Application of using predatory mesofauna diversity as indicators of the impact of regenerative pastoral farming on soil health
Research Details
Hypothesis: There will be a positive correlation between land use practices linked to regenerative farming and the diversity of predatory invertebrate mesofauna, due to an improvement in soil health associated with these practices.
Outline of Study: The goal of this study is to test the hypothesis that regenerative agriculture practices will impact the diversity of predatory mesofauna and that this can be used as a quantitative biological measure of soil health.
Comparison of Farm Sites: Land use practices associated with regenerative farming will be recorded at 20 paired sites practicing regenerative or traditional farming. The aspects of land use demonstrating the adoption of regenerative farming are:
The paired sites would be two paddocks (of similar size, location and soil type) where the above criteria are well represented (regenerative farm) or poorly represented (conventional farm). Each aspect of land use will be scored out of 25, to obtain an accumulative score out of 100. This score is then used as an indicator of the adoption of regenerative farming practices.
The goal is not a detailed analysis of all variables that are involved in being regenerative (which would be difficult to do as it is not well defined), but to pick aspects of land use and farm management that most significantly indicate the adoption of this approach to farming.
An Indicator of Soil Health: At each of the 20 paired sample sites the hypothesis that improved soil health linked to adoption of regenerative farming will be demonstrated in an increased diversity of predatory mesofauna (beetles, spiders and similar functional invertebrate predators) will be tested.
This will be tested using invertebrates collected using pitfall traps in May 2022 (pilot) and May 2023 (main study).
This approach to determining soil health has recently been suggested as an approach to support adoption of regenerative farming practices. This is because this group represents an easily sampled, widely dispersed fauna group that has been demonstrated to be sensitive to land use practices and reflective of improvements (or deterioration) of soil health.
At each site the diversity of predatory mesofauna will be measured and compared to two other biological indicators of soil health – the abundance of earthworms and proportion of soil formed into aggregates. Both earthworms and soil aggregates are commonly used as biological indicators of soil health and are included as positive controls of the correlation between the diversity of predatory mesofauna and soil health resulting from the farming practices adopted.
Application of Study: A key outcome of this study will be developing a method to assess the health of agricultural soil using an easy to use sampling method that can be adopted by farmers and other land users to provide guidance on how their farming practices impact soil health. The data can also be used by farmers in their environmental reporting and storytelling to consumers to demonstrate the quality of their produce and farm practices.
Research Team: This study will be based upon a Ph.D. Study through Massey University and be comprised of the following research team:
Impact of Study: There is a pressing need for the development of quantitative soil health assessments to assist the sustainable management of agricultural soils. Healthy agricultural soils are needed to sustain their continued capacity to function as vital living ecosystem that sustains plants, animals, humans, and to connect agricultural science to policy, stakeholder needs and sustainable supply-chain management.
It has been highlighted in several international workshops on sustainable agriculture that due to the importance of soil macrofauna in the formation of soil and protection against soil degradation, that they could play a crucial role as indicators of soil health. The principal job of indicators is capturing underlying changes in ecosystem function and integrity. Any species used in this role needs to be sensitive to disturbance and therefore demonstrate a negative effect of management on the functioning of the ecosystem.
Improving the health of the soil will act in support long-term sustainable yields in ways that are aligned to a regenerative ethos for farm husbandry. NZ has traditionally targeted high value export markets that appreciate good quality primary products. Transitioning NZ farmers to regenerative practices will keep our farmers ahead of global trends in these markets toward organic, nutrient-dense, and regeneratively farmed products. Simultaneously, it also lowers production costs and reduces or eliminates use of harmful agrochemicals.
Outline of Study: The goal of this study is to test the hypothesis that regenerative agriculture practices will impact the diversity of predatory mesofauna and that this can be used as a quantitative biological measure of soil health.
Comparison of Farm Sites: Land use practices associated with regenerative farming will be recorded at 20 paired sites practicing regenerative or traditional farming. The aspects of land use demonstrating the adoption of regenerative farming are:
- Farm heterogeneity (the variety of landscapes on that farm)
- Pasture diversity
- Pasture recovery between grazing cycles
- Incorporation of trees
The paired sites would be two paddocks (of similar size, location and soil type) where the above criteria are well represented (regenerative farm) or poorly represented (conventional farm). Each aspect of land use will be scored out of 25, to obtain an accumulative score out of 100. This score is then used as an indicator of the adoption of regenerative farming practices.
