Reduced tillage effects on soil microorganisms and soil quality

The foundation of our civilization is threatened. Past and current agricultural management with plowing has reduced soil carbon stocks, causing lower soil fertility, more soil erosion and nutrient leakage. However, to mitigate this problem, an increasing number of farmers worldwide have changed their soil management by reducing or abstaining from soil inverting plowing. Conservation tillage is the name used for this type of management. By reducing plowing, farmers hope to regain soil carbon content and reduce related problems. So there is benefits but what happens with the below ground communities? Since carbon and several nutrient cycles are driven by soil microbial processes it is important to understand how soil management effect soil bacteria and fungi. By combining agricultural field trials with microbiology I try to answer tillage-microorganism related questions that will hopefully aid in designing guidelines for preserving soil carbon but also add to the agro-microbiology pool of knowledge.