European Journal of Soil Science最新文献

{"title":"Four Decades of Organic–Inorganic Fertilization Enhances Maize Yield Through Synergistic Improvements in Soil Quality","authors":"Xuying Liu, Ning An, Wei Han, Jinfeng Yang, Xiaori Han","doi":"10.1111/ejss.70395","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/ejss.70395","url":null,"abstract":"The long‐term benefits of organic amendments on soil health are recognized, yet the mechanistic pathways by which integrated fertilization sustains crop productivity in brown soils remain poorly quantified. We addressed this using a unique 46‐year field experiment with six treatments: an unfertilized control (CK), chemical fertilizer alone (NPK), low‐ and high‐rate organic fertilizer alone (M1, M2), and their combinations with NPK (NPKM1, NPKM2). To capture the integrated soil quality, a soil quality index (SQI) was established based on key physicochemical and microbial properties. We found that combined organic–inorganic fertilization (NPKM) achieved the highest maize yield and SQI. Crucially, structural equation modeling unraveled the causal mechanisms: (1) Available phosphorus (AP) directly enhanced SQI and microbial biomass carbon (MBC), which boosted yield, overriding its concurrent direct negative effect. (2) Reduced soil bulk density suppressed fungal richness, thereby improving SQI and yield. Furthermore, long‐term organic amendments drove a beneficial restructuring of the microbial community, selectively enriching beneficial genera (e.g., <jats:italic>Bacillus</jats:italic> ) while suppressing pathogenic fungi such as <jats:italic>Epicoccum</jats:italic> . Our findings establish a systemic perspective that integrated soil health rather than single‐factor optimization governs long‐term productivity, providing a mechanistic basis for sustainable brown soil management.","PeriodicalId":12043,"journal":{"name":"European Journal of Soil Science","volume":"3 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.2,"publicationDate":"2026-08-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148703438","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Toward a Unified Soil–Bedrock Continuum: Building a Systems Understanding","authors":"Kimber C. Moreland,&nbsp;Daniel L. Evans","doi":"10.1111/ejss.70389","DOIUrl":"10.1111/ejss.70389","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Soil is the foundation of life itself, and without healthy soils our day-to-day lives would be forever changed. A significant proportion of soil science focuses on the topsoil, overlooking much of the soil profile. If soil science is to fully serve society, we must expand our understanding to the full soil–bedrock continuum, extending beyond the top 30 cm into the deeper profile that includes weathered bedrock. This argument has been raised before, with many scientists calling for whole-profile sampling and characterization, yet these calls have gone largely unheeded, and recent studies suggest we may even be narrowing our focus to shallower depths. In this opinion, we present the case for studying the full soil profile by examining its historical treatment, current paradigms, and we highlight some of the opportunities that are being missed. To fully understand and steward the systems that underpin life: we must be willing to go deeper in our sampling, in our thinking, and in our collaborations across disciplines.</p>","PeriodicalId":12043,"journal":{"name":"European Journal of Soil Science","volume":"77 4","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.3,"publicationDate":"2026-08-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/ejss.70389","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148703456","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Continuous Organic and Inorganic Sources of Nutrients Addition Impacts Yield and Fe and Mn Concentrations in Maize and Soil","authors":"Md Basit Raza, Bharat Prakash Meena, Sanjib Kumar Behera, Amit Kumar Dash, Sadikul Islam, Ashis Kumar Biswas","doi":"10.1111/ejss.70393","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/ejss.70393","url":null,"abstract":"Soil micronutrient deficiency, particularly of iron (Fe) and manganese (Mn), is a major global agricultural challenge adversely affecting crop productivity and human nutrition. With conventional water‐soluble fertilizers having abysmally poor use efficiency, alternate nutrient management options, including use of organic nutrient sources, need to be explored for managing Fe and Mn deficiency in soils and achieving sustainable crop production. The present study was carried out to assess the long‐term (20 years) effect of different nutrient management modules on maize ( &lt;jats:styled-content style=\"fixed-case\"&gt; &lt;jats:italic&gt;Zea mays&lt;/jats:italic&gt; &lt;/jats:styled-content&gt; L.) yield, Fe and Mn uptake, and transformations in Vertisols. The study included 12 treatments comprising various combinations and levels of nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and potassium (K) applied through inorganic sources (based on general recommendations and soil test crop response [STCR] equations), organic sources (including &lt;jats:italic&gt;Gliricidia&lt;/jats:italic&gt; sp. loppings, maize residues, farmyard manure [FYM], poultry manure, and urban compost), and through an integrated approach combining both organic and inorganic inputs. The combined application of FYM at 5 Mg ha &lt;jats:sup&gt;−1&lt;/jats:sup&gt; along with 75% NPK based on STCR resulted in the highest maize yield (6.33 Mg grain ha &lt;jats:sup&gt;−1&lt;/jats:sup&gt; , 7.07 Mg stover ha &lt;jats:sup&gt;−1&lt;/jats:sup&gt; ) and total uptake of Fe (3901 g ha &lt;jats:sup&gt;−1&lt;/jats:sup&gt; ) and Mn (443 g ha &lt;jats:sup&gt;−1&lt;/jats:sup&gt; ). Sole or integrated use of inorganic and organic sources of nutrients significantly increased soil organic carbon (5.37–8.94 g kg &lt;jats:sup&gt;−1&lt;/jats:sup&gt; ) compared to the control (no addition of nutrient sources) (4.99 g kg &lt;jats:sup&gt;−1&lt;/jats:sup&gt; ). The highest DTPA‐Fe concentration (9.56 mg kg &lt;jats:sup&gt;−1&lt;/jats:sup&gt; ) was observed under the &lt;jats:italic&gt;Gliricidia&lt;/jats:italic&gt; loppings (2 Mg ha &lt;jats:sup&gt;−1&lt;/jats:sup&gt; ) + maize residues (5 Mg ha &lt;jats:sup&gt;−1&lt;/jats:sup&gt; ) + poultry manure (1 Mg ha &lt;jats:sup&gt;−1&lt;/jats:sup&gt; ) treatment, while the highest DTPA‐Mn content (12.8 mg kg &lt;jats:sup&gt;−1&lt;/jats:sup&gt; ) was obtained with partial substitution of STCR‐based NPK using urban compost (5 Mg ha &lt;jats:sup&gt;−1&lt;/jats:sup&gt; ). Regression analysis revealed that DTPA‐Fe content explained 24% variability of grain Fe concentration, whereas DTPA‐Mn explained 42% variability of grain Mn concentration. In this soil, there were diminishing returns in grain Fe concentration as soil DTPA‐Fe increased beyond 8.665 mg kg &lt;jats:sup&gt;−1&lt;/jats:sup&gt; . Whereas DTPA‐Mn content continued to influence grain Mn concentration in a nearly linear fashion. The available Fe and Mn fractions (water‐soluble and sorbed) were highest under high organic manure application (20 Mg FYM ha &lt;jats:sup&gt;−1&lt;/jats:sup&gt; year &lt;jats:sup&gt;−1&lt;/jats:sup&gt; ). The residual Fe (~98.3%–98.9%) and Mn (~40.7%–56.7%) fractions comprised the major share of soil Fe and Mn, respectively, under various ","PeriodicalId":12043,"journal":{"name":"European Journal of Soil Science","volume":"20 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.2,"publicationDate":"2026-08-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148675333","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Amelioration of Saline-Sodic Soils by Desulfurized Gypsum and Organic Amendments: From Mechanism to Field Practice","authors":"Jiakun Qin,&nbsp;Jie Gao,&nbsp;Congming Wang,&nbsp;Yanshu Wang,&nbsp;Zhiyi Cao,&nbsp;Dehui Sun,&nbsp;Jiqiang Zhang,&nbsp;Yangyong Wang,&nbsp;Shengji Wei,&nbsp;Zhen Gao,&nbsp;Qinghua Sun,&nbsp;Yuanpeng Du","doi":"10.1111/ejss.70387","DOIUrl":"10.1111/ejss.70387","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 <p>Soil salinization poses a major threat to both the global environment and the sustainability of viticulture. This study proposes a synergistic remediation strategy using desulfurized gypsum combined with organic amendments—biochar and lignite. Through integrated incubation, pot, and 2-year field experiments, we clarify the underlying process mechanisms, focusing on two aspects: enhancing the efficiency of calcium–sodium ion exchange and achieving sustained regulation of soil fertility. The results show that the organic amendments significantly improved the replacement efficiency of sodium ions by calcium ions from the gypsum. They also enhanced soil biochemical activity by promoting organic matter mineralization (e.g., the peak CO₂ emission increased by 79% compared to the control). In the presence of grapevines, the stability of the calcium-sodium exchange and soil fertility was maintained through rhizosphere microenvironment regulation and carbon input. Improvements in plant physiological indicators further confirm the systemic optimization of the soil environment. The 2-year field experiment further confirms the long-term stability of this strategy. It consistently reduced the soil sodium adsorption ratio (by 49% compared to the control) and salt content (e.g., water-soluble Na⁺ decreased by 27%), with no significant secondary salt accumulation observed. Concurrently, the physiological indicators of the grapevines showed lasting improvement. This study demonstrates that the synergistic effect of desulfurized gypsum and organic amendments effectively optimizes the soil ionic composition through calcium-sodium exchange, while the input of organic materials and micro-ecological regulation continuously improve soil fertility. Thus, it provides a comprehensive, mechanism-explicit, and operationally feasible solution for the sustainable management of salinized vineyard soils.