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Soil Health: A Comparison Between Organically and Conventionally Managed Arable Soils in the Netherlands
A. D. van Diepeningen1, W. J. Blok1,
G. W. Korthals2 and A. H. C. van Bruggen1
Soils were analyzed using a polyphasic approach combining traditional soil analysis, culture-dependent and independent microbiological analyses, a nematode community analysis and an enquiry about different management practices among the farmers.
Organic management resulted in significantly lower levels of both nitrate
and total soluble nitrogen in the soil, higher numbers of bacteria of
different trophic groups, as well as larger species richness in both bacteria
and nematode communities and more resilience to a drying-rewetting disturbance
in the soil. All factors together indicating a higher level of soil health
under organic management.
© 2012, Organic Agriculture Centre of Canada (OACC)