Project number: 18.00.19.05.01

Soil Ecological Engineering – Making Better Use of Soil Ecosystem Services

With its great diversity and mass of living organisms, the soil forms an important basis for agricultural production. The impact of soil biota on important ecosystem functions (e.g. plant nutrient uptake, nutrient losses (leaching) and carbon sequestration) is only partly understood.

This project focuses on the use of all agricultural engineering strategies for improving soil functions with a view to optimising soil ecosystem services (so-called ‘ecological soil engineering’). Here, we are looking in particular for cultivation methods having a favourable impact on soil diversity and the population dynamics of beneficial soil organisms, in order to improve production systems in terms of sustainability and resource efficiency.

Saghaï A., Banjeree S., Degrune F., Edlinger A., García‐Palacios P., Garland G., van der Heijden M., Herzog C., Maestre F. T., Pescador D. S., Philippot L., Rillig M. C., Romdhane S., Hallin S.
Diversity of archaea and niche preferences among putative ammonia‐oxidizing Nitrososphaeria dominating across European arable soils.
Environmental Microbiology, 24, (1), 2022, 341-356.

Liu Y., Bachofen C., Wittwer R., Silva Duarte G., Sun Q., Klaus V. H., Buchmann N.
Using PhenoCams to track crop phenology and explain the effects of different cropping systems on yield.
Agricultural Systems, 195, 2022, 103306.

Krauss M., Wiesmeier M., Don A., Cuperus F., Gattinger A., Gruber S., Haagsma W.K., Peigné J., Palazzoli M., Schulz F., van der Heijden M., Vincent-Caboud L., Wittwer R., Zikeli S., Steffens M.
Reduced tillage in organic farming affects soil organic carbon stocks in temperate Europe.
Soil & Tillage Research, 216, 2022, 105262.

Vaishnav A., Singh H. B.
New and future developments in microbial biotechnology and bioengineering: Sustainable agriculture: Microorganisms as biostimulants.
Elsevier, Amsterdam. 2021, 392 pp.

Krauss, M., Chiodelli Palazzoli, M., Cuperus, F., Don, A., Gattinger, A., Gruber, S., Haagsma, W., Hegewald, F., Peigné, J., Schulz, F., van der Heijden M., Vincent-Caboud, L., Wiesmeier, M., Wittwer R., Zikeli, S. and others
Carbon sequestration by organic conservation tillage – A comprehensive sampling campaign in nine european long-term trials.
In: Organic World Congress. 21-27.09.2020, Publ. IFOAM Organics International, Rennes, France. 2021.

Charles, R., Büchi, L., Walder F., Colombi, T., Keller T., Banerjee, S., Six, J., van der Heijden M.
Evaluating the strengths and weakness of conventional, no-till and organic cropping systems: an assessment of yield, soil protection and environmental performance.
In: Organic World Congress. 21-27.09.2020, Publ. IFOAM Organics International, Rennes, France. 2021.

Rashid.M., Vaishnav A., Verma R. K. , Sharma P., Suprasanna P., Gaur R. K.
Epigenetic regulation of salinity stress responses in cereals.
Molecular Biology Reports, online, (12 November), 2021, 1-12.

Wittwer R., Bender S. F., Hartman K., Hydbom S., Lima R.A.A., Loaiza V., Nemecek T., Oehl F., Olsson P.A., Petchey O., Prechsl U.E., Schlaeppi K., Scholten T., Seitz S., Six J. and others
Organic and conservation agriculture promote ecosystem multifunctionality.
Science Advances, 7, (34), 2021.

Fehr, M., Lutz M., Bender S. F.
Mehr Gemüseertrag durch Mykorrhiza.
Der Gemüsebau / Le Maraîcher, 2, 2021, 41.

Petersen-Rockney M., Baur P., Guzman A., Bender S. F., Calo A., Castillo F., De Master K., Dumont A., Esquivel K., Kremen C., LaChance J., Mooshammer M., Ory J., Price M.J., Socolar Y. and others
Narrow and brittle or broad and nimble? Comparing adaptive capacity in simplifying and diversifying farming systems.
Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems, 5, 2021, 1-30.

Yang B., Banerjee S., Herzog C., Corona Ramírez A., Dahlin P., van der Heijden M.
Impact of land use type and organic farming on the abundance, diversity, community composition and functional properties of soil nematode communities in vegetable farming.
Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment, 318, 2021, Article 107488.

Wittwer R., van der Heijden M.
Produktivität und Ökologie vereinen: FAST-Versuch Agroscope: Direktsaat, biologischer und konventioneller Ackerbau im Vergleich.
Landwirtschaft ohne Pflug, Sonderheft, 2020, 60-64.

Herzog C., Edlinger A., Walder F., van der Heijden M.
Kompost zur Förderung der Bodenqualität.
Compostmagazine, 2, 2020, 3-6.

