Geoderma最新文献

{"title":"Residence time effects on sorption and desorption mechanisms of phosphate and myo-inositol hexakisphosphate on allophane","authors":"Tsubasa Nakajima ,&nbsp;Keiichi Noguchi ,&nbsp;Yohey Hashimoto","doi":"10.1016/j.geoderma.2025.117488","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.geoderma.2025.117488","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Understanding the molecular-scale mechanisms of phosphate (PO₄) and inositol hexakisphosphate (IHP) interactions with allophane is critical for predicting phosphorus (P) retention in volcanic ash soils. This study investigated the sorption and desorption behavior of PO₄ and IHP on allophane over residence times of 60 days at pH 4 and 6, integrating macroscopic kinetics and isotherms with solid-state ³¹P and ²⁷Al NMR spectroscopy. Allophane showed strong sorption affinity for both PO₄ and IHP, with PO₄ sorption increasing markedly at lower pH (from 0.89 mmol g⁻¹ at pH 6 to 1.36 mmol g⁻¹ at pH 4), while IHP sorption was less pH-dependent. Sorption followed a biphasic kinetic pattern: an initial rapid phase driven by ligand exchange, followed by a slower phase involving minor structural reorganization. PO₄ exhibited faster sorption kinetics than IHP, with rate constants nearly four times higher at both pH levels. NMR spectroscopy revealed that both PO₄ and IHP initially formed inner-sphere surface complexes on allophane, rapidly initiating surface precipitation of AlPO₄ and Al-IHP, particularly under acidic conditions, indicating that the surface precipitation processes are initiated durting the early stages of sorption. These surface precipitates became increasingly dominant with longer residence times and coincided with reduced phosphate desorption. These findings highlight the critical roles of residence time and pH in regulating PO₄ and IHP binding mechanisms on allophane, providing molecular-level insights into legacy P dynamics and substantiating allophane’s function as a long-term sink for both inorganic and organic phosphorus in Andisols.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":12511,"journal":{"name":"Geoderma","volume":"461 ","pages":"Article 117488"},"PeriodicalIF":6.6,"publicationDate":"2025-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145018658","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Vegetation type and aridity modulate the role of soil organic carbon fractions in shaping dryland ecosystem services","authors":"Luna McGill ,&nbsp;Pablo García-Palacios ,&nbsp;Fernando T. Maestre ,&nbsp;Manuel Delgado-Baquerizo ,&nbsp;César Plaza","doi":"10.1016/j.geoderma.2025.117498","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.geoderma.2025.117498","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Soil organic carbon (SOC) supports multiple ecosystem services in drylands. However, the influence of the two main fractions of SOC −particulate organic carbon (POC) and mineral-associated organic carbon (MAOC)- on ecosystem services, and whether vegetation type and aridity shape this relationship, remains to be explored in global drylands. Here we used a global database of 251 dryland ecosystems to assess the association of POC and MAOC contents with seven ecosystem services (biomass production, nutrient cycling, pest control, mutualism, C storage, water regulation, and organic matter decomposition). We found positive associations between both SOC fractions and all ecosystem services, except mutualism and pest control, with the strength of these relationships varying across vegetation types. Specifically, POC was positively associated with C storage, water regulation, and organic matter decomposition in forests, with C storage and organic matter decomposition in shrublands, and with biomass production and C storage in grasslands, while MAOC was positively associated with nutrient cycling and C storage in forests and with biomass production and C storage in grasslands. Aridity (1 − mean annual precipitation/mean annual potential evapotranspiration) also shaped the magnitude of these associations, with consistently weaker links under high aridity (&gt; 0.8). Overall, our results highlight that the potential POC and MAOC losses with ongoing aridification threaten not only soil C storage but also the maintenance of other fundamental ecosystem services which rely on both SOC fractions.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":12511,"journal":{"name":"Geoderma","volume":"461 ","pages":"Article 117498"},"PeriodicalIF":6.6,"publicationDate":"2025-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144988089","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Comparison of pyrogenic carbon abundance in coarse-textured soil by hydrogen pyrolysis, NMR and dichromate oxidation and MIR-PLSR","authors":"Jonathan Sanderman ,&nbsp;Jordahna Haig ,&nbsp;Sourav Das ,&nbsp;Colleen Partida ,&nbsp;Christina Asanopoulos ,&nbsp;Michael I. Bird","doi":"10.1016/j.geoderma.2025.117502","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.geoderma.2025.117502","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Soil pyrogenic carbon (PyC) is of considerable significance to the global carbon