</p>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":12043,"journal":{"name":"European Journal of Soil Science","volume":"77 4","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.3,"publicationDate":"2026-08-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148675334","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Impacts of Long-Term Vegetation Restoration on Soil Water Field Capacity in China's Loess Plateau","authors":"Xiao Bai,&nbsp;Xianghui Zhou,&nbsp;Jie Tian,&nbsp;Chenggong Liu","doi":"10.1111/ejss.70390","DOIUrl":"10.1111/ejss.70390","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 <p>Vegetation restoration is one of the most effective measures to mitigate or prevent land degradation. Long-term vegetation restoration will inevitably have an impact on soil properties. However, studies on the prediction of soil hydraulic properties such as field capacity (FC) under long-term revegetation on a regional scale are still limited. This study investigated 243 sampling sites across China's Loess Plateau and measured FC values at depths of 0–10, 10–20 and 20–40 cm. MODIS raw images and four algorithms were used to develop predictive models for predicting FC and mapping FC distributions during 2001–2020. Structural equation modelling was used to analyse the factors driving FC changes. The results showed that Random Forest achieved the highest prediction accuracy for FC at depths of 0–10 cm (<i>R</i>² = 0.43, RMSE = 0.050 cm³ cm⁻³, IQR = 0.053 cm³ cm⁻³) and 10–20 cm (<i>R</i>² = 0.56, RMSE = 0.042 cm³ cm⁻³, IQR = 0.075 cm³ cm⁻³), while Backpropagation Neural Network provided the best results at a depth of 20–40 cm (<i>R</i>² = 0.54, RMSE = 0.048 cm³ cm⁻³, IQR = 0.072 cm³ cm⁻³). From 2001 to 2020, the FC generally increased across the region, with an average annual growth rate of 0.002 cm³ cm⁻³ (<i>p</i> &lt; 0.01). Mean FC of 0–40 cm increased from 0.223 cm³ cm⁻³ in 2001 to 0.251 cm³ cm⁻³ in 2020. The most significant increase occurred in the southern and southeastern regions. The Leaf Area Index was identified as the primary factor influencing FC changes, with a direct impact path coefficient of 0.65 in the 0–40 cm. These findings indicate the effectiveness of vegetation restoration in enhancing the soil hydraulic properties and provide a scientific basis for sustainable land management and water-resource allocation in the Loess Plateau.</p>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":12043,"journal":{"name":"European Journal of Soil Science","volume":"77 4","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.3,"publicationDate":"2026-08-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148675335","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Water Pulses and Greenhouse Gas Emissions During Summer Fallow in a Semiarid Environment","authors":"Francisco Cafaro La Menza,&nbsp;Adrián Aladrén Pérez,&nbsp;Laura B. Martínez-García,&nbsp;Victoria Lafuente Rosales,&nbsp;Ana C. Bielsa,&nbsp;Fernando Gomez,&nbsp;Cesar Romano,&nbsp;Jorge Álvaro-Fuentes","doi":"10.1111/ejss.70388","DOIUrl":"10.1111/ejss.70388","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Rainfall-driven pulses of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are key but often overlooked components of the annual carbon and nitrogen budgets. This study aimed to quantify the effect of three barley-based production systems on soil carbon and nitrogen dynamics during the summer fallow, with particular emphasis on the impact of rainfall events on GHG fluxes and the activity of functional genes associated with N₂O production in a semiarid Mediterranean agroecosystem. The systems included conventional tillage with bare fallow (T), no-till with spontaneous vegetation (NT), and no-till with a preceding vetch (<i>Vicia sativa</i>) cover crop (NT-V), each evaluated at the initial (I) and final (F) stages of the fallow. Gas fluxes were measured before and after natural rainfall events using a static chamber protocol consisting of one measurement 24 h before the rainfall and four subsequent measurements up to 168 h after. Emission peaks following rainfall accounted, on average, for 28% of total CO₂-C and 38% of N₂O-N emissions during the fallow, with flux magnitude increasing proportionally with rainfall intensity. Conservation practices (NT and NT-V) consistently exhibited higher post-rainfall emissions, microbial biomass, and labile carbon pools than T, reflecting greater substrate availability rather than poorer environmental performance. Functional gene analyses revealed that nitrification and denitrification potentials responded to both soil management and rainfall intensity, with NT-V maintaining higher microbial activity throughout the fallow. Overall, these results highlight the importance of accounting for short-term post-rainfall emissions when assessing the environmental performance of soil management practices in dryland agroecosystems.