ABSTRACT
KEYWORDS. No-till, conventional tillage, conservation tillage, mi croorganisms, fauna, residue management
INTRODUCTION
Degradation of agricultural soils caused by excessive tillage has spurred interest in minimum tillage and no-till cropping practices. No-till cropping creates the physical conditions of surface-managed residues and undisturbed soil that leave soil less susceptible to wind and water erosion (Baker, Saxton, and Ritchie, 1996). Maintenance of sur face residues often increases microbial populations and diversity. Soil organic matter (OM) levels increase with no-till and soil may sequester C that would otherwise be released to the atmosphere as C 02. In spite of the advantages of no-till farming, making the transition to no-till from tillage-based cropping is not without challenges. Research to determine soil biotic and agronomic changes, and economic feasibility during the transition from conventional tillage to no-till is ongoing. The study of soil biota is difficult due to the vast number and diversity of organisms, and the problems associated with isolating and identifying the soil’s bi otic community (Hawksworth and Mound, 1991).