Edlinger A., Saghaï A., Herzog C., Degrune F., Garland G.
Towards a multidimensional view of biodiversity and ecosystem functioning in a changing world.
New Phytologist, 228, (3), 2020, 820-822.

Garland G., Banerjee S., Edlinger A., Oliveira Hagen E., Herzog C., Wittwer R., Philippot L., Maestre F. T., van der Heijden M.
A closer look at the functions behind ecosystem multifunctionality: A review.
Journal of Ecology, online, (5 October), 2020, 1-14.

Jia Y., van der Heijden M., Wagg C., Gu F., Walder F.
Symbiotic soil fungi enhance resistance and resilience of an experimental grassland to drought and nitrogen deposition.
Journal of Ecology, online, (9 October), 2020, 1-11.

Bender S. F., van der Heijden M.
Biodiversität schützen, weil sie unsere Teller füllt.
Hotspot, 41, 2020, 19.

Herzog C., Edlinger A., Walder F., van der Heijden M.
Effekte der Kompostanwendung auf den Boden - Erkenntnisse aus Erhebungen auf 59 Betrieben.
In: Humusaufbau in der Praxis - AGRIDEA. 17.September, Heimenhausen BE. 2020.

Herzog C., Held A., Amstutz D. L., Fuchs J., Mayer J., Walder F., van der Heijden M.
Kompost Feld-Experiment Ehrendingen.
In: Flurbegehung: Humusaufbau in 20 Jahren Humuswirtschaft. 14. August, Betrieb Oberbrämen, 6313 Menzingen. 2020.

Herzog C., Edlinger A., Fuchs J., Mayer J., Walder F., van der Heijden M.
Auswirkungen der Kompostanwendung auf landwirtschaftliche Böden: eine Praxisstudie mit 59 Betrieben.
In: Flurbegehung: Humusaufbau in 20 Jahren Humuswirtschaft. 14. August, Betrieb Oberbrämen, 6313 Menzingen. 2020.

Herzog C.
Kompost hilft den Böden.
Schweizer Bauer, 13. Juni, 2020, 20.

Herzog C.
Kompost für mehr Kohlenstoff im Boden: Eine Praxisstudie von Agroscope zeigt: Kompost kann unabhängig vom Anbausystem einen Beitrag leisten, um die Kohlenstoffgehalte im Boden zu erhöhen.
Bioaktuell, 2, 2020, 12-13.
other Languages: french

Wittwer R., van der Heijden M.
Cover crops as a tool to reduce reliance on intensive tillage and nitrogen fertilization in conventional arable cropping systems.
Field Crops Research, 249, (1 April), 2020, 1-11.

Kang F., Yang B., Wujisiguleng, Yang X., Wang L., Guo J., Sun W., Zhang Q., Zhang T.
Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi alleviate the negative effect of nitrogen deposition on ecosystem functions in meadow grassland.
Land Degradation & Development, online, (13 November), 2019, 1-12.

Schuck J.
Wachsen in der Schweiz bald Bananen statt Birnen?: Dürresommer stimmen Forscher nachdenklich.
Blickwinkel, Frühling, 2019, 20-21.

Reimer M., Ringselle B., Bergkvist G., Westaway S., Wittwer R., Baresel J. P., van der Heijden M., Mangerud K., Finckh M. R., Brandsæter L. O.
Interactive effects of subsidiary crops and weed pressure in the transition period to non-inversion tillage, a case study of six sites across northern and Central Europe.
Agronomy, 9, (9), 2019, 1-22.

Puerta V. L., Six J., Wittwer R., van der Heijden M., Pujol Pereira E. I.
Comparable bacterial-mediated nitrogen supply and losses under organic reduced tillage and conventional intensive tillage.
European Journal of Soil Biology, 95, (November–December), 2019, 1-7.

Puerta, V. L., Pujol Pereira E., Huang P., Wittwer R., Six J.
Soil microhabitats mediate microbial response in organic reduced tillage cropping.
Applied Soil Ecology, 137, (May), 2019, 39-48.

Herzog C., Honegger A., Hegglin D., Wittwer R., de Ferron A., Verbruggen E., Jeanneret P., Schloter M., Banerjee S., van der Heijden M.
Crop yield, weed cover and ecosystem multifunctionality are not affected by the duration of organic management.
Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment, 284, (106596), 2019, 1-11.

Herzog C., Lessard-Therrien M., van der Heijden M., Arlettaz R., Humbert J.-Y.
The impact of mountain hay meadow management on litter decomposition and root colonization by arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi.
Grassland Science in Europe, 24, 2019, 452-454.

Bender S.F., Schläppi K., Held A., van der Heijden M.
Establishment success and crop growth effects of an arbuscular mycorrhizal fungus inoculated into Swiss corn fields.
Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment, 273, 2019, 13-24.

Seitz S., Goebes P., Puerta V.L., Pereira E.I.P., Wittwer R., Six J., van der Heijden M., Scholten T.
Conservation tillage and organic farming reduce soil erosion.
Agronomy for Sustainable Development, 2019, Artikel 545.