cycle as a carbon pool which is resistant to mineralization and thus offers opportunities to facilitate net carbon sequestration. Quantifying the size and dynamics of the soil PyC pool is hampered by the large number of techniques that yield a wide range of abundances even when applied to the same sample. We used hydrogen pyrolysis to quantify stable polycyclic aromatic carbon (SPAC) of pyrogenic origin (PyC_SPAC) in a globally distributed set of coarse-textured soils, in which the percentage of particles finer than 53 µm ranged from 0.1 to 24.1 % (mean = 7.2 ± 5.8 % 1σ). PyC_SPAC values ranged from 0 to 0.37 % (mean = 0.08 ± 0.06 %). We compared the PyC_SPAC values with estimates derived from nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (PyC_NMR) and found a strong correlation between the two (r = 0.90). However, the PyC_NMR estimates were ∼7 times higher than PyC_SPAC values, attributed partly to NMR measuring a wider range of pyrogenic molecules but also likely due to the inclusion of aromatic ‘resistant’ soil carbon of non-pyrogenic origin. In contrast, there was little correspondence between either PyC_SPAC or PyC_NMR and abundances determined by dichromate oxidation (PyC_OREC). Partial least squares modelling of the mid-infrared (MIR) spectra was able to predict both PyC_SPAC and PyC_NMR values with high confidence (r = 0.77 and 0.94 respectively). The study suggests that, with appropriate scaling factors, PyC_SPAC and PyC_NMR can be directly compared, and both can be predicted by MIR.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":12511,"journal":{"name":"Geoderma","volume":"461 ","pages":"Article 117502"},"PeriodicalIF":6.6,"publicationDate":"2025-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145018661","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Universal models for comprehensive prediction of soil quality responses to complex amendments in acidic soil","authors":"Pengshun Wang ,&nbsp;Prakash Lakshmanan ,&nbsp;Qichao Zhu ,&nbsp;Siwen Zhang ,&nbsp;Donghao Xu ,&nbsp;Shuihan Yuan ,&nbsp;Fusuo Zhang","doi":"10.1016/j.geoderma.2025.117495","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.geoderma.2025.117495","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Soil acidification poses a serious threat to sustainable use of arable land. Applying soil amendments are effective measures to counteract the widely occurred soil acidification. However, a method to accurately predict the amendment effects on soil acidification is lacking. In this study, a total of 41 soil culture treatments, covering organic, inorganic, and their combinations, were conducted to compile a comprehensive dataset, which was further used to establish a model to predict the performance of amendments. The random forest (RF) and multiple linear regression (MLR) were adopted to model soil quality changes due to varying amendments application. 30 % percent of the culture treatment dataset and field observations were used to validate the model performance. The results demonstrate that MLR models are less robust in predicting the change in soil indicators, with the R² varying 0.6∼0.82. For some soil indicators, such as exchangeable acid (Ex-Acid), exchangeable calcium and cation exchange capacity (CEC), due to weak adherence to key assumptions such as linearity, homoscedasticity, and normality, which likely impaired their predictive reliability. Such limitations could reduce the model’s fitting accuracy and predictive stability for certain soil properties. The RF model is excellent at reconstructing changes in all soil chemical properties, with R² greater than 0.80. This includes soil pH, Ex-Acid, exchangeable calcium, and exchangeable magnesium, except for changes in CEC, which rarely changed after amendments application. Validation of model predictions through multi-site field observations further confirmed the robust predictions for multiple types of amendments. In particular, the prediction results of RF for Ex-acid are better than those of MLR. The overall outcomes suggest that RF model demonstrated greater reliability and adaptability, highlighting its practical value for guiding amendment selection in acid soil management.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":12511,"journal":{"name":"Geoderma","volume":"461 ","pages":"Article 117495"},"PeriodicalIF":6.6,"publicationDate":"2025-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145018659","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"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 health quantification via SMAF and CASH across diverse land uses","authors":"Xucheng Hu ,&nbsp;Manbir K. Rakkar ,&nbsp;Steve W. Lyon ,&nbsp;Kevin S. Armstrong ,&nbsp;Douglas B. Jackson-Smith ,&nbsp;Van R. Haden ,&nbsp;Nicola Lorenz ,&nbsp;Shane D. Whitacre ,&nbsp;James A. Ippolito","doi":"10.1016/j.geoderma.2025.117492","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.geoderma.2025.117492","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Soil health quantification helps to visualize soil health conditions across different agroecosystem land use and management practices. However, using different soil health platforms for soil