The goal is not a detailed analysis of all variables that are involved in being regenerative (which would be difficult to do as it is not well defined), but to pick aspects of land use and farm management that most significantly indicate the adoption of this approach to farming.
An Indicator of Soil Health: At each of the 20 paired sample sites the hypothesis that improved soil health linked to adoption of regenerative farming will be demonstrated in an increased diversity of predatory mesofauna (beetles, spiders and similar functional invertebrate predators) will be tested.
This will be tested using invertebrates collected using pitfall traps in May 2022 (pilot) and May 2023 (main study).
This approach to determining soil health has recently been suggested as an approach to support adoption of regenerative farming practices. This is because this group represents an easily sampled, widely dispersed fauna group that has been demonstrated to be sensitive to land use practices and reflective of improvements (or deterioration) of soil health.
At each site the diversity of predatory mesofauna will be measured and compared to two other biological indicators of soil health – the abundance of earthworms and proportion of soil formed into aggregates. Both earthworms and soil aggregates are commonly used as biological indicators of soil health and are included as positive controls of the correlation between the diversity of predatory mesofauna and soil health resulting from the farming practices adopted.
Application of Study: A key outcome of this study will be developing a method to assess the health of agricultural soil using an easy to use sampling method that can be adopted by farmers and other land users to provide guidance on how their farming practices impact soil health. The data can also be used by farmers in their environmental reporting and storytelling to consumers to demonstrate the quality of their produce and farm practices.
Research Team: This study will be based upon a Ph.D. Study through Massey University and be comprised of the following research team:
- Richard Pedley– Main Researcher (conducting Ph.D. thesis): Richard is the founder of Regenpreneur – that provides online courses on regenerative farm design Permaculture Design Certificate). He has 20 years teaching experience in agriculture, horticulture, science and ecology and 4 years research experience in biological control of pest invertebrates.
- Dr Maria Minor - Ecology at Massey University (supervisor): Maria is a senior lecturer in ecology at Massey University that specialises in soil communities and ecosystem function; impacts of land management practices on soil invertebrate biodiversity and has supervised a number of Ph.D. studies on these topics.
- Dr Gwen Grelet - Regenerative Farming specialist at LandCare Research (supervisor): Gwen is a leading scientist in regenerative agriculture in New Zealand and has 20 years’ experience in research of ecology, genetics soil food webs and agricultural landscapes.
- Dr Lydia Cranston - Agriculture at Massey University (co-supervisor): Lydia is a senior Lecturer in Sheep production Systems. Her research specialisations include pasture production and grazing management, animal nutrition, growth and production and farm system integration.
Impact of Study: There is a pressing need for the development of quantitative soil health assessments to assist the sustainable management of agricultural soils. Healthy agricultural soils are needed to sustain their continued capacity to function as vital living ecosystem that sustains plants, animals, humans, and to connect agricultural science to policy, stakeholder needs and sustainable supply-chain management.
It has been highlighted in several international workshops on sustainable agriculture that due to the importance of soil macrofauna in the formation of soil and protection against soil degradation, that they could play a crucial role as indicators of soil health. The principal job of indicators is capturing underlying changes in ecosystem function and integrity. Any species used in this role needs to be sensitive to disturbance and therefore demonstrate a negative effect of management on the functioning of the ecosystem.
Improving the health of the soil will act in support long-term sustainable yields in ways that are aligned to a regenerative ethos for farm husbandry. NZ has traditionally targeted high value export markets that appreciate good quality primary products. Transitioning NZ farmers to regenerative practices will keep our farmers ahead of global trends in these markets toward organic, nutrient-dense, and regeneratively farmed products. Simultaneously, it also lowers production costs and reduces or eliminates use of harmful agrochemicals.
What is Regenerative Farming
There is a strong trend in New Zealand, and internationally, towards adopting farming practices that have a more benign environmental impact and produce foods that are nutrient rich and organic However, information and support for farmers to adopt sustainable organic production is sparse.
Regenerative farming seeks to adopt practices that replicate the function of comparable natural systems, restore the health of the soil and preserve diversity. The development of sustainable business is a clear goal globally (and especially within New Zealand) so that trade and commerce can be supported, and quality of life maintained in a way that does not degrade natural habitats and honours nurturing the creative potential within people and supporting healthy workplace relationships.
