Geoderma最新文献

{"title":"Toward soil health assessment through process-based modeling of ecosystem service bundles","authors":"Marialaura Bancheri ,&nbsp;Rossella Albrizio ,&nbsp;Marco Botta ,&nbsp;Alessia Perego ,&nbsp;Fabio Terribile ,&nbsp;Angelo Basile","doi":"10.1016/j.geoderma.2025.117494","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.geoderma.2025.117494","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Globally, soil’s contribution to ecosystem services is integral to achieving several Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including food security (SDG 2), water quality (SDG 6), and climate action (SDG 13). At EU level, EU Mission “A Soil Deal for Europe” seeks to restore soil health by 2030. This study, in view of assessing soil health, introduces an integrated assessment of soil ecosystem services (SESs) using the ARMOSA process-based model. ARMOSA evaluates SESs, such as Food provisioning, Water regulation, Carbon Sequestration &amp; Climate Regulation, and Nutrient cycling, through simulations that account for diverse pedoclimatic conditions and management practices. By emphasizing multiple integrated indicators over single-point measurements, this approach captures dynamic soil-plant-atmosphere interactions, offering a nuanced framework for soil health assessment. The results demonstrate the potential of comprehensive SES evaluations to support sustainable soil management and inform strategies to meet local and global soil health goals.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":12511,"journal":{"name":"Geoderma","volume":"462 ","pages":"Article 117494"},"PeriodicalIF":6.6,"publicationDate":"2025-09-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145045577","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":"Occurrence and sources of pollutants in the soils of penguin colonies in the South Shetland Islands, North-West coast of the Antarctic Peninsula","authors":"B. Pérez-Fernández ,&nbsp;J. Caza ,&nbsp;M.C. De La Cerda ,&nbsp;A. Pérez-Alberti ,&nbsp;L. Viñas ,&nbsp;M. Oliva ,&nbsp;J. Ruíz-Fernández ,&nbsp;C. García-Hernández ,&nbsp;X.L. Otero","doi":"10.1016/j.geoderma.2025.117482","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.geoderma.2025.117482","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Seabirds are considered to be biological pumps that transfer large quantities of nutrients and pollutants from the marine environment to land. This study assessed the concentrations and sources of potentially toxic trace metals and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in penguin colonies on the South Shetland Islands. Soil samples and penguin droppings were collected from four sites on Livingston and Deception Islands. The soils were characterised by low organic carbon content, sandy texture, neutral to acidic pH and low electrical conductivity. Significant enrichment of nutrients, trace metals (e.g., P, Zn, Cu) and PAHs was observed in colony soils relative to control areas (no penguins), suggesting that penguin droppings are the main source of trace metals. PAHs had different sources: volcanic activity, biological deposition and minor human influence. Elevated levels of PAHs on Deception Island were associated with penguin droppings and past volcanic eruptions. Concentrations of PAHs do not exceed toxicity thresholds for marine organisms, while Cu and Zn contents at some locations sites exceed critical levels, suggesting potential toxicity risks at local sites, especially if these metals are leached into shallow water bodies. Ultimately, the findings establish that penguin colonies act as significant drivers in modulating the biogeochemical cycles of nutrients and contaminants within Antarctic coastal systems.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":12511,"journal":{"name":"Geoderma","volume":"461 ","pages":"Article 117482"},"PeriodicalIF":6.6,"publicationDate":"2025-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144988088","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":"Crop residues reshape microbial community composition and function across acidic soils via interactions between carbon chemistry, soil pH and nutrient availability","authors":"Wenbin Zhu ,&nbsp;Chenwei Liu ,&nbsp;Clayton R. Butterly ,&nbsp;Shuang Ouyang ,&nbsp;Lianghu Su ,&nbsp;Longjiang Zhang ,&nbsp;Lei Wang","doi":"10.1016/j.geoderma.2025.117496","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.geoderma.2025.117496","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>There is a significant gap in understanding how crop residues with varying carbon-to-nitrogen (C/N) ratios mitigate soil acidification in acidic soils, particularly considering the complex interplay between soil C chemistry, pH, nutrient dynamics, and their subsequent effects on microbial community composition and enzymatic activities. Here, a 65-day incubation experiment was conducted using four crop residues with varying C/N ratio (rapeseed cake 7.6; peanut straw 27.0; rice straw 48.6 and wheat straw 93.6), aiming to fill these knowledge gaps in the two typical acidic long-term tea garden soils. Results showed that the incorporation of crop residues significantly enhanced edaphic characteristics and mitigated soil acidification. In strongly acidic soil (pH 4.12), rapeseed cake increased SOC recalcitrance, while promoting SOC decomposition in slightly acidic soil (pH 4.75). Furthermore, residue incorporation markedly altered microbial community composition, notably reducing fungal-to-bacterial and G⁺-to-G⁻ ratios in slightly acidic soil. Soil C chemistry, the primary factor, interacting with pH and nutrients influenced microbial composition and enzymatic activities. Specifically, in strongly acidic soils, microbial composition was determined by the interaction of pH and C chemistry, whereas in slightly acidic soils, it was driven by the interaction between C chemistry and phosphorus content. Correspondingly, enzyme activities were influenced by the interaction of C chemistry with phosphorus in the former soils and nitrogen in the latter soils. Overall, our findings confirm the importance of rapeseed cake in enhancing soil multifunctionality, especially in strongly acidic soil, and highlight the critical role of C chemistry, soil pH, and nutrient interactions in shaping microbial composition and function in acidic soils.