health quantification may lead to varying outcomes. This study quantified soil health via two frequently used soil health frameworks, namely the Soil Management Assessment Framework (SMAF) and the Comprehensive Assessment of Soil Health (CASH), across eleven sites pertaining to different land use management strategies, including a deciduous (DF) and an evergreen forest (EF), managed pastures including a livestock integrated beef pasture (BP) and a pasture for hay harvesting (DP), and seven crop lands with multiple management practices. Results suggested that managed pasture sites were associated with the best overall soil health scores within both frameworks (BP 0.92 and 81, DP 0.90 and 79, for SMAF and CASH, respectively). Among all crop fields, a certified organic managed site showed the greatest soil health (0.88 and 75 for SMAF and CASH, respectively), primarily due to soil organic carbon (SOC) accumulation. Most soil health indicators included in SMAF and CASH were sensitive to present land use and management practice differences. However, the result for active carbon (from CASH) was not sensitive to land use, and the findings indicated that β-glucosidase activity (from SMAF) was merely correlated to soil pH. The overall soil health scores generated from these two frameworks were significantly correlated (r = 0.58), and the outcome of both frameworks was driven largely by soil biological indicators (r = 0.87 for both SMAF and CASH, respectively). The overall soil health scores suggested that CASH was more sensitive to land use and management practices compared to SMAF based on a wider spread in overall soil health scores across land uses and management practices in the cultivated fields. The use of forested sites as a potential soil health benchmark for cropped lands was not feasible primarily due to their low soil pH (DF = 5.41 and EF = 4.22) that likely supported different soil biogeochemical process as compared to managed agroecosystems. In contrast, results from this study suggest that managed pastures (BP and DP) are a more promising benchmark for assessing soil health in croplands within this region of the U.S.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":12511,"journal":{"name":"Geoderma","volume":"461 ","pages":"Article 117492"},"PeriodicalIF":6.6,"publicationDate":"2025-08-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144916309","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Enhancing GPR detection of salt-accumulated layer in oasis terraced fields by seasonal root zone freezing","authors":"Jienan Xu ,&nbsp;Xicai Pan ,&nbsp;Jiabao Zhang ,&nbsp;Yanfang Zhou ,&nbsp;Kwok Pan Chun","doi":"10.1016/j.geoderma.2025.117491","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.geoderma.2025.117491","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Accurate characterization of salt-accumulated layer (SAL) distribution is crucial for salinity regulation in oasis terraced fields. In salinized soil environments, high salt content leads to signal attenuation and limits the depth of radar wave penetration, which poses significant interpretation challenges. As a result, Ground-penetrating radar (GPR) technology, widely used and effective in conventional soil surveys, has shown limited applicability under such conditions. This study proposes an innovative approach to enhancing GPR detection of SAL by strategically leveraging seasonal root zone soil freezing phenomena. The influence of the main control factors, namely freezing depth, pre-freezing irrigation, and soil salinity level, on the performance of the methodology was systematically evaluated through numerical simulations and field testing. Results reveal that GPR detection of SAL achieved optimal feasibility when conducted during late winter, when the seasonal freezing depth reaches its maximum. Even better results could be expected when conducting the GPR survey over the land with common pre-freezing irrigation for salinity regulation. Moreover, these enhancements are effective for high salinity soils. Finally, a successful application of GPR to map and diagnose the SAL in an oasis terraced field validated the proposed approach, based on positive correlations with freezing depth and soil salinity level. The outcomes of this study not only broaden the application scope of GPR in soil surveying, but also provide a scientific basis for implementing precision irrigation strategies in salinized soil management, thereby contributing to water conservation efforts.