</p>","PeriodicalId":12043,"journal":{"name":"European Journal of Soil Science","volume":"77 4","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.3,"publicationDate":"2026-08-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/ejss.70388","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148675078","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Impact of Seasonal Waterlogging on Organic Carbon Stabilisation and Microbial Communities in Cultivated Mineral Soils","authors":"Reija Kronberg,&nbsp;Jonna E. Teikari,&nbsp;Ezekiel Bore,&nbsp;Henna Kekkonen,&nbsp;Sanna Kanerva,&nbsp;Markku Koskinen,&nbsp;Kristiina Karhu,&nbsp;Aino Seppänen,&nbsp;Tuomas Mattila,&nbsp;Jussi Heinonsalo,&nbsp;Mari Pihlatie","doi":"10.1111/ejss.70391","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/ejss.70391","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Waterlogging of aerobic soils can induce microbially catalysed reductive dissolution of iron oxides and the subsequent mobilisation of associated carbon. Additionally, the resulting shift in microbial metabolism and community structure may eventually affect the accrual of microbially derived carbon into soils. It remains, however, unknown whether temporary anaerobic conditions significantly influence soil carbon cycling in cultivated boreal mineral soils, which are increasingly prone to off-season waterlogging due to climate change. We investigated the effects of off-season waterlogging on carbon–mineral associations and microbial carbon immobilisation and community structure in a 1.5-year greenhouse experiment conducted with intact soil profiles (monoliths) from two agricultural fields in southern Finland. The experiment comprised three cycles of alternating warm growing seasons and cold off-seasons. Spring barley (<i>Hordeum vulgare</i>) was cultivated in all monoliths for the growing seasons, while Tall Fescue (<i>Festuca Arundinacea</i>) was under-sown into half of them as an overwintering cover crop. During the off-seasons, half of the monoliths were subjected to waterlogging for 7 weeks. We found that waterlogging induced shifts in microbial communities favouring anaerobic taxa capable of iron reduction. Despite this, repeated waterlogging had no significant impact on the iron-associated or the total mineral-associated carbon, nor the microbial residue carbon content in either soil. However, waterlogging reduced belowground carbon inputs by limiting cover crop root growth in the subsoil. Overall, our findings suggest that off-season waterlogging of cultivated mineral soils in a cold humid climate does not compromise their ability to stabilise carbon in mineral-associated forms.</p>","PeriodicalId":12043,"journal":{"name":"European Journal of Soil Science","volume":"77 4","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.3,"publicationDate":"2026-07-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/ejss.70391","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148647717","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Soil Diversity and Climate: An Overview of Profile Data and Acquisition With the WoSIS Global Legacy Dataset","authors":"Calogero Schillaci,&nbsp;Grace B. Alves,&nbsp;Mohamed Bayad,&nbsp;Boglarka Bozoki,&nbsp;Giulia Bondi,&nbsp;Christopher R. Burn,&nbsp;Timo Breure,&nbsp;Giacomo Certini,&nbsp;Songchao Chen,&nbsp;Michele E. D'Amico,&nbsp;Mauro De Feudis,&nbsp;Axel Cerón González,&nbsp;Jaqueline Hannam,&nbsp;Danny Itkin,&nbsp;Arwyn Jones,&nbsp;Michael Maerker,&nbsp;Stephan Mantel,&nbsp;Erika Michéli,&nbsp;Luca Montanarella,&nbsp;Panos Panagos,&nbsp;Thilo Rennert,&nbsp;Sergio Saia,&nbsp;Riccardo Scalenghe,&nbsp;Simone Scarpa,&nbsp;Fabio Terribile,&nbsp;William Trenti,&nbsp;Diana Vieira,&nbsp;Simona Vingiani,&nbsp;Felipe Yunta,&nbsp;Yushu Xia,&nbsp;Ioannis Zafeiriou,&nbsp;Pandi Zdruli,&nbsp;Claudio Zucca,&nbsp;Daniel L. Evans","doi":"10.1111/ejss.70372","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/ejss.70372","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Soil profiles are the primary field evidence from which pedogenesis, soil classification and land-use effects are interpreted, yet their availability remains uneven across climates and land-cover contexts. Here, we analyse the World Soil Information Service (WoSIS) 2023 snapshot together with Copernicus Global Land Cover 2015 and the global biome delineations to assess the distribution, classification status and temporal coverage of legacy soil-profile observations. Cropland is the most represented land-cover class, with 67,370 profiles (29.5%), followed by herbaceous vegetation with 40,277 profiles (17.7%), whereas wetlands, mangroves, tundra and several forested or arid systems remain rather underrepresented. The temporal distribution of profiles with recorded sampling dates increases markedly from the mid-twentieth century to the 1980s and declines after 1990, suggesting a possible shift away from field-based profile description and towards mapping, modelling and remotely sensed approaches. The review of forest, volcanic, cold-region, arid, wetland, cropland, grassland, urban and Mediterranean soils further shows that profile description remains essential for interpreting soil functions, diagnostic horizons, degradation processes and land-management constraints. This work provides a repeatable workflow for future WoSIS releases and other harmonised soil databases, and highlights the need to recover, standardize and publish legacy soil-profile information while training a new generation of pedologists able to combine field description with digital soil science.