Summary
This paper, published in Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment in 2018, investigates the relationship between soil biodiversity and crop yield performance. Schrama and colleagues likely draw on field-based evidence to demonstrate that greater diversity within soil biological communities is associated with improved or sustained crop yields, supporting the agronomic case for managing soils to preserve biological complexity. The findings contribute to a growing body of literature challenging yield-focused management approaches that may inadvertently reduce soil biodiversity.
UK applicability
Although the study was likely conducted in a continental European context, the findings are broadly applicable to UK arable systems, where soil health is increasingly central to policy frameworks such as the Sustainable Farming Incentive and the shift away from input-intensive production models.
Key measures
Soil biodiversity indices; crop yield (t/ha); soil biological community composition
Outcomes reported
The study examined how soil biological diversity — including microbial communities and soil fauna — relates to crop yield outcomes. It likely quantified associations between measures of soil biodiversity and agricultural productivity across field conditions.
Topic tags
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