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":12511,"journal":{"name":"Geoderma","volume":"461 ","pages":"Article 117491"},"PeriodicalIF":6.6,"publicationDate":"2025-08-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144911773","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"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 film mulching and increased nitrogen fertilization on the soil micro-food web","authors":"Zhiyong Zhang,&nbsp;Shuangshuang Du,&nbsp;Shuangyi Li,&nbsp;Bingxue Li,&nbsp;Jingkuan Wang","doi":"10.1016/j.geoderma.2025.117487","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.geoderma.2025.117487","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Film mulching and increased nitrogen fertilization profoundly affect soil ecosystem functioning and stability. The soil micro-food web, comprising diverse nematode-microbe interactions, plays a crucial role in mediating nutrient exchanges and energy flows. However, the effects of plastic film mulching (PFM) and elevated nitrogen fertilization on soil micro-food web dynamics remain poorly understood. In a long-term field trial, we evaluated these impacts using a two-factor design with mulching conditions (with (+PFM) and without (−PFM) plastic film) and three nitrogen fertilizer dosages (0 (N₀), 135 (N₁₃₅), and 270 kg N ha⁻¹ yr⁻¹ (N₂₇₀)). Soil sampling was conducted at three maize growth stages: seedling, jointing, and filling. The results revealed that +PFM led to notable declines in species richness and ecological network connectivity within the soil micro-food web, compared to −PFM. Compared to N₂₇₀, N₀ resulted in a markedly greater biomass carbon content in the soil micro-food web. A significantly lower soil micro-food web connectance was observed in N₂₇₀ than in N₀. The nematode channel ratio was significantly higher under N₂₇₀ than under N₀. Principal component analysis demonstrated that nitrogen fertilization intensity significantly altered soil physicochemical properties. Redundancy analysis revealed that soil temperature and ammonium nitrogen were the dominant factors driving micro-food web restructuring. Structural equation modeling clarified that the alteration of soil micro-food web under plastic film mulching was driven by fluctuations in soil temperature and ammonium nitrogen status. High nitrogen fertilizer input suppressed micro-food web development via ammonium nitrogen accumulation. Overall, long-term plastic film mulching and excessive nitrogen fertilization adversely affect the diversity, stability, and ecological functioning of soil biotic communities.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":12511,"journal":{"name":"Geoderma","volume":"461 ","pages":"Article 117487"},"PeriodicalIF":6.6,"publicationDate":"2025-08-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144908582","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Biocrusts regulate the seasonal dynamics of soil nematode diversity in a semiarid ecosystem","authors":"Yanfeng Wang ,&nbsp;Bo Xiao ,&nbsp;Mayank Krishna ,&nbsp;Manuel Delgado-Baquerizo","doi":"10.1016/j.geoderma.2025.117490","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.geoderma.2025.117490","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Drylands are of the most stressful environments and covered by biocrusts which create biotic islands essential for other soil organisms. Although the roles of biocrusts as moderators of microbial community assembly have been extensively studied, much less is known whether soil fauna are affected by these biocrusts and their seasonal dynamics. Here, we used soil nematodes as indicators of soil fauna to assess how different biocrust types affect the seasonal dynamics of nematode abundance and diversity on the northern Loess Plateau of China. We unveiled that biocrusts are highly critical for reshaping soil nematode community in drylands, where the total number, Patrick index, and Shannon-Wiener index of nematode community in biocrusts were 357 %, 260 %, and 91 % higher than that of bare soil, respectively. Biocrust traits and their alteration on soil properties are the principal factors through which affect soil nematode community. Furthermore, those soil nematodes were also primarily affected the seasonal fluctuations of soil temperature, moisture, and the contents of organic matter, NO₃⁻-N, NH₄⁺-N, and chlorophyll, resulting in a distinct seasonal pattern of nematode community underneath biocrusts. In summary, our findings indicated that biocrusts facilitate the development of soil nematode (fauna) community in drylands through increasing soil stability and food sources, but the level of their influences are determined by biocrust types and seasons. We highlight the critical roles of biocrusts in shaping soil fauna assembly in dryland ecosystem, by which further mediating ecosystem processes and services.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":12511,"journal":{"name":"Geoderma","volume":"461 ","pages":"Article 117490"},"PeriodicalIF":6.6,"publicationDate":"2025-08-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144908581","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Heavy metal contamination threats carbon sequestration of paddy soils with an attenuated microbial anabolism","authors":"Li Xiong ,&nbsp;Marios Drosos ,&nbsp;Min Jiao ,&nbsp;Jianfei Sun ,&nbsp;Guilong Li ,&nbsp;Longxin He ,&nbsp;Fan Li ,&nbsp;Cheng Liu ,&nbsp;Antonio Scopa ,&nbsp;Wenjian Xia ,&nbsp;Caihong Shao ,&nbsp;Zengbing Liu","doi":"10.1016/j.geoderma.2025.117486","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.geoderma.2025.117486","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>As a global environmental concern, heavy metal pollution significantly impacts soil organic carbon (SOC) dynamics. Nevertheless,<!--> <!-->the<!--> <!