Scotland has nearly 600,000 hectares of land in arable cropping, which includes cereals, potatoes, oilseed rape, fruit and field vegetables. A wide range of arable plant species (weeds) live in and around these crops. A few species are a serious economic weed burden, but most support a huge variety of insects and other animals that make up arable food webs. Food webs are essential for the sustainability of arable ecosystems: they mediate the cycling of energy and nutrients, the pollination of plants to produce seed and the control of pests and diseases.

Modern farming practices, such as excessive herbicide use and removal of weed seeds from harvested crops, have caused these arable plants to decline in numbers and locations. Many of the rarer species are in danger of disappearing altogether. Arable plants are among the most threatened group of plants in the UK’s flora.

This reduction in biodiversity can have a serious impact on the structure of arable food webs and may alter the balance of different types of organisms in the habitat. Many people are concerned that this loss of biodiversity can disrupt ecosystem services and reduce arable sustainability.

Soil is one of the most complex biological habitats on earth, but it’s ability to support plants and buffer environmental impacts deteriorates with poor land management. Our research includes land management, the interactions between plants, soil and micro-organisms, the biological, physical and chemical properties of soil at the root-soil interface and the way the flora and fauna can improve their surrounding environment to make it more resilient to the stresses of arable farming.