Regenerative agriculture improves soil functioning and the complexity of soil food webs after a short transition period

TY - JOUR

T1 - Regenerative agriculture improves soil functioning and the complexity of soil food webs after a short transition period

AU - Molinares-Becerra, Mónica

AU - Aguiar, Juan F.

AU - García-López, Ana María

AU - García-Martín, Joaquina María

AU - Liberal, Isabel M.

AU - Rodríguez-Reyes, Marta

AU - Serrano, Paloma Yáñez

AU - Casimiro-Soriguer, Ramón

AU - Homet, Pablo

AU - Ochoa-Hueso, Raúl

N1 - Data archiving: no NIOO data

PY - 2026/4

Y1 - 2026/4

N2 - Aims: Agriculture intensification, combined with the ongoing effects of climate change, has led to a critical decline in soil health and quality, impairing food production and ecosystem functioning. This highlights the need to promote environmentally friendly management practices that integrate the conservation of agricultural lands and local biodiversity. Regenerative agriculture offers a holistic approach and an integrated crop management strategy for the sustainable management of soils. It typically involves reducing tillage and agrochemical inputs while incorporating livestock, organic amendments, biofertilizers, cover crops, and crop rotations into food production systems. Methods: In this study, we assessed the effects of a five-year regenerative farming model that included the application of self-produced biofertilizers on key soil attributes, including soil physicochemical properties, fertility, microbial enzymatic activity, and soil faunal communities. Using a chrono-sequence approach, we evaluated fields converted to regenerative management 1, 2, and 5 years prior to sampling, alongside conventional control plots. Results: Regenerative management increased soil moisture and organic matter, while reducing electrical conductivity. Enzymatic activities, particularly leucine aminopeptidase and phosphatase, increased significantly across the conversion chrono-sequence. Faunal responses included a rise in mite abundance and enchytraeid worm populations after two years, followed by a shift in the fifth year toward dominance by larger arthropods such as insects, crustaceans, and millipedes. Conclusion: Our results suggest that agroecological farming represents a promising alternative for improving the health and functioning of soils in horticultural crop systems, while also emphasizing the importance of developing strategies to overcome the negative effects associated with the initial stages of conversion.

AB - Aims: Agriculture intensification, combined with the ongoing effects of climate change, has led to a critical decline in soil health and quality, impairing food production and ecosystem functioning. This highlights the need to promote environmentally friendly management practices that integrate the conservation of agricultural lands and local biodiversity. Regenerative agriculture offers a holistic approach and an integrated crop management strategy for the sustainable management of soils. It typically involves reducing tillage and agrochemical inputs while incorporating livestock, organic amendments, biofertilizers, cover crops, and crop rotations into food production systems. Methods: In this study, we assessed the effects of a five-year regenerative farming model that included the application of self-produced biofertilizers on key soil attributes, including soil physicochemical properties, fertility, microbial enzymatic activity, and soil faunal communities. Using a chrono-sequence approach, we evaluated fields converted to regenerative management 1, 2, and 5 years prior to sampling, alongside conventional control plots. Results: Regenerative management increased soil moisture and organic matter, while reducing electrical conductivity. Enzymatic activities, particularly leucine aminopeptidase and phosphatase, increased significantly across the conversion chrono-sequence. Faunal responses included a rise in mite abundance and enchytraeid worm populations after two years, followed by a shift in the fifth year toward dominance by larger arthropods such as insects, crustaceans, and millipedes. Conclusion: Our results suggest that agroecological farming represents a promising alternative for improving the health and functioning of soils in horticultural crop systems, while also emphasizing the importance of developing strategies to overcome the negative effects associated with the initial stages of conversion.

KW - Agroecology

KW - Microbial enzymatic activity

KW - Regenerative agriculture

KW - Soil degradation

KW - Soil fauna

KW - Soil management

U2 - 10.1007/s11104-026-08437-3

DO - 10.1007/s11104-026-08437-3

M3 - Article

AN - SCOPUS:105039467388

SN - 0032-079X

VL - 521

SP - 1309

EP - 1331

JO - Plant and Soil

JF - Plant and Soil

IS - 2

ER -