Tillage Intensity Effects on Microbial Life

Tillage intensity also has a clear effect on soil microbial life, with less intense tillage correlated with more microbial life for all microbial groups.  For context, two passes with a rototiller equals a score of 36, one pass with a plow equals 42, and one pass with a hoe equals 4.

The graph above suggests beneficial effects generally occur when total annual tillage intensity scores are <50, but this is the artifact of an over-weighting of 39 fields in the 10-20 tillage intensity range skewing results. When tillage groups are analyzed on a more granular level, and other practices are considered such as in the graph below, a much more complex picture emerges.  This second graph illustrates how comparing varied and stacked agricultural practices can skew results and how statistics can lie.