The Impact of Different Farming Practices on Soil Quality

This report focuses on the relationship between farming practices and the quality of soil in the Flevopolder, the Netherlands. Specifically, biodynamic and conventional farms were studied, and their impacts on three indicators of soil quality were compared in an attempt to answer the question “Is there a distinct difference in soil quality between biodynamic and conventional farms, and what specific practices influence what aspects of soil quality?”. The indicators were narrowed down to soil texture, earthworm abundance and plant biodiversity in order to fit the scope of the research.

The main source used in the design of the experiments (i.e. selecting indicators and appropriate tests) was a two-day lecture by Marc Siepman, translator of two well-known books about soil. A jam-jar test was used to find soil texture, worms were counted and plant biodiversity was found using Simpsons’ Diversity Index. Additionally, surveys were conducted to gain knowledge on the farms’ specific methods. The expectation was for overall soil quality to be better on the biodynamic farm, and both farms to have equal clay soils.

The outcomes of the tests partially confirmed the hypothesis, as the soil texture was clay on both farms and the biodynamic biodiversity was nearly double that of the conventional. However, worms appeared scarce on both farms and the conventional farm’s soil was composed of around 10% more sand. Qualitative observations concluded that the biodynamic farm has moister soil and more insects were observed on it, too. Linking these outcomes to farming practices was problematic as they did not differ much, but the higher biodiversity was said to be due to varying crops grown on both farms, or the absence of pig’s manure used on the conventional farm. The cause of the differing soil textures was left unsure, and worms were absent due to weather conditions.