European Journal of Soil Science最新文献

{"title":"Impact of land use and soil group on the functional diversity of abundant and rare bacterial communities","authors":"Yijia Tang,&nbsp;Budiman Minasny,&nbsp;Alex McBratney,&nbsp;Peipei Xue,&nbsp;Ho Jun Jang","doi":"10.1111/ejss.70026","DOIUrl":"10.1111/ejss.70026","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Despite the critical role of soil microbial communities in biomass production and ecosystem functioning, previous research primarily focussed on microbial structure without functional insights, especially for rare species. This study addresses this gap by exploring the functional potential of both abundant and rare bacterial communities across various land uses and soil groups in the Lower Namoi Valley, Australia. By integrating plant-beneficial bacteria (PBB) and Functional Annotation of Prokaryotic Taxa (FAPROTAX) databases, we show that rare species exhibited higher alpha diversity and multifunctionality than abundant species. Cropping enhanced the biodiversity of abundant functional bacteria in fine-textured soils, which promoted crop growth through increased PBB and carbon cycling. Conversely, rare functional bacteria exhibited consistently lower biodiversity in croplands. Random forest models and linear regression analyses identified land use as a significant factor influencing the biodiversity of rare functional bacterial communities, likely through plant–soil feedback systems. These findings underline the importance of land use in shaping bacterial community functionality and call for conservation strategies to protect soil biodiversity, especially rare species, to ensure sustainable soil ecosystems and support future food production.</p>","PeriodicalId":12043,"journal":{"name":"European Journal of Soil Science","volume":"75 6","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.0,"publicationDate":"2024-12-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142809689","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":"Short-term crop residue amendments altered the chemodiversity and thermodynamic stability of dissolvable organic matter in paddy soil","authors":"Shuotong Chen,&nbsp;Xin Xia,&nbsp;Xiao Feng,&nbsp;Qingmei Lin,&nbsp;Genxing Pan","doi":"10.1111/ejss.70027","DOIUrl":"10.1111/ejss.70027","url":null,"abstract":"<p>The chemodiversity and thermodynamic stability of dissolvable organic matter (DOM) in paddy soil under different crop residue managements remain unclear. Using Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry (FT-ICR-MS) analysis, we explored the molecular composition of DOM in paddy soil 4 years following incorporation of maize residue in different forms (air-dried straw, manure and biochar). Compared to the control without amendments, manure increased the pool size of DOM but reduced its chemodiversity, while the straw and biochar amendments reduced the pool size but increased the chemodiversity of DOM by 0.22 and 0.05, respectively. Though approximately 60% of the compounds were shared among the treatments, those distinct among the treatments were shaped by residue-derived lignin-like compounds. Moreover, the nominal oxidation state of carbon (NOSC), which corresponds to the energy content in organic carbon, decreased with the maize residue amendments, regardless of the forms. Thus, crop residue amendments could lead to higher DOM persistence in the short-term, potentially slowing carbon turnover in paddy soil.</p>","PeriodicalId":12043,"journal":{"name":"European Journal of Soil Science","volume":"75 6","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.0,"publicationDate":"2024-12-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/ejss.70027","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142809688","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":"Home field effects on the assimilation of inorganic nitrogen fertiliser into proteinaceous amino acids","authors":"Michaela K. Reay,&nbsp;Jamie Dunn,&nbsp;Mashita Chiewattanakul,&nbsp;Robert I. Griffiths,&nbsp;Richard P. Evershed","doi":"10.1111/ejss.70023","DOIUrl":"10.1111/ejss.70023","url":null,"abstract":"<p>The local adaption of soil microbial communities to native litter inputs, the so-called home field effect (HFE), is well established, though this phenomenon has yet to be demonstrated for agriculturally relevant inorganic nutrient sources. Using compound-specific ¹⁵N-stable isotope probing of proteinaceous amino acids (AAs), we investigated if continuous long-term grassland fertilisation with either ammonium or nitrate resulted in preferential assimilation by the soil microbial community of the ‘home’ N fertiliser. Relative ammonium uptake was maximal in historic ammonium treated soils and previously unfertilised soil, confirming a general microbial preference for ammonium likely due to biochemical transformation efficiencies. Assimilation of nitrate and ammonium into AAs was comparable for the historic nitrate fertilisation, indicating that microbial adaptive processes governed by historical land use can dictate the immobilisation efficiency of different fertilisers. This is the first observation of the HFE in long-term fertilised grassland soils, with further work required to investigate abiotic or biotic mechanisms underpinning this phenomena.