Dung quality

Dung beetles play a hugely important role in positively engaging soil biology, from dung decomposition to nutrient cycling, and they prefer to make their habitat in dung that isn’t too liquid or dried out!

You can do this test at the same time as the dung beetle count.

What to record


  • A scale of 1 – 5: with 1 being completely liquid, and 5 being completely solid and dried out
    • 1 = Completely liquid
    • 2 = Partly liquid with some form
    • 3 = Has solid form with rippled layers and some moisture
    • 4 = Thick, with peanut butter like consistency
    • 5 = Very dry, firm and stacked
  • Photos

Equipment


  • Eyes
  • Dung

How to do the test

1. Go to one of your GPS mapped soil sampling sites in a pasture field (or create a new sample site while you’re out in the field).

2. Look around, and find a pile of dung close to your sample site.

3. Score the dung on a scale of 1 – 5: with 1 being completely liquid, and 5 being completely solid and dried out

4. Enter the result in the Soilmentor app at the relevant sample site under ‘Dung beetle habitat quality’.

5. Repeat this test for each mapped sample site in your field (we recommend 3 sample sites per field).

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