Lack of food……lack of shelter……lack of plant diversity……as well as being bombarded with chemical pesticides and synthetic fertilizers in some situations. Those last two could be argued individually from one to another as to how much effect they have but I’m guessing we really don’t know the full effects of most.

The biggest thing most of us are missing as food plotters as a result of years of heavy tillage is soil organic matter in the top layer of soil. That’s a foundation link in the food chain. Many of the microbes feed off of the carbon in its various stages of decompostion….It feeds them and then other microbes eat those microbes and the links in the chain build. Take out the base food source though and the whole ecosystem collapses. Take away the organic matter and you take away much of the microbial community.......

Also, from a shelter standpoint it has a lot to do with temp like Remington was saying. The constant thatch layer on the top is like a roof on a house. It regulates the soil temps. It keeps it moderated and from going through large swings in temp on a daily basis which is “stress” to the microbes. If you till a field in the heat of the summer and expose it to direct sun…..soil temps may climb to 100-110+ degrees during the heat of the day. When it begins to reach those temps then much of the microbial life will be zapped. Keeping it covered will keep those soil temps from ever reaching those critical levels.

Growing constant monocultures also reduces microbial diversity. Each plant secretes sugars from its roots that attract different microbes. In order to have a diverse flouring microbial community then you need a diverse plant community.