</p>","PeriodicalId":12043,"journal":{"name":"European Journal of Soil Science","volume":"75 6","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.0,"publicationDate":"2024-12-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/ejss.70023","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142788506","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":"Influence of the vegetation restoration age on the soil detachment of root–soil composites on the Loess Plateau of China","authors":"Jianye Ma,&nbsp;Sijing Zhang,&nbsp;Fangtao She,&nbsp;Xiaofeng Zhao,&nbsp;Bo Ma,&nbsp;Haibo Li,&nbsp;Chenguang Wang,&nbsp;Yongze Shang,&nbsp;Zhanbin Li","doi":"10.1111/ejss.70011","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/ejss.70011","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Vegetation restoration processes significantly affect near-surface characteristics, thus affecting soil detachment. Existing research has primarily focused on analysing soil detachment via root morphological parameters and soil physical and chemical properties. However, few studies have focused on analysing the variation in soil detachment with restoration age from a mechanical parameter perspective. Natural, undisturbed soil samples were collected from five grasslands restored for 1–22 years and from one bare plot (0 years of restoration, employed as the control). The collected samples were subjected to flow scouring in hydraulic flume experiments under six stream powers. The relationship between the soil detachment rate (SDR) and the mechanical parameters of the root–soil composites, namely root cohesion and soil shear strength (<i>τ</i>₂₀₀), were quantified to reveal the mechanical mechanism underlying soil detachment during vegetation restoration. The results indicated that the SDR decreased, whereas root cohesion increased with increasing vegetation restoration age. The dominant factors influencing the SDR changed from hydrodynamics at the early restoration stage to the mechanical properties of the root–soil composites at the late stage. An SDR model with a high prediction accuracy (Nash–Sutcliffe efficiency = 0.96 and <i>R</i>² = 0.96) was developed based on mechanical parameters, and the fitting effect was greater than that of the SDR prediction model developed based on root morphological parameters and soil physical and chemical properties. This study aimed to analyse the SDR variation mechanism from the perspective of mechanics and could provide reference for the study of the erosion reduction effect of roots.</p>","PeriodicalId":12043,"journal":{"name":"European Journal of Soil Science","volume":"75 6","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.0,"publicationDate":"2024-12-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142762478","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":"Straw return with chemical fertilizer improves soil carbon pools and CO2 emissions by regulating stoichiometry","authors":"Jiajie Song,&nbsp;Wen Xu,&nbsp;Jianheng Song,&nbsp;Jinze Bai,&nbsp;Guoxi Gao,&nbsp;Zhihao Zhang,&nbsp;Qi Yu,&nbsp;Jiaqi Hao,&nbsp;Guangxin Ren,&nbsp;Xinhui Han,&nbsp;Xiaojiao Wang,&nbsp;Chengjie Ren,&nbsp;Yongzhong Feng,&nbsp;Xing Wang","doi":"10.1111/ejss.70017","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/ejss.70017","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Straw return with chemical fertilizers is integral to improving soil quality and the sustainability of agricultural production. However, little is known about how straw return with chemical fertilizer application affects CO₂ emissions and carbon pools from the perspective of nutrient stoichiometry. We conducted a 2-year (2020–2021) field experiment in a wheat–maize rotation system in silty clay loam to study the effects of straw return and fertilizer application on CO₂ emissions, soil carbon pools and yields by applying stoichiometry. A split-plot experimental design was used (straw was main treatment, and fertilizer was the split-plot treatment). The treatments were no straw return + no fertilizer (S₀W), no straw return + mineral nitrogen fertilizer (S₀N), no straw return + mineral nitrogen and phosphorus fertilizer (S₀NP), straw return + no fertilizer (SW), straw return + mineral nitrogen fertilizer (SN) and straw return + mineral nitrogen and phosphorus fertilizer (SNP). The results indicated that, compared with S₀W, the SNP treatment significantly increased soil organic carbon (SOC) storage by 17% and 13% in the 0–20 cm and 20–40 cm soil horizons, respectively. Additionally, compared with S₀W, the SNP and SN treatments significantly increased the annual cumulative CO₂ emissions by 85% and 41%, respectively. Furthermore, the SNP and SN treatments significantly increased the annual yield by 61% and 38%, respectively, compared with S₀W. Our results indicated that straw and fertilizer inputs reduced the C:N_imbalance in the topsoil (0–20 cm), with fertilizer inputs showing a more pronounced effect. However, straw incorporation increased the C:N_imbalance in subsoil (20–40 cm). Redundancy analysis (RDA) and structural equation models (SEM) suggested that 0–20 cm carbon-phosphorus ratio (C:P) and nitrogen-phosphorus ratio (N:P) could be significant predictors of annual yield and CO₂ emissions. In conclusion, straw and fertilizers enhanced soil nutrient effectiveness and reduced carbon mineralization in favour of SOC storage. However, the input of exogenous materials (straw and fertilizers) disrupted the soil ecological stoichiometric balance and stimulated microbial activity, leading to increased CO₂ emissions. Overall, this study provides theoretical guidance and scientific support for the green development of agriculture.