Environmental Monitoring Commons^™

The Soil Acarine Fauna Of Selected Agroecosystems Within The York Shire, Derek Juan Swarts

Theses : Honours

The practice of broadacre, dryland farming is known to affect the physico-chemical structure of the soil but our knowledge or its impact on the biological structure is rudimentary. The soil acarine (mite) communities which inhabit these soils display a variety of responses to this agricultural practice. With the increasing focus on developing ecologically sustainable agricultural techniques, an understanding of the soil acari becomes increasingly important. This study investigated the impact of two agricultural practices (designated here us Conventional and Non-Conventional) upon the abundance and diversity of the soil acari. Conventional agricultural practice involved broad scale chemical application to weeds and …