Wittwer R., van der Heijden M.
Direktsaat, biologischer und konventioneller Ackerbau im Vergleich: Produktivität und Ökologie vereinen.
Landwirtschaft ohne Pflug, 11, 2018, 27-31.

Wittwer R., van der Heijden M.
Bio, Direktsaat oder ÖLN?
Landfreund, 06, 2018, 24-25.

van der Heijden M.
How to manage our land: soil multifunctionality in an agricultural context.
In: German soil research initiative BonaRes “Soil as a Sustainable Resource". 27. Februar, Berlin. 2018.

Knapp S., van der Heijden M.
A global meta-analysis of yield stability in organic and conservation agriculture.
Nature Communications, 9, (3632), 2018, 1-9.

Banerjee S., Thrall PH, Bissett A, van der Heijden M., Richardson AE
Linking microbial co‐occurrences to soil ecological processes across a woodland‐grassland ecotone.
Ecology and Evolution, 8, 2018, 8217-8230.

Dennert F., Imperiali N., Staub C., Schneider J., Laessle T., Zhang T., Wittwer R., van der Heijden M., Smits T.H.M., Schläppi K., Keel C., Maurhofer M.
Conservation tillage and organic farming induce minor variations in Pseudomonas abundance, their antimicrobial function and soil disease resistance.
FEMS Microbiology Ecology, 94, (8), 2018, 1-16.

Papp R., Marinari S., Moscatelli M.C., van der Heijden M., Wittwer R., Campiglia E., Radicetti E., Mancinelli R., Fradgley N., Pearce B., Bergkvist G., Finckh M.R.
Short-term changes in soil biochemical properties as affected by subsidiary crop cultivation in four European pedo-climatic zones.
Soil & Tillage Research, 180, (August), 2018, 126-136.

Necpalova M., Lee J., Skinner C., Büchi L., Wittwer R., Gattinger A., van der Heijden M., Mäder P., Charles R., Berner A., Mayer J., Six J.
Potentials to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions from Swiss agriculture.
Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment, 265, 2018, 84-102.

Schweizer S.A., Seitz B., van der Heijden M., Schulin R., Tandy S.
Impact of organic and conventional farming systems on wheat grain uptake and soil bioavailability of zinc and cadmium.
Science of the Total Environment, 639, 2018, 608-616.

Wagg C., Dudenhöffer J.-H., Widmer F., van der Heijden M.
Linking diversity, synchrony and stability in soil microbial communities.
Functional Ecology, (32), 2018, 1280-1292.

Mariotte P., Mehrabi Z., Bezemer M., De Deyn G.B., Kulmatiski A., Drigo B., Veen G.F.C., van der Heijden M., Kardol P.
Plant-Soil Feedback: Bridging Natural and Agricultural Sciences.
Trends in Ecology & Evolution, (33), 2018, 129-142.

Radicetti E., Baresel J.P., El-Haddoury E.J., Finckh M.R., Mancinelli R., Schmidt J.H., Thami Alami I., Udupa S.M., van der Heijden M., Wittwer R., Campiglia E.
Wheat performance with subclover living mulch in different agroenvironmental conditions depends on crop management.
European Journal of Agronomy, 94, 2018, 36-45.

Šišić A., Baćanović-Šišić J., Karlovsky P., Wittwer R., Walder F., Campiglia E., Radicetti E., Friberg H., Baresel J. P., Finckh M. R.
Roots of symptom-free leguminous cover crop and living mulch species harbor diverse Fusarium communities that show highly variable aggressiveness on pea (Pisum sativum).
PLOS ONE, 13, (2), 2018, 1-19.

Loaiza Puerta V., Pujol Pereira E. I., Wittwer R., van der Heijden M., Six J.
Improvement of soil structure through organic crop management, conservation tillage and grass-clover ley.
Soil and Tillage Research, 180, (August), 2018, 1-9.

Wittwer R., Walder F., Büchi L., Schläppi K., Banerjee S., Hirte J., Mayer J., Colombi T., Keller T., Preschl U., Nemecek T., Seitz S., Schloten T., Loaiza Puerta V., Six J. and others
Bodenfunktionen und Multifunktionalität unter ÖLN-, biologischer und bodenkonservierender Bewirtschaftung.
In: 5. Agroscope-Nachhaltigkeitstagung: Multifunktionelle Böden für Landwirtschaft und Umwelt. 18.01.2018, Reckenholz - Agroscope. 2018, 1-14.

Schmidt J., Bergkvist G., Campiglia E., Radicetti E., Wittwer R., Finckh M., Hallmann J.
Effect of tillage, subsidiary crops and fertilisation on plant-parasitic nematodes in a range of agro-environmental conditions within Europe.
Annals of Applied Biology, 171, 2017, 477-489.

Wittwer R., Dorn B., Jossi W., van der Heijden M.
Cover crops support ecological intensification of arable cropping systems.
Scientific Reports, 7, 2017, 41911.