</p>","PeriodicalId":12043,"journal":{"name":"European Journal of Soil Science","volume":"75 6","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.0,"publicationDate":"2024-12-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142762357","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":"Soil pH: Techniques, challenges and insights from a global dataset","authors":"Luke M. Mosley,&nbsp;Pichu Rengasamy,&nbsp;Rob Fitzpatrick","doi":"10.1111/ejss.70021","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/ejss.70021","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Soil pH is a critical parameter influencing numerous soil properties including nutrient cycling, microbial activity, inorganic carbon and metal speciation and criteria for classifying acid sulfate soils and soils with reactive aluminium (Podzols and Andosols). Accurate measurement of soil pH is essential for effective soil assessment, management and crop production. This review of soil pH focuses on techniques and challenges for measurement and utilises insights from a comprehensive global soil dataset (<i>n</i> = 655,336). Soil pH has a global average of 6.36 with considerable regional variability. A Random Forest model of the global dataset identified total carbonate content, rainfall, evaporation, clay and organic carbon content as key drivers of soil pH (<i>R</i>² = 0.77, mean absolute error = 0.46 pH units). The advantages and limitations of various soil pH measurement methods (e.g., glass and solid-state electrodes, colorimetric and spectrophotometric methods, infrared spectroscopy, remote sensing and specialised field assessment methods) are discussed. Care should be taken in choosing appropriate pH measurement techniques depending on the purpose of the measurement and nature of the soils. The use of electrolytes (e.g., CaCl₂ and KCl) introduces variable changes in measured pH and, on average globally, pH measured in a 1:5 soil:0.01 M CaCl₂ extract is ~0.7 pH units lower than that measured in a 1:5 soil suspension. Although the use of electrolytes can help stabilise pH measurements in low ionic strength soils, their use requires careful consideration, as they do not eliminate all seasonal variability (which may also be important to assess) and they can introduce large pH perturbations in sodic-alkaline and acid sulfate soils. Varying soil-to-solution ratios have less influence on resultant pH values than electrolytes however the measurements at low soil-to-solution ratios (e.g., 1:1 soil:water) are preferable for accuracy. Perturbations from field pH conditions due to CO₂ outgassing and oxidation are likely when wet soils, acid sulfate soils and/or sub-soils are measured in the laboratory. These findings underscore the need for improved field measurement technology and further research on the measurement protocols to ensure accurate and reliable soil pH data, which are crucial for optimising agricultural practices and environmental management.</p>","PeriodicalId":12043,"journal":{"name":"European Journal of Soil Science","volume":"75 6","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.0,"publicationDate":"2024-11-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/ejss.70021","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142749069","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":"Integrated, multiscale forensic soil science applied to an unsolved murder case in Italy","authors":"F. Terribile,&nbsp;M. Iamarino,&nbsp;G. Langella,&nbsp;Giacomo Mele,&nbsp;L. Gargiulo,&nbsp;F. A. Mileti,&nbsp;S. Vingiani,&nbsp;L. Dawson","doi":"10.1111/ejss.70019","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/ejss.70019","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Soil forensics is not only a well-established research domain but has also been used in numerous successful international searches for burials and as trace evidence to help police and law enforcement in solving criminal, environmental and terrorism investigations. However, despite the confidentiality and legal constraints in case work in many parts of the world, some actual case studies using soil materials as evidence in court hearings have been published in international journals and books. This paper presents a case from the Campania region in Italy where soil analysis played a pivotal role. Employing a multiscale integrated approach encompassing soil microtomography, morphology, chemical analysis and geography, the study aimed to