Assessment of Nematodes as Bioindicators of Soil Health in Agroecosystems

Tatyana Bıleva; Vera Stefanova; Dimka Haytova

Assessment of Nematodes as Bioindicators of Soil Health in Agroecosystems

Year 2014, Volume: 1 Issue: Özel Sayı-1, 568 - 573, 01.03.2014

Tatyana Bıleva Vera Stefanova Dimka Haytova

Abstract

Soil is a multicomponent and multifunctional system, with definable operating limits and a characteristic spatial configuration. Soil health, term using by farmers, or soil quality – a term generally used by scientists, is defined as the continued capacity of soil to function as a vital living ecosystem that supports and sustains directly crop growth and indirectly animals, and humans. To evaluate soil quality reliable indicators that allow comparison across ecosystems are needed. Nematodes can be used as effective soil health bioindicators because they occur in any environment, that provides a source of organic carbon, in every soil type, easy to sample, and well classified into functional (feeding) groups, and nematode taxa are well classified. Nematodes have diverse life strategies, ranging from colonizers (short life but high reproduction rate) to persisters (long life, but low reproduction rate) which can provide an indication of the real condition or health of the soil in agricultural environment. Because Bulgaria is an agricultural country with developed vegetable crop production maintaining soil health is especially important for the economy and livelihood of the populations. The ability to monitor and assess the quality of agroecosystem soils would be of significant importance for stakeholders, who could change their farming strategies accordingly. Therefore the data collected from literature, recent and future research will be base to create “soil health maps” using GIS that will appropriate for local conditions

Keywords

soil health, nematodes, agroecosystems, vegetable crops, GIS

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