Conservation tillage, including zero and reduced tillage, and wider conservation agriculture techniques, including the management of rotations, weeds, crop cover and rooting systems, are being adopted worldwide particularly in parts of Latin America due to reduced labour, input and costs Where cultivation is minimised and crop residues retained on the soil surface there is much greater spatial and temporal differentiation of below ground food webs and processes compared to conventional cultivated soils. In conventional tillage bacteria-based food webs play a greater role especially in the tilled layer, leading to greater organic matter loss and lower nutrient retention.  In no-tillage systems fungal-based food webs are more important which influence nutrient availability and soil aggregate stability, tending to increase N retention and reduce leaching.

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