Site Menu
Resources
Soil Health and Quality in Organic Systems: Soil Biology
- Resources
- Soils and Fertility
- Horticulture
- Field Crops
- Crop Rotation
- Pest Management
- Season Extension
- Seed Production and Plant Breeding
- Livestock
- Ecology and Environment
- Nutrition, Safety and Health of Organic Foods
- Post-harvest Handling, Storage and Processing
- Social Science
- Marketing and Economics
- Transition to Organic
- Canadian Organic Research Priorities
General resources on soil biology in organic systems
Practical Resources
- Diversity can be a good thing
- Top Crop Manager. 2012
- Increased microbial efficiency and growth drive soil organic matter increases in organic cropping systems
- US Organic Agriculture Research Symposium. 2015
- US Organic Agriculture Research Symposium. 2015
- Make Soil Organisms Work for You: Mythbusting practices that do and don’t work
- Biological Husbandry Unit Organics Trust's Future Farming Centre. 2013
- Measures of Soil Biology and Biological Activity
- eOrganic. 2012
- Soil Biology Builds Resilience in Organic Systems - Dr. Kristine Nichols
- Keynote Presentation at the 2016 Organic Connections Conference
- Soil life: Microbiology on the farm
- Rodale Instiutute. 2012
- Soil Microbial Interactions and Organic Farming [PDF – 662 kB]
- Organic Farming Research Foundation. 2016
Scientific Results
- Abundance of Soil-Borne Entomopathogenic Fungi in Organic and Conventional Fields in the Midwestern USA with an Emphasis on the Effect of Herbicides and Fungicides on Fungal Persistence
- PLoS ONE (2015) 10(7): e0133613
- Accounting for soil biotic effects on soil health and crop productivity in the design of crop rotations
- Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture (2015) 95: 447-454
- Altered food web structure and C-flux pathways associated with mineralisation of organic amendments to agricultural soil
- Applied Soil Ecology (2011) 48: 107-116
- Arable weeds, cover crops, and tillage drive soil microbial community composition in organic cropping systems
- Applied Soil Ecology (2013) 72: 232-241
- Assessment of Multiple Management Systems in the Upper Midwest
- Agronomy Journal (2013) 105: 1665-1675
- Agronomy Journal (2013) 105: 1665-1675
- Chemical properties, microbial biomass, and activity differ between soils of organic and conventional horticultural systems under greenhouse and open field management: a case study
- Journal of Soils and Sediments (2011) 11: 25-36
- Compost, rapeseed rotation, and biocontrol agents significantly impact soil microbial communities in organic and conventional potato production systems
- Applied Soil Ecology (2012) 52: 29-41
- Composted Dairy Manure and Alfalfa Hay Mulch Affect Soil Ecology and Early Production of ‘Braeburn’ Apple on M.9 Rootstock
- HortScience (2013) 48: 645-651
- Does soil biota benefit from organic farming in complex vs. simple landscapes?
- Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment (2011) 141: 210-214
- Effect of biochar amendment on soil carbon balance and soil microbial activity
- Soil Biology and Biochemistry (2009) 41: 1301-1310
- Effect of organic, conventional and mixed cultivation practices on soil microbial community structure and nematode abundance in a cultivated onion crop
- Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture (2013) 93: 3700-3709
- Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture (2013) 93: 3700-3709
- Effects of band-steaming on microbial activity and abundance in organic farming soil
- Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment (2010) 137: 223-230
- Effects of fertilizer and spatial heterogeneity in soil pH on microbial biomass indices in a long-term field trial of organic agriculture
- Plant and Soil (2010) 328: 203-215
- Effects of four tillage systems on soil structure and soil microbial biomass in organic farming
- Soil Use and Management (2009) 25: 1-10
- Soil Use and Management (2009) 25: 1-10
- Effects of organic amendment and tillage on soil microorganisms and microfauna
- Applied Soil Ecology (2010) 46: 103-110
- Effect of Organic Fertilizers on Regeneration of Biodiversity After Soil Steaming in Organic Glasshouses
- Organic Eprints. 2005
- Efficacy of Microbial Amendments on Vegetables in Greenhouse and Field Trials
- HortScience (2012) 47: 349-355
- Factors affecting soil microbial community structure in tomato cropping systems
- Soil Biology and Biochemistry (2010) 42: 831-841
- Fourteen years of evidence for positive effects of conservation agriculture and organic farming on soil life
- Agronomy for Sustainable Development (2015) 35: 169-181
- Functional Gene Differences in Soil Microbial Communities from Conventional, Low-Input, and Organic Farmlands
- Applied and Environmental Microbiology (2013) 79: 1284-1292
- Going with the flow: Landscape position drives differences in microbial biomass and activity in conventional, low input, and organic agricultural systems in the Midwestern U.S.
- Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment (2016) 218: 1-10
- Impact of cover crop in pre-plant of apple orchards: relationship between crop health, root inhabiting fungi and rhizospheric bacteria
- Canadian Journal of Plant Science (2015) 95: 947-958
- The impact of crop rotation on soil microbial diversity: A meta-analysis
- Pedobiologia (2016) 59: 215-223
- Labile factions of soil organic matter and microbial characteristics of soil under organic and conventional crop management systems
- Biological Agriculture & Horticulture (2016) 32: 1-6
- Linking microbial functional diversity of olive rhizosphere soil to management systems in commercial orchards in southern Spain
- Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment (2013) 181: 169-178
- Long-term copper application in an organic vineyard modifies spatial distribution of soil micro-organisms
- Soil Biology and Biochemistry (2013) 65: 245-253
- Long-term effects of organic farming on fungal and bacterial residues in relation to microbial energy metabolism
- Biology and Fertility of Soils (2010) 46:303-307
- Long-term organic farming fosters below and aboveground biota: Implications for soil quality, biological control and productivity
- Soil Biology and Biochemistry (2008) 40: 2297-2308
- Microbial biomass, activity, and community structure in horticultural soils under conventional and organic management strategies
- European Journal of Soil Biology (2013) 58: 122-128
- Microbial biomass and activity down the soil profile after long-term addition of addition of farmyard manure to a sandy soil
- Organic Agriculture (2018) 8:29-38
- Microbial biomass content and enzymatic activities after application of organic amendments to a horticultural soil
- Bioresource Technology (2000) 75: 43-48
- Microbial community assimilation of cover crop rhizodeposition within soil microenvironments in alternative and conventional cropping systems
- Plant and Soil (2012) 356: 315-330
- Microbial community composition and carbon cycling within soil microenvironments of conventional, low-input, and organic cropping systems
- Soil Biology and Biochemistry (2010) 43: 20-30
- Microbial community structure and abundance in the rhizosphere and bulk soil of a tomato cropping system that includes cover crops
- Applied Soil Ecology (2014) 77: 42-50
- Multifaceted beneficial effects of rhizosphere microorganisms on plant health and productivity
- Soil Biology & Biochemistry (2008) 40: 1733-1740
- Organic farming enhances soil microbial abundance and activity—A meta-analysis and meta-regression
- PLoS ONE (2017) 12(7): e0180442
- Organic farming induces changes in soil microbiota that affect agro-ecosystem functions
- Soil Biology and Biochemistry (2016) 103: 327-336
- Provision of contrasting ecosystem services by soil communities from different agricultural fields
- Plant and Soil (2012) 350: 43-55
- Rhizosphere effects on functional stability of microbial communities in conventional and organic soils following elevated temperature treatment
- Soil Biology and Biochemistry (2013) 57: 56-59
- Seasonal and long-term resource-related variations in soil microbial communities in wheat-based rotations of the Canadian prairie
- Soil Biology and Biochemistry (2006) 38: 2104-2116
- Selected soil biological parameters measured in the 19th year of a long term organic-conventional comparison study in Canada
- Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment (2016) 233: 343-351
- Soil biodiversity and human health
- Nature (2015) 528: 69-76
- Soil biota enhance agricultural sustainability by improving crop yield, nutrient uptake and reducing nitrogen leaching losses
- Journal of Applied Ecology (2015) 52: 228-239
- Soil fauna in sheep-grazed hill pastures under organic and conventional livestock management and in an adjacent ungrazed pasture
- Pedobiologia (2011) 54: 161-168
- The soil invertebrate contribution to nitrogen mineralisation differs between soils under organic and conventional dairy management
- Biology and Fertility of Soils (2012) 48: 31-42
- Soil Microbial Activity in Conventional and Organic Agricultural Systems
- Sustainability (2009) 1: 268-276
- Soil microbial biomass and activity in organic tomato farming systems: Effects of organic inputs and straw mulching
- Soil Biology & Biochemistry (2006) 38: 247-255
- Soil microbial biomass, functional microbial diversity, and nematode community structure as affected by cover crops and compost in an organic vegetable production system
- Applied Soil Ecology (2012) 58: 45-55
- Soil microbial biomass in organic farming systems
- Organic Eprints. 2013
- Organic Eprints. 2013
- The soil microbial community and grain micronutrient concentration of historical and modern hard red spring wheat cultivars grown organically and conventionally in the black soil zone of the Canadian Prairies
- Sustainability (2011) 3: 500-517
- Soil Microbial Community Structure and Organic Matter Transformation Processes in Organic and Integrated Farming Systems
- Organic Eprints. 2005
- Soil microbial diversity and activity linked to crop yield and quality in a dryland organic wheat production system
- Applied Soil Ecology (2016) 108: 258-268
- Soil microbial diversity and soil functioning affect competition among grasses in experimental microcosms
- Oecologia (2005) 143: 232-240.
- Soil microbial dynamics in organic (biodynamic) and integrated apple orchards
- Organic Agriculture (2012) 2: 1-11
- Soil microbial responses to winter legume cover crop management during organic transition
- European Journal of Soil Biology (2014) 65: 15-22
- Soil Microbial Substrate Properties and Microbial Community Responses under Irrigated Organic and Reduced-Tillage Crop and Forage Production Systems
- PLoS ONE 9(8): e103901
- Soil Microbiome Is More Heterogeneous in Organic Than in Conventional Farming System
- Frontiers in Microbiology (2017) 7: 2064
- Soil Micro-Organisms as influenced by Farming Systems and Management Practices
- Organic Eprints. 2014
- Spring wheat genotypes differentially alter soil microbial communities and wheat breadmaking quality in organic and conventional systems
- Canadian Journal of Plant Science (2011) 91: 485-495
- Surface application of mulches and biosolids affect orchard soil properties after 7 years
- Canadian Journal of Soil Science (2003) 83: 131-137
- Thirty-seven years of soil nitrogen and phosphorus fertility management shapes the structure and function of the soil microbial community in a Brown Chernozem
- Plant and Soil (2009) 315: 173-184
- Trophic structure and major trophic links in conventional versus organic farming systems as indicated by carbon stable isotope ratios of fatty acids
- Oikos (2009) 118: 1579-1589.
- Weed Seed Persistence and Microbial Abundance in Long-Term Organic and Conventional Cropping Systems
- Weed Science (2011) 59: 202-209