Regenerative design is where the output of a system improves the health and resiliency of that system over time. This is achieved by positive feedback loops linked to production that function to strengthen that system. The characteristics of a regenerative system are having a functional diversity of inter-connected elements in ways that mirror the communities of plants and animals in ecosystems. A regenerative system is characterised by its complexity and inter-connectivity that replicates the function of natural ecosystems.
Key concepts behind regenerative design are described below:
The momentum behind adopting these strategies is the increasing recognition that conventional methods of farming are doing harm to our environment, to livestock, and to people. The agricultural sector in NZ contributes 48% of our greenhouse gas emissions. The Ministry for the Environment’s 2019 Environment Aotearoa report states that waterways in farming areas are polluted by excess nutrients, pathogens, and sediment.
NZ is not alone in facing these challenges. The environmental effects of conventional farming on an industrial scale are being felt across the world, threatening the stability of our planet’s climate and natural capital, placing the global food system at a critical juncture.
Regenerative agriculture on the other hand is not just about reducing harm - but seeks to improve the health of the land, waterways, the animals that live on it, and people that benefit from it. Taking a whole-system approach, it encourages farmers to pay close attention to what individual pastures, fields, gardens, and plots of land need in order to function more like natural ecosystems, while simultaneously seeking to improve farmer wellbeing and animal welfare.
Importance of Regenerative Farming in New Zealand
New Zealand farmers are regarded internationally as some of the most accomplished stewards of their land, from which they produce food for Kiwis and international markets. Yet farmers face new challenges on several fronts from climate change, new environmental standards and changing consumer trends.
I perceive a major challenge in New Zealand agriculture is to build upon the success and international reputation of its "clean and green' pasture-based farming systems - by adopting regenerative farming practices that create healthy agricultural ecosystems.
This requires an understanding of how to adopt practices aligned to restoring the health of these agro-ecosystems and allow them to beneficially integrate with surrounding natural systems, produce high quality and nutrient-dense food that supports optimal human health, and to sequester carbon through soils with a rich diversity of fauna and flora.
The missing factor, however, is the ability to demonstrate the effectiveness of various farming practices on the health of that site. This study aims to empower farmers with good data on the impact of their farming activities on the health of that agro-ecosystem.
Currently, there is not a good measure of agro-ecosystem health that can be applied across a wide variety of sites, is easy to sample, and is adaptable and responsive to pasture systems that adopt regenerative farming practices. A biological health index that demonstrates how farming practices that restore the health and resiliency of this system is required to move with confidence towards regenerative farming methodologies.
The goal of these studies is to provide farmers with a whole-farm assessment of health that can empower farmers with good data on how their practices are either restoring health of their farm site – or diminishing that health. With this data they can move with more confidence towards regenerative farming methodologies and market their produce accordingly.
Regenerative farming practices typically have an indirect impact upon what is traditionally measured for agricultural productivity. These practices typically involve a more diverse pasture, greater extent and diversity of tree cover, more tightly controlled grazing patterns and bred characteristics selected for resilience rather than fast growth.
These practices aim to replicate the natural function of grazing systems a major goal is to improve the health and resilience of that system via greater biodiversity and more beneficially interaction between productive elements of a system. Regenerative design seeks to integrate carefully selected productive systems so that they harmonise together to create functionally complex systems that have a productive and sustainable yield of resources. Changing farming practices so that these spaces beneficially integrate with natural areas and preserve their heath and function is a pivotal issue for addressing the mounting pressures from climate change, biodiversity loss, and ecological degradation.
This project will help farmers gain greater clarity around regenerative farming practices in support of restoring agro-ecosystem health. They can then make year by year comparisons between pasture trials with different foliar species and grazing patterns – to determine the sweet spot between agricultural productivity and agro-ecosystem health.
There is a strong trend in New Zealand, and internationally, towards adopting farming practices that have a more benign environmental impact and produce foods that are nutrient rich and organic However, information and support for farmers to adopt sustainable organic production is sparse.
Regenerative farming seeks to adopt practices that replicate the function of comparable natural systems, restore the health of the soil and preserve diversity. The development of sustainable business is a clear goal globally (and especially within New Zealand) so that trade and commerce can be supported, and quality of life maintained in a way that does not degrade natural habitats and honours nurturing the creative potential within people and supporting healthy workplace relationships.
