Conventional and organic farms with more intensive management have lower soil functionality.

Summary

This study, published in Science in 2025, investigated how agricultural management intensity affects soil multifunctionality across paired organic and conventional arable fields. The findings indicate that management intensity — rather than farming system per se — is the primary driver of soil functionality, with inversion tillage frequency and grass-legume cover cropping among the key practice-level predictors. Notably, organic farming did not consistently outperform conventional farming when management intensity was accounted for, suggesting that practice-level decisions within both systems are more consequential than system classification alone.

UK applicability

The findings are broadly applicable to UK arable farming policy and practice, particularly given ongoing debates around agri-environment schemes, soil health indicators under the Sustainable Farming Incentive, and the relative merits of organic conversion versus low-intensity conventional management. The emphasis on tillage reduction and cover cropping aligns with practices already incentivised under UK soil health frameworks.

Key measures

Soil multifunctionality index; soil organic carbon content (SOC); bacterial biomass; tillage frequency; cover crop frequency; management intensity score

Outcomes reported

The study measured soil multifunctionality across organic and conventional arable fields in relation to management intensity. It found that soil multifunctionality declined with increasing management intensity in both systems, with soil organic carbon and bacterial biomass as the strongest predictors.

Topic tags