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":12511,"journal":{"name":"Geoderma","volume":"461 ","pages":"Article 117496"},"PeriodicalIF":6.6,"publicationDate":"2025-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144925817","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":"Impact of nitrogen addition on soil organic carbon across ecosystems: Microbial roles and environmental regulation","authors":"Yansheng Cao ,&nbsp;Fengliang Zhao ,&nbsp;Rudong Zhao ,&nbsp;Jiusheng Ren ,&nbsp;Tongbin Zhu ,&nbsp;Feng Zhang","doi":"10.1016/j.geoderma.2025.117501","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.geoderma.2025.117501","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The influence of ecosystem type on the response of soil organic carbon to nitrogen addition remains a critical, yet understudied, facet of carbon cycling research. In this study, to address the persisting knowledge gap, the complex interplay between nitrogen addition and soil organic carbon dynamics across diverse ecosystems was systematically investigated, revealing a context-dependent relationship. Ecosystem type significantly influenced the primary pathways through which nitrogen addition affected soil carbon storage, largely mediated by shifts in microbial roles. In forest ecosystems, nitrogen addition positively influenced soil organic carbon accumulation by stimulating microbial biomass carbon (R² = 0.460, <em>P</em> &lt; 0.05), suggesting that alleviating the nitrogen limitation promoted microbial growth and subsequent carbon incorporation into soil. Conversely, in grasslands, nitrogen addition increased carbon accumulation by suppressing microbial respiration (R² = 0.725, <em>P</em> &lt; 0.05), indicating a reduction in decomposition rates potentially driven by changes in microbial community composition or activity. Despite these ecosystem-specific pathways, soil organic carbon was enhanced in both systems, linked to total nitrogen dynamics (forests: R² = 0.637, <em>P</em> &lt; 0.001; grasslands: R² = 0.624, <em>P</em> &lt; 0.001). The results highlight nitrogen’s dual role in soil organic carbon accrual. The varying influence of microbes explained the ecosystem-specific regulation of soil organic carbon depending on soil properties and nitrogen management strategies. For instance, prolonged nitrogen addition negatively impacted microbial growth in forests but inhibited microbial respiration in grasslands. Recognizing the nuanced impact of nitrogen addition and microbial activity within different ecological contexts will support environmentally specific strategies that optimize soil carbon sequestration practices.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":12511,"journal":{"name":"Geoderma","volume":"461 ","pages":"Article 117501"},"PeriodicalIF":6.6,"publicationDate":"2025-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144988087","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":"Phosphorus supply and spatial distribution determine the microbial response to carbon and nitrogen addition","authors":"Sara L. Bauke ,&nbsp;Ye Wang ,&nbsp;Steffen A. Schweizer ,&nbsp;Carmen Hoeschen ,&nbsp;Jan Wolff ,&nbsp;Sabine J. Seidel ,&nbsp;Christian von Sperber ,&nbsp;Wulf Amelung","doi":"10.1016/j.geoderma.2025.117493","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.geoderma.2025.117493","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Phosphorus (P) supply can limit microbial activity especially under conditions of high carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) supply, but this observation is mostly based on analyses of topsoil bulk samples, while processes in the subsoil or at the microscale remain largely unexplored. Here, we collected topsoil (0–30 cm) and subsoil (&gt;30 cm) samples from two temperate forest and two arable sites (Cambisols and Luvisols with pH 4.2 to 7.0 and C content of 2 to 113 g kg⁻¹), to provide a set of model soil samples with varying P content and varying contributions of organic and mineral P forms. We conducted an incubation experiment at 20 °C for 16 weeks with addition of either glucose (C treatment), ammonium nitrate (N treatment), both glucose and ammonium nitrate (CN treatment), or without additions (control). In a separate incubation of topsoil samples with CN addition and ¹⁸O labeled water, we analyzed microsite enrichment with ¹⁸O as an indicator of microbial activity using nanoscale secondary ion mass spectrometry (NanoSIMS). Soil respiration rates were significantly increased after C and CN addition but not after N addition, and organic P mineralization by acid phosphatase was also enhanced with CN addition. However, the response in respiration rates after CN addition in topsoil samples decreased with increasing soil C:P ratio, while acid phosphatase activity increased, indicating increasing P limitation and mineralization of organic P in samples with low P supply (wide C:P ratio). In the subsoil samples, the response in microbial and enzymatic activity was weaker, but showed a similar trend as in topsoils. NanoSIMS analyses indicated ¹⁸O enrichment especially in P-rich microsites of soils with low P content and in co-location with patches dominated by organic matter. We conclude that also at the microsite level, under conditions of high C and N supply, microbial activity is controlled by the inherent supply of P in both arable and forest soils studied here.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":12511,"journal":{"name":"Geoderma","volume":"461 ","pages":"Article 117493"},"PeriodicalIF":6.6,"publicationDate":"2025-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144920409","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":"Three decades of monitoring the responses to alkaline K-rich applications in an acidified, K-deficient Norway spruce (Picea abies) stand reveals that forest restoration depends on treatment type: Rock dust, wood ash, dolomite and/or potassium sulphate","authors":"Robrecht Van Der Bauwhede ,&nbsp;Nele Schillebeeks ,&nbsp;Peter Hartmann ,&nbsp;Klaus von Wilpert ,&nbsp;Raphael Habel ,&nbsp;Karen Vancampenhout ,&nbsp;Erik Smolders ,&nbsp;Bart Muys","doi":"10.1016/j.geoderma.2025.117485","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.geoderma.2025.117485","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Wood ash and rock dust have been suggested as suitable soil amendments to restore acidified and nutrient-depleted forests, but long-term data are generally lacking to justify the claims. The biogeochemical responses to such amendments were monitored during 28 years post applications in a potassium (K)-deficient <em>Picea abies</em> L. stand on acidified loam (topsoil pH-CaCl