SEMINAR: Soil&Water Seminar, Aug22:

The next Soil&Water Seminar speaker will be Assistant Prof. Natasha Pauli from SEE(UWA), at 12pm on Weds Aug 22. All welcome!

TITLE: “Local knowledge and use of soil biota in agriculture”

ABSTRACT: Efforts to increase above- and below-ground biodiversity in farming systems require greater understanding of how farmers develop and use their knowledge of biodiversity, ecological processes and soil quality. While much has been written about local knowledge of soil type and soil quality, there has been relatively little research on farmers’ knowledge and perceptions of soil biota, particularly with respect to their influence on soil health and agricultural management practices.

This presentation will outline a meta-analysis of existing research on local knowledge of soil biota, describing geographic trends and key findings. The presentation will also discuss a case study example, using the results of semi-structured interviews on local knowledge of soils, vegetation and soil fauna with 20 smallholder farmers from rural Honduras. The combination of the farmers’ shared experiences and information imparted from external sources has led to the development of a substantial body of local ecological knowledge regarding the attributes and management of biological resources within the agricultural system. For the farmers interviewed, knowledge of the relationships between soil quality and biological processes was more detailed for above-ground biodiversity than for below-ground biodiversity. The findings of the research have implications for the development of policies and/or programmes aimed at promoting the benefits of greater below-ground biodiversity in farming systems.