Managing soil to support soil biodiversity in protected areas agroecosystems: The Conero Park case study

Sustainable soil management is fundamental to the conservation of soil biodiversity and the continued provision of vital ecosystem services that are essential to human life. The EU’s Biodiversity Strategy for 2030 emphasizes the key role of organic farming and land protection in halting biodiversity loss, including the edaphic one. To assess the effectiveness of the proposed measures a study was conducted to assess and compare the soil health of different organic agroecosystems located within a protected area using the arthropod-based Biological Soil Quality Index (QBS-ar) over a two year period. Given the diverse agronomic practices employed across the different agroecosystems, a second objective was to establish soil quality benchmarks within each system and to identify the most effective agricultural practices for maintaining soil quality in an area of significant natural value. Four arable lands, four olive groves, and four vineyards located within the Conero Regional Park (Italy) were examined. The QBS-ar Index, number of biological and euedaphic forms, density (ind/m3) and abundance, Acari/Collembola ratio, and percentage of Oribatid mites out of total mites were determined. Ordination analysis was used to analyse soil microarthropod community composition among different agroecosystems. The first-year results showed that organic farming in conjunction with land protection had a beneficial impact on soil quality. Most farms exhibited excellent soil quality, with the highest levels observed on arable land. This is consistent with the Intermediate Disturbance Hypothesis (IDH), which posits that non-intense disturbance within a habitat can have a beneficial effect on biodiversity, compared to predominantly stable conditions. Similarly, microarthropods community composition in arable land differed from those in the more stable arboreal crops. Nevertheless, olive groves exhibited a higher abundance and diversity of microarthropods compared to vineyards, which exhibited lower levels. It is fundamental to regularly monitor soil health in protected areas to ascertain the condition of these valuable habitats over time and to ensure their continued protection. The application of different farming practices can lead to variations in soil health and soil community structure across agroecosystems. Thus, it is crucial to establish reliable benchmarks for different agroecosystems to facilitate prompt and effective intervention aimed at addressing degraded conditions.