discern the origin of questioned soil residues found on a victim of crime. Results highlight the significance of considering spatial variability and an appropriate choice of analytical methods. The sequential and multiscale approach facilitated timely investigation without incurring unnecessary costs. Soil morphological and chemical analysis revealed inconsistencies between soil on the victim and soil at the suspected crime scenes, narrowing the investigative area down to approximately one square km. While detailed sampling did not yield statistically significant results, the evidence provided crucial insights, aiding investigators in working out what happened and helped in building a narrative around their case. The analysis indicated contact with a primary scene where the victim was likely dragged (over a Calcisol) and a final deposition site (over an Andosol) where the body was found. While potential murder sites were excluded, final guilt attribution remained inconclusive, and as in all trace evidence evaluation, it is not the role of the forensic soil scientist to consider the level of guilt, but to provide factual soil forensic evidence to assist the justice system. This study exemplifies the use of soil forensics in informing criminal investigations and highlights the complexities that can be involved in establishing comparability between soil samples.</p>","PeriodicalId":12043,"journal":{"name":"European Journal of Soil Science","volume":"75 6","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.0,"publicationDate":"2024-11-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/ejss.70019","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142749070","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":"Multifunctional soil health assessment of long-term manure application to ferric acrisol","authors":"Yue Shi,&nbsp;Lu Luan,&nbsp;Xiaoyue Wang,&nbsp;Guofan Zhu,&nbsp;Yingcong Ye,&nbsp;Jianbo Fan,&nbsp;Shungui Zhou,&nbsp;Yuji Jiang","doi":"10.1111/ejss.70022","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/ejss.70022","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Soil health refers to the capacity of soil to sustain ecosystem functions and provide a favourable environment for soil organisms and plants. However, it is challenging to quantitatively determine soil health by assessing its ecosystem functions. Here, we constructed a multifunctional soil health assessment method based on five soil functions including plant productivity (PP), water regulation (WR), nutrient cycling (NC), carbon storage (CS), and biodiversity preservation (BP), with soil acidification rate and soil erodibility factor as restrictive indicators. The entropy weight coefficient method was used to calculate the indicator weights, and the minimum data set (MDS) was established using random forest modelling. The impact of organic manure treatments on the five soil functions and the soil health index (SHI) was calculated using a long-term fertilization experiment. Our results showed that manure application significantly promoted the five soil functions and SHI, and the SHI was significantly positively correlated with soil fertility index (SFI) and soil quality index (SQI). Random forest modelling showed that the five soil functions contributed similar proportions to the variation in SHI. SHI based on the total data set and minimum data set was positively associated with maize characteristics, including root weight, shoot weight, and grain yield. In conclusion, the multifunctional soil health assessment method is crucial for elucidating the relationships of management practices with soil health and crop yield, enabling the achievement of healthy management and sustainable development for ferric acrisol farmland.</p>","PeriodicalId":12043,"journal":{"name":"European Journal of Soil Science","volume":"75 6","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.0,"publicationDate":"2024-11-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142737458","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":"Can coffee and cocoa cultivation restore intensively grazed dark earth of the Amazon rainforest?","authors":"João Jose Costa Silva,&nbsp;Tancredo Souza,&nbsp;Milton César Costa Campos,&nbsp;Bruno Campos Mantovanelli,&nbsp;Alan Ferreira Leite de Lima,&nbsp;Thalita Silva Martins,&nbsp;Romaria Gomes de Almeida,&nbsp;Flavio Pereira de Oliveira,&nbsp;Rodrigo Macedo Santana,&nbsp;Douglas Marcelo Pinheiro da Silva","doi":"10.1111/ejss.70020","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/ejss.70020","url":null,"abstract":"<p>The conversion of natural ecosystem to pasture or agricultural fields is the main factor of soil fertility and aboveground biomass decline in the Amazon basin. Our aim here was to present the impacts on soil chemical properties and aboveground biomass associated with four land covers (<i>Coffea canephora</i>, natural ecosystem, pasture and <i>Theobroma cacao</i>) from the Amazon basin, Amazonas, Brazil. The soil pH, soil organic carbon (SOC), SOC stock, phosphorus (P), Ca²⁺, Al³⁺, H⁺+Al³⁺, sum of bases, cation exchange capacity (CEC), base saturation and aluminium