</p>","PeriodicalId":12043,"journal":{"name":"European Journal of Soil Science","volume":"77 4","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.3,"publicationDate":"2026-07-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/ejss.70372","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148616669","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Freeze-thaw Cycles Effects on Straw-induced Soil Organic Carbon Priming in a Mollisol are Mediated by Soil Moisture and Fertilization History","authors":"Minghui Liu,&nbsp;Peng He,&nbsp;Yue-Yu Sui,&nbsp;Lu-Jun Li","doi":"10.1111/ejss.70385","DOIUrl":"10.1111/ejss.70385","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 <p>Soil freeze–thaw cycles in high-latitude and high-altitude agroecosystems significantly perturb soil carbon (C) cycling processes. Straw return during post-harvest periods exposes soils to freeze–thaw cycles, which may amplify native soil organic carbon (SOC) mineralization through priming effects. While agricultural management practices—particularly soil moisture regulation and fertilizer regimes—modulate these responses by altering microbial C metabolism and resource stoichiometry, the mechanistic interactions remain poorly quantified. Through controlled incubation experiments simulating freeze–thaw scenarios (5 cycles of −5°C/5°C), we systematically evaluated total CO₂ emission partitioning (straw- vs. SOC-derived), SOC priming, and microbial C use efficiency (CUE) under two moisture regimes (60% vs. 80% water-holding capacity) and fertilization histories (24-year mineral fertilizer vs. mineral fertilizer + straw). The results showed that freeze–thaw cycles significantly increased the total, straw-derived, and SOC-derived CO₂ emissions and PE. Microbial CUE showed contrasting responses to freeze–thaw under different moisture conditions. Mechanistically, PE magnitude exhibited divergent controls: a strong negative correlation with microbial CUE, while a positive correlation with the ratio of C to N cycle-related enzyme activities. Furthermore, soil microbial CUE reduction after freeze–thaw cycles was tightly coupled with resource-microbial C:N imbalance. Collectively, our findings demonstrate that the freeze–thaw cycles after straw return drive soil C loss by increasing native SOC mineralization and suppressing microbial C assimilation. Crucially, soil moisture regulation and fertilizer management modulated these effects by restructuring microbial physiological constraints and enzyme-mediated stoichiometric flexibility.</p>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":12043,"journal":{"name":"European Journal of Soil Science","volume":"77 4","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.3,"publicationDate":"2026-07-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148595630","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"How to Establish Soil Health as A Key Element in the Agricultural Sustainability Debate?","authors":"Johan Bouma","doi":"10.1111/ejss.70386","DOIUrl":"10.1111/ejss.70386","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 <p>The ECONOMIST journal has presented a favorable article about the English Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) suggesting that the: “Promised land” is being reached. Sustainability is, however, poorly defined as 71 top-down empirical management measures form the basis for subsidies. This can be improved by assessing a series of interdisciplinary ecosystem services, to be realized by appropriate management, that correspond with the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), as proposed recently by the European Commission when analysing the future of agriculture. Soil Health is a key element of SDG 15 (Life on Land). Rather than focus on prescribed management procedures, farmers can bottom-up follow their own procedures as long as they meet indicators and thresholds of provided ecosystem services. Two Dutch Living-Lab case studies on farm level show that this SDG-based assessment is possible using modern techniques and doing so can re-establish the key role of soil science in the agricultural policy debate allowing a direct connection with the society-wide sustainability discourse, thereby potentially improving communication with the policy- and media arena's.</p>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":12043,"journal":{"name":"European Journal of Soil Science","volume":"77 4","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.3,"publicationDate":"2026-07-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148595629","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}