This project will determine the impact of increasingly popular agricultural management practices, such as no-till, on belowground biodiversity in arable farms. The student will conduct fieldwork, identify invertebrates from soil samples, and analyse the impact of farm management on their communities.
Department: Sustainable Land Management
Supervised by: Amelia Hood
Soil is the foundation of agricultural food production. Despite this, it is both understudied and often managed in ways that cause its permanent degradation. For example, traditional agricultural practices, such as ploughing, cause soil erosion, biodiversity loss, and carbon emissions. There is growing interest in finding better ways to manage agricultural soils, as seen through farmers’ increasing interest in “Regenerative agriculture”. Identifying the impact of the practices, such as zero-till, that are associated with this type of farming is important and topical. Belowground invertebrates improve soil structure, reduce soil erosion, increase soil nutrient content, and make soils better able to adapt to climate change. This project aims to identify management practices that promote belowground biodiversity. In this project, you will use existing samples to quantify the impact of farming practices on belowground biodiversity. In 2021, we collected samples from 15 arable farms across southern England that vary in their tilling and pesticide management. These farms represent a gradient in management intensity, with some farms using low-input (“regenerative”) management (e.g. they are no-till and do not use pesticides) and others using high-input management (e.g. they plough and apply pesticides). Following training, you will identify invertebrates to order and earthworms to species using a microscope. You will be trained in data analysis and coding, and run models to analyse your data. You will come on fieldwork to help collect another round of samples. The results will be written up in a report and contribute to a future publication which you will co-author.
The student will process invertebrate samples collected from 15 arable farms in 2021. Following training, they will identify invertebrates to order and earthworms to species using a microscope. They will then be trained in data analysis and coding, and run models to analyse their data. They will come on fieldwork to help collect another round of samples. The results will be written up in a report.
Essential: • Ability to work at a microscope in a lab in Reading • Interest in agriculture, conservation and/or entomology • Ability to work independently Desirable: • Some practical work experience (in the field or lab) • Experience with or interest in learning species identification and using entomological keys • Attention to detail • Experience with or interest in learning to code and analyse data
The student will learn how to identify invertebrates to order and earthworms to species. They will gain skills in field data collection, experimental design, microscope use, data management and manipulation, statistical analysis, and report writing. As a result of this placement the student will get the experience of working in a laboratory, collaborating with researcher students and staff, and attending relevant symposiums. This work forms part of the EU-wide SHOWCASE project and the student will benefit from knowledge exchange between other European partner organisations. There will be the opportunity to get involved in data collection during the 2022 field experiments. The student will also gain knowledge and understanding of arable farm management in the UK and may have the opportunity to directly interact with farmers. The placement will result in an opportunity to co-author a research publication.
School of Agriculture, Policy, & Development (SAPD)
9-5 mostly, but flexible hours possible
Wednesday 01 June 2022 - Tuesday 30 August 2022
The post will be advertised centrally on the UROP website between 21st February and 4th April 2022. Students should submit their CV and Cover Letter by email to urop@reading.ac.uk (applications will then be collated and passed onto the project supervisor). Please ensure you quote the title of the opportunity in the email subject line. Successful candidates will be invited for an interview.