-->microbial mechanisms governing SOC persistence under heavy metal contamination remain unclear,<!--> <!-->as<!--> <!-->previous research primarily focused on microbial catabolism. This study elucidated SOC variation induced by heavy metal contamination from the perspective of microbial anabolism,<!--> <!-->a key contributor to SOC sequestration according to recent theory.<!--> <!-->Herein a field survey was conducted at 13 sampling sites in polluted rice paddies, determining both SOC content and key microbial parameters. Nemerow index (a comprehensive index of pollution level) ranged from 0.48 to 2.93, with cadmium and copper as the primary contaminants. SOC content ranged between 14.56 and 23.97g kg⁻¹ <!-->across<!--> <!-->sampling sites and showed a negative relationship with nemerow index (R² = 0.46,<!--> <em>P</em> &lt; 0.001). Variation partitioning and random forest analyses indicated that SOC reduction was primarily driven by the<!--> <!-->combined<!--> <!-->effects of microbial factors and heavy metal pollution, with dominant role of microbial factors. Nemerow index negatively correlated with microbial C use efficiency (CUE) (R² = 0.42,<!--> <em>P</em> &lt; 0.001) and microbial biomass turnover (R² = 0.12,<!--> <em>P</em> = 0.017). Structural equation modeling further suggested that heavy metal pollution reduced SOC<!--> <!-->by<!--> <!-->decreasing microbial biomass carbon (MBC) formation and microbial residue accumulation through negative effects on microbial CUE and soil nitrogen availability. Collectively, our research<!--> <!-->provided robust evidences<!--> <!-->that heavy metal pollution could threat C sequestration of paddy soils by attenuating microbial anabolism with reduced accumulation of microbial-derived carbon.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":12511,"journal":{"name":"Geoderma","volume":"461 ","pages":"Article 117486"},"PeriodicalIF":6.6,"publicationDate":"2025-08-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144892157","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Advancing digital soil mapping with multi-year crop cover data: Impacts on model accuracy and soil interpretation","authors":"Babak Kasraei ,&nbsp;Margaret G. Schmidt ,&nbsp;Daniel D. Saurette ,&nbsp;Chuck E. Bulmer ,&nbsp;Jin Zhang ,&nbsp;Travis Pennell ,&nbsp;Kingsley John ,&nbsp;Brandon Heung","doi":"10.1016/j.geoderma.2025.117481","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.geoderma.2025.117481","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Vegetation cover has a significant influence on soil properties and is commonly used as a covariate in digital soil mapping (DSM). Crop frequency (CrFr) covariates, representing the frequency with which a certain crop or class of crops are grown over multiple years, can be derived from multi-year vegetation data. Such data have the potential to provide promising insights into soil conditions and can enhance predictions of soil properties. Predictive modelling within a DSM framework can improve our understanding of the relationship between crop cover and different soil properties. This study had two main objectives: (1) to develop DSM models for six soil properties—bulk density (BD), organic carbon (OC), A horizon thickness (AT), total nitrogen (TN), pH, and cation exchange capacity (CEC)—both with and without CrFr covariates, and to compare their accuracy metrics; each soil property was modelled independently as a separate response variable; and (2) to investigate the relationships between covariates such as crop types, precipitation, and temperature and soil properties. The study was conducted in the Ottawa, Canada, region, an area with diverse crop cover. From 13 years of Annual Crop Inventory (ACI) raster data, five CrFr covariates were generated and added to other covariates commonly used in DSM, resulting in a total of 54 covariates for model training. Twelve models were developed for the six soil properties, both with and without CrFr covariates. Validation results showed that including CrFr covariates improved the accuracy of models for BD, OC, AT, and TN. However, the impact on models for pH and CEC was minimal, indicating that intrinsic soil factors likely influence these properties more than CrFr. Partial dependence plots indicated that the models captured expected patterns, such as the negative association of forest cover with BD and its positive relationship with OC and TN. In contrast, crops such as legumes and corn exhibit the opposite effects. Forests exhibited a negative relationship with AT, whereas croplands showed a positive association, indicating a likely difference between the Ap horizon and Ah. Uncertainty analysis revealed lower uncertainty in agricultural cropland areas and those with lower elevations. This study highlights the potential of DSM in assessing the impact of crop type on soils and suggesting what crops may be more beneficial for soil.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":12511,"journal":{"name":"Geoderma","volume":"461 ","pages":"Article 117481"},"PeriodicalIF":6.6,"publicationDate":"2025-08-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144890081","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}