On-Farm Experimentation to transform global agriculture.

Restructuring farmer-researcher relationships and addressing complexity and uncertainty through joint exploration are at the heart of On-Farm Experimentation (OFE). OFE describes new approaches to agricultural research and innovation that are embedded in real-world farm management, and reflects new demands for decentralized and inclusive research that bridges sources of knowledge and fosters open innovation. Here we propose that OFE research could help to transform agriculture globally. We highlight the role of digitalization, which motivates and enables OFE by dramatically increasing scales and complexity when investigating agricultural challenges.

Soil aggregation and associated microbial communities modify the impact of agricultural management on carbon content.

Soil carbon (C) stabilisation is known to depend in part on its distribution in structural aggregates, and upon soil microbial activity within the aggregates. However, the mechanisms and relative contributions of different microbial groups to C turnover in different aggregates under various management practices remain unclear. The aim of this study was to determine the role of soil aggregation and their associated microbial communities in driving the responses of soil organic matter (SOM) to multiple management practices. Our results demonstrate that higher amounts of C inputs coupled with greater soil aggregation in residue retention management practices has positive effects on soil C content. Our results provide evidence that different aggregate size classes support distinct microbial habitats which supports the colonisation of different microbial communities. Most importantly our results indicate that the effects of management practices on soil C is modulated by soil aggregate sizes and their associated microbial community and are more pronounced in macro-aggregate compared with micro-aggregate sizes. Based on our findings we recommend that differential response of management practices and microbial control on the C turnover in macro-aggregates and micro-aggregate should be explicitly considered when accounting for management impacts on soil C turnover.