Research in permanent pasture and silvopastoral systems holds great promise for identifying positive interactions within the soil due to soil-litter biota and root turnover. This mite is one of the invertebrates found by AFSRC scientists in pasture soil. In these perennial systems, management of the soil as an ecosystem offers the potential to improve pasture efficiency by: reducing moisture loss; providing relatively continuous substrate for decomposers; moderating organic matter inputs and nutrient release; and regulating decomposition through faunal interactions.

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