Impact of tillage practices and soil texture on soil health and earthworms in the Pannonian region: A comparative study from Austria and Hungary

Abstract

Soil tillage has major impacts on physical, chemical and biological soil parameters. Two long-term soil tillage experiments in North-East Austria (AT) and Central-North Hungary (HU), both located in the Pannonian region, were studied in 2020 and in 2021. The three soil tillage systems comprised mouldboard ploughing (P), shallow cultivation (C), and no-till (NT) in a completely randomised block design with four blocks. Major differences between AT and HU concerned clay content and pH value (clay: 20 %; 36 % and pH: 7.7; 4.5, respectively). This affected most parameters such as dissolved organic carbon, soil aggregate stability, bulk density, earthworm abundance, and biomass and Shannon index. These parameters decreased with soil tillage intensification at both sites. In addition, for all mentioned parameters, C and P were similar in AT, while in HU this was the case for NT and C. Additionally, epi-anecic Lumbricus terrestris was only found in AT, while endogeic Aporrectodea georgii was only present in HU. Arbuscular mycorrhizal root colonization was not responsive to different tillage practices when sampled in August in AT. In conclusion, reduced soil tillage such as C and NT can show similar affects towards soil health, but site-specific properties such as soil texture need to be considered for a final evaluation.