What is a weed? It is generally viewed as a ‘plant in the wrong place’. But an alternative could be to view these plants as signs of the ecology in which they are embedded. In this blog, Chris Maughan discusses a recent participatory study exploring the use of ‘plant bioindicators’ by farmers in the United Kingdom and the publication of a new Bioindicator Field Guide. Underlying this are questions of how compatible are plant bioindicators as part of a farmer-centred, agroecological approach to soil management? And how likely are farmers to start using them as a way to engage more deeply with land they steward?

Bioindicators are not (yet) a one-stop-shop for soil diagnostics. Instead, like many agroecological tools, they are part of a complex and long-term process of relationship building with farms, soils, and plants that grow there – part of a journey towards a holistic rather than reductive approach to soil management.