Using Data Mining to Assess the Effects of Bt Baize on Soil Microarthropods

Abstract

We investigate the effects of different factors (including climate and soil texture, crop type and farming practices), on the populations of soil microarthropods under agricultural field conditions. We use data mining to build predictive models that explicate these effects. The models built from data from three sites (two in France and one in Denmark) show a general positive effect of time since sowing and a specific negative effect of cultivating Bt maize at one of the three sites.