saturation varied among the studied land covers. We observed a decrease in SOC stock by 82.9%, 33.1% and 79.5% when comparing the results of <i>C. canephora</i>, pasture and <i>T. cacao</i> with the natural ecosystem.Principal component analysis (PCA) showed that bulk density, soil pH, base saturation, Ca²⁺, K⁺, aboveground biomass increment (ABI), SOC stock, Al³⁺ and aluminium saturation were the main factors contributing to 86.45% of the data variance. Additionally, the proposed predictive models indicated that: (i) ABI was strongly influenced by soil pH, SOC_stock, K⁺, Ca²⁺, base saturation and bulk density and (ii) SOC_stock was strongly influenced by K⁺, Ca²⁺ and Al³⁺. The results of our study highlighted the importance of considering the conversion of natural ecosystems, aiming to find more suitable systems (e.g., agroforestry systems) in Brazil's Legal Amazon, based on the sustainable ways that simulate similar conditions to that occuring in the soil of natural ecosystems, since even the studied monocropping systems (<i>T. cacao</i> and <i>C. canephora</i>) that aimed to recover land degradation showed lower ABI and SOC stocks. Thus, future studies must consider the use of agroforestry systems with these crops to exploit positive results among soil chemical properties and aboveground biomass increment.</p>","PeriodicalId":12043,"journal":{"name":"European Journal of Soil Science","volume":"75 6","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.0,"publicationDate":"2024-11-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142708373","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":"Characterization and spatial distribution of mesoplastics in an arable soil","authors":"Kristof Dorau,&nbsp;Daniel Rückamp,&nbsp;Christian Weber,&nbsp;Georg Scheeder,&nbsp;Ronja Reßing,&nbsp;Stephan Peth,&nbsp;Philipp Otto,&nbsp;Korinna Altmann,&nbsp;Elke Fries,&nbsp;Martin Hoppe","doi":"10.1111/ejss.70016","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/ejss.70016","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Extraction of plastic particles from soil is challenging and, thus, exceptionally little spatial information on plastic distribution at the field scale has been gathered. However, for environmental risk assessment, adequate sampling should complement coherent plastic profiling. In this study, we investigated the spatial distribution of mesoplastics (MePs; from &gt;5 mm up to 130 mm) in arable soil (Haplic Cambisol) managed intensively by 12 years of compost application. Geo-referenced samples (<i>n</i> = 128) and five different sampling designs (<i>n</i> = 45) of variable sampling volume (from 2 to 300 L) were collected at a three hectare study site in Northern Germany (0–30 cm soil depth). Soil properties such as pH and soil organic carbon (SOC) were measured to evaluate dispersion measures of these data. In total, we found 259 MePs with a predominance of transparent packaging foils made of polyethylene and coloured fibres of polypropylene. Average particle metrics were a projection area of 47 (3–400) mm², a Feret diameter of 18.5 (5.4–130) mm and a mass of 1.89 (0.11–221) mg. Caution is advised when measuring the particle mass due to still strongly adhering soil material, especially for fibre bundles with 0.544 mg soil mg⁻¹ particle. We recommend using a 0.1 mol L⁻¹ tetrasodium pyrophosphate solution to purify MePs by removing attached soil before weighing for further environmental risk assessment. The MePs count with a median value of 0.50 (0–3.2) particles kg⁻¹ and median mass of 2.26 (0–221) mg kg⁻¹ featured the highest coefficient of variation (CV) with 103% and 187%, respectively. This is 10–20 times larger in comparison to the CV of SOC (9.2%) and even 50–93 times larger than CV of soil pH (2.2%). This leads to the need of larger sample numbers to delineate plastic metrics in comparison with soil properties to identify a reliable mean value of the field within a predefined allowable error. Mesoplastics in the soil were characterized by a pure nugget effect variogram (no spatial correlation), revealed no intrafield variability and the sample volume yielded inconclusive results. Sampling for plastics in soil should either (i) drastically increase the sample number for a single field or (ii) communicate transparently that the allowable error is by far enhanced in comparison with classical soil properties like pH and SOC. More systematic studies featuring geo-spatial analysis of MePs and smaller-sized plastics in soils are required to propose adequate sampling designs across multiple land uses and plastics fingerprints. A larger database would, thereupon, pave the way for best-practice guides on how to treat ‘outliers’ and search for robust estimators for spatial mapping of plastics in soils.</p>","PeriodicalId":12043,"journal":{"name":"European Journal of Soil Science","volume":"75 6","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.0,"publicationDate":"2024-11-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/ejss.70016","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142708374","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}