This article discusses the results of our experiment obtained in the years 2009-2012. The aim of this experiment has been to assess changes in the chemical composition of soil, as well as in the number and biomass of Lumbricidae under winter wheat and spring barley fields, as influenced by soil compaction and different tillage methods. There was less organic carbon and P in soil under winter wheat (compacted soil and without soil compaction) if tilled with a subsoiler (cultivation treatment U-2) than with a plough. In soil under spring barley (compacted soil), the lowest pH was observed after plough tillage, and a reverse situation was noted in tillage treatment U-2 (with a subsoiler). Most P and K in soil from the plots with compacted or uncompacted soil were determined in the U-4 soil cultivation treatment, and the content of these elements was higher than in the plough tillage treatments. Before wheat was harvested (compacted soil), the number of earthworms was nearly three-fold higher in tillage treatment U-3, whereas among plots without compaction higher biomass of earthworms was identified in soil submitted to U-2 and U-4 tillage treatments. After the emergence of spring barley (compacted soil), significantly more earthworms, relative to the plough tillage (control), were determined in the U-2 treatment. In soil under winter wheat and with plough tillage (plots without soil compaction), an increase in soil pH was negatively correlated with the number of earthworms. Under winter wheat, an increase in the content of nitrogen and magnesium in soil subsequent to soil tillage treatment U-4 (plots without compaction) positively correlated with the density of earthworms per area unit, while a rise in the soil content of P considerably lowered the number of earthworms on plots with compacted soil. A similar situation was observed under spring barley after the ploughing treatment on plots without soil compaction.    

25.1.2020