Influence of agricultural traffic and crop management on collembola and microbial biomass in arable soil

Collembola and microbial biomass C were investigated in a field experiment with controlled agricultural traffic and crop rotation over a period of 27 months. The wheel-induced compactive efforts were applied according to management practices within the crop rotation of sugar beet, winter wheat, and winter barley. Increasing wheel traffic produced increasing soil compaction, mainly due to a reduction in surface soil porosity. Increasing soil compaction was accompanied by a decrease in microbial biomass C and the density of collembola. The influence of soil compaction on microbial biomass C was smaller than that of the standing crop. However, for collembola, especially euedaphic species, a reduction in pore space appeared to be of more importance than the effects of a standing crop. Within the crop rotation, microbial biomass C and the density of collembola increased in the order sugar beet, winter wheat, and winter barley.