Soil biodiversity refers to the variation of quantity, variety, and structure of all forms of life in soil and their functions. Though agricultural practices significantly influence soil biodiversity nutrient uptake structure, and interactions between plant roots and microbial community can differ for particular crops. Agricultural practices tailored to specific crop types are crucial for maintaining ecosystem functions and ensuring sustainability.

Comparative studies concerning the biodiversity of agricultural soil have been conducted focusing on the management system of soil but studies about diverse cropping with different management are seldom found. Therefore, the objective of this study is to conduct a comparative analysis of biodiversity in multiple cropping agricultural soils under an organic and conventional management system.

In total 28 agricultural field’s soil were analyzed under three crop categories (Soybean, paddy, and Vegetable) of organic and conventional practice types. Soil samples were in between 0-5 cm depth from different places in Toyama prefecture, Japan. 100 cc soil (with 3 replications) for each field was used to extract micro-arthropods by Berlese (Berlese, 1905) -Tullgren (Tullgren, 1918) funnel method and quantified and identified by stereoscopic microscope at the order level. Bacterial and Fungi communities were analyzed by 16S rRNA V3V4 sequencing (Smets., 2016) and 18S rRNA approach (Amaral-Zettler et al., 2009) respectively. Soil particle size was analyzed (Dry sieving method) into 3 particle sizes and total carbon and total nitrogen were determined (by CN coder Yanaco MT 700).

In Bacterial (Phylum level), Fungal (Phylum level), and micro arthropod (order level) communities, organic practices soil show higher diversity (Shannon) than conventional practices. In relative proportion, a comparison of the bacterial phylum “Firmicute” and Fungal phylum “Mucoromycota” shows higher abundance in Organic practices. Per 100cc in vegetable organic soil the highest number of arthropods (average value 13.6) was counted and in vegetable conventional soil counted (average value 1.67) the lowest. Collembola, Diptera, and Acari are mostly identified in microarthropod identification. Mites “Acari” are only found in Organic vegetables and organic soybean fields. In needs analysis, both bacterial and fungal community shows distant phyla composition between paddy and vegetable communities. The soybean community composition is less distant from the paddy community. The total carbon value is higher (Highest 3.16 %) in organic soil of all three-particle sizes. This study provides insights into the contrasting effects of organic and conventional agricultural management on soil biodiversity.