Abstract Conventional agricultural practices (CAP) highly impacted soil functions involved in the provision of multiple ecosystem services. No-till (NT) has been repeatedly indicated as a key way to enhance soil fertility and biodiversity, while having a positive effect on the environment and climate change. However, experimental evidence to date shows contrasting effects of NT on physical parameters of soil fertility, as well as on soil organic carbon (SOC) storage and soil biodiversity especially if different soil types and cropping systems are considered. The objectives of the present 7-year field study were: (i) to unravel the effect of NT on SOC, soil bulk density, and water stability index (WSI) of soil aggregates across five different soil types (Silty Clay, Silty Clay Loam, Clay Loam, Silt Loam, and Sandy Loam) and cropping systems (silage vs grain production), (ii) to examine how soil fauna (i.e. microarthropods and earthworms) is affected by NT practices under those soil-crop conditions, and (iii) to assess relationships among responses of soil physical indicators (i.e. soil bulk density and WSI), SOC, and soil fauna. Our results showed that soil bulk density was generally not affected by 7-year NT across all soil types. At the same time, NT increased WSI. It follows that NT may increase stable rather than artificial tillage-derived porosity due to reduced soil disturbance, and increased SOC and biological activity. However, reduced importance for boosting aggregates stability should be attributed to NT where initial SOC is high, clay and silt are predominant soil fractions, and the rate of crop residue is low. Our findings suggest that NT may enhance SOC stock (on average 0.66 Mg C ha−1 year−1) in the 0–30 cm soil layer. However, we found (i) a tendency of NT to decrease SOC concentration in the 15–30 cm soil layer (on average −1.18 g C kg−1), and (ii) no SOC increase induced by NT if crop residues were not left onto the soil surface. Nevertheless, NT practices promoted (i) the microarthropods adaptation measured with the QBS-ar index (105.5 vs 64.7), and (ii) the increase of earthworm abundance (412 vs 123 individuals m−2), which are fundamental for enhancing nutrient cycling and soil porosity. Correlations among soil fauna (i.e. QBS-ar and earthworm density), soil physical parameters (i.e. soil bulk density and WSI), and SOC (i.e. concentration and stock) corroborates the hypothesis that soil fauna adaptation and proliferation are main detectors of soil quality and sensitive indicators of changes in soil tillage.

中文翻译：

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土壤类型和种植制度作为土壤质量指标响应免耕的驱动因素：一项为期 7 年的实地研究

摘要 传统农业实践 (CAP) 严重影响了提供多种生态系统服务的土壤功能。免耕 (NT) 一再被认为是提高土壤肥力和生物多样性的关键方式，同时对环境和气候变化产生积极影响。然而，迄今为止的实验证据表明，NT 对土壤肥力的物理参数以及土壤有机碳 (SOC) 储存和土壤生物多样性的影响截然不同，尤其是在考虑不同的土壤类型和种植系统的情况下。本次为期 7 年的实地研究的目标是：(i) 阐明 NT 对五种不同土壤类型（粉质粘土、粉质粘土）土壤团聚体的 SOC、土壤容重和水稳定性指数 (WSI) 的影响, 粘壤土, 淤泥壤土, 和沙壤土）和种植系统（青贮与谷物生产），(ii) 研究土壤动物群（即微型节肢动物和蚯蚓）如何在这些土壤作物条件下受到 NT 实践的影响，以及 (iii) 评估土壤物理指标（即土壤容重和 WSI）、SOC 和土壤动物群。我们的结果表明，所有土壤类型的土壤容重通常不受 7 年 NT 的影响。与此同时，NT 增加了 WSI。因此，由于减少了土壤干扰，增加了 SOC 和生物活性，NT 可能会增加稳定而不是人工耕作产生的孔隙度。然而，提高聚集体稳定性的重要性降低应归因于 NT，其中初始 SOC 高，粘土和淤泥是主要的土壤成分，作物残留率低。我们的研究结果表明，NT 可能会增加 0-30 厘米土层中的 SOC 储量（平均 0.66 Mg C ha−1 年−1）。然而，我们发现 (i) NT 有降低 15-30 cm 土层中 SOC 浓度的趋势（平均 -1.18 g C kg-1），以及 (ii) 如果作物残留物不存在，NT 不会导致 SOC 增加留在土壤表面。尽管如此，NT 实践促进了 (i) 用 QBS-ar 指数（105.5 对 64.7）测量的微节肢动物适应，以及（ii）蚯蚓丰度的增加（412 对 123 个体 m-2），这是增强营养循环的基础和土壤孔隙度。土壤动物群（即 QBS-ar 和蚯蚓密度）、土壤物理参数（即土壤容重和 WSI）和 SOC（即