Published in Scientific Papers. Series A. Agronomy, Vol. LXV, Issue 2
Written by Elena Mirela DUȘA, Vasilica STAN, Ana Maria STANCIU
Soil can provide essential ecosystem services that include the supply of food, feed, raw materials and biofuels. It also has an important regulatory role (carbon sequestration, water purification, reduction of contaminants, pest control, climate, nutrient cycle and biological habitat regulation etc.). The simultaneous provision of these multiple services is the result of complex interactions between different aboveground and belowground communities across ecosystems. When a system is not well managed, persistent losses in the ecosystem services can occur. E.g. land use changes affect the structure, function and efficiency of ecosystems, thereby impacting the value of the ecosystem services. Also, various agricultural management practices lead to increased food production, but at the same time affect the ecosystem functions. In this context, the main objectives of this study are to evaluate the evolution of the soil ecosystem services under different cropping systems such as certain crop species, monoculture or various types of crop rotation, organic, mineral or integrated fertilization, soil tillage etc., and to understand the interrelation between soil and ecosystem services.
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