Regenerative design is where the output of a system improves the health and resiliency of that system over time. This is achieved by positive feedback loops linked to production that function to strengthen that system. The characteristics of a regenerative system are having a functional diversity of inter-connected elements in ways that mirror the communities of plants and animals in ecosystems. A regenerative system is characterised by its complexity and inter-connectivity that replicates the function of natural ecosystems.
Key concepts behind regenerative design are described below:
- Systems-thinking: a process of understanding how things influence one another based upon the diverse inter-connections of natural systems. These interactions act to recycle resources within that system and slow the dissipation of energy by creating multiple opportunities for energy transfer between elements of that system.
- Synergy: describes the harmonious relationship between the elements of a system that create outcomes that are greater than the collection of the individual outputs of that system. This is achieved by collaboration between the elements of that system that mutually re-enforce each other in ways that creates a harmonic resonance that amplifies the observed outcomes.
The momentum behind adopting these strategies is the increasing recognition that conventional methods of farming are doing harm to our environment, to livestock, and to people. The agricultural sector in NZ contributes 48% of our greenhouse gas emissions. The Ministry for the Environment’s 2019 Environment Aotearoa report states that waterways in farming areas are polluted by excess nutrients, pathogens, and sediment.
NZ is not alone in facing these challenges. The environmental effects of conventional farming on an industrial scale are being felt across the world, threatening the stability of our planet’s climate and natural capital, placing the global food system at a critical juncture.
Regenerative agriculture on the other hand is not just about reducing harm - but seeks to improve the health of the land, waterways, the animals that live on it, and people that benefit from it. Taking a whole-system approach, it encourages farmers to pay close attention to what individual pastures, fields, gardens, and plots of land need in order to function more like natural ecosystems, while simultaneously seeking to improve farmer wellbeing and animal welfare.
Importance of Regenerative Farming in New Zealand
New Zealand farmers are regarded internationally as some of the most accomplished stewards of their land, from which they produce food for Kiwis and international markets. Yet farmers face new challenges on several fronts from climate change, new environmental standards and changing consumer trends.
I perceive a major challenge in New Zealand agriculture is to build upon the success and international reputation of its "clean and green' pasture-based farming systems - by adopting regenerative farming practices that create healthy agricultural ecosystems.
This requires an understanding of how to adopt practices aligned to restoring the health of these agro-ecosystems and allow them to beneficially integrate with surrounding natural systems, produce high quality and nutrient-dense food that supports optimal human health, and to sequester carbon through soils with a rich diversity of fauna and flora.
The missing factor, however, is the ability to demonstrate the effectiveness of various farming practices on the health of that site. This study aims to empower farmers with good data on the impact of their farming activities on the health of that agro-ecosystem.
Currently, there is not a good measure of agro-ecosystem health that can be applied across a wide variety of sites, is easy to sample, and is adaptable and responsive to pasture systems that adopt regenerative farming practices. A biological health index that demonstrates how farming practices that restore the health and resiliency of this system is required to move with confidence towards regenerative farming methodologies.
The goal of these studies is to provide farmers with a whole-farm assessment of health that can empower farmers with good data on how their practices are either restoring health of their farm site – or diminishing that health. With this data they can move with more confidence towards regenerative farming methodologies and market their produce accordingly.
Regenerative farming practices typically have an indirect impact upon what is traditionally measured for agricultural productivity. These practices typically involve a more diverse pasture, greater extent and diversity of tree cover, more tightly controlled grazing patterns and bred characteristics selected for resilience rather than fast growth.
These practices aim to replicate the natural function of grazing systems a major goal is to improve the health and resilience of that system via greater biodiversity and more beneficially interaction between productive elements of a system. Regenerative design seeks to integrate carefully selected productive systems so that they harmonise together to create functionally complex systems that have a productive and sustainable yield of resources. Changing farming practices so that these spaces beneficially integrate with natural areas and preserve their heath and function is a pivotal issue for addressing the mounting pressures from climate change, biodiversity loss, and ecological degradation.
This project will help farmers gain greater clarity around regenerative farming practices in support of restoring agro-ecosystem health. They can then make year by year comparisons between pasture trials with different foliar species and grazing patterns – to determine the sweet spot between agricultural productivity and agro-ecosystem health.