News Release

June 1, 2023 – Most people rarely think of the thousands, if not millions, of living things they step on every day. Soil mesofauna are the tiny arthropods that live beneath our feet, ranging in size from 100µm to 2mm, which is comparable to a grain of salt. The Soil Science Society of America’s (SSSA) June 1^st Soils Matter blog explores how soil microarthropods impact soil processes that affect crop production.

Soil microarthropods impact plant pathogen suppression and transmission, seed germination, root exudates (compounds secreted by plant roots), plant nutrient allocation and growth. Though soil mesofauna primarily affect crop production through their interactions with other factors in the soil environment, these indirect effects can add up to big impacts on crops.

Ashley Jernigan from Cornell University explains the effects that soil microarthropods have on crop production are typically explored with a focus on one soil process, such as nutrient cycling or plant pathogen disease incidence, though their behaviors influence these processes simultaneously. In 2019 and 2020, her team conducted a field experiment to help us understand how the effects of microarthropods on these interconnected processes impact crop production.

To read the study and the entire blog please visit: https://soilsmatter.wordpress.com/2023/06/01/how-do-soil-microarthropods-affect-crop-production/

Follow SSSA on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/SSSA.soils, Twitter at SSSA_Soils. SSSA has soils information on www.soils.org/discover-soils, for teachers at www.soils4teachers.org, and for students through 12^th grade, www.soils4kids.org.

The Soil Science Society of America (SSSA) is a progressive international scientific society that fosters the transfer of knowledge and practices to sustain global soils. Based in Madison, WI, and founded in 1936, SSSA is the professional home for 6,000+ members and 1,000+ certified professionals dedicated to advancing the field of soil science. The Society provides information about soils in relation to crop production, environmental quality, ecosystem sustainability, bioremediation, waste management, recycling, and wise land use.