly adopted to improve soil fertility and reduce the depressive effects of intensive farming on soil functions and associated services. However, conservation agriculture systems may vary greatly regarding time since conversion to this system and the quality and biomass production of cover crops. In addition, the effects of these variables on soil fauna are still poorly known. Here, we aim to gain insight into the impact of conservation agriculture on soil mesofauna and macrofauna communities at the cropping system level. Method Collembola and earthworm communities were compared in seven neighbouring pairs of fields (same topography, spring crop and soil type) being either under conventional systems or under conservation agriculture systems with cover crops. Results Conservation agriculture systems influenced soil mesofauna and macrofauna communities compared to conventional systems. The beneficial effects of conservation agriculture on earthworm communities may predominantly be related to the lower soil physical disturbance (no-tillage) while Collembola may also be positively affected by cover crops characteristics and time since conversion to conservation agriculture. Conclusions The adoption of conservation agriculture systems may improve earthworm and Collembola abundance and represents thus an innovative opportunity for sustainable crop production through the preservation of soil fauna. Finally, we suggest the use of a trait-based approach to draw functional consequences of soil faunal community changes operating in conservation agriculture.