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The Impact Of Permaculture On The Above-Ground Mesofaunal Communities In The Perth Metropolitan Area, Ruth C. D'Sanges

Theses : Honours

Conventional agricultural practices (tillage, extensive application of synthetic fertilisers and biocides) exert substantial disturbance on soil ecosystems, consequently causing severe land degradation through loss of soil organic matter. These practices also place significant pressure on the soil inhabitants. However, permaculture systems practice non-tillage and extensive mulching. These non-tillage practices reduce the amount of perturbation on the litter invertebrates and encourage their abundances. The aims of this study were to describe the above-ground mesofaunal communities in the mulch layer of selected urban permaculture systems in the Perth Metropolitan area. This included determining the faunal abundance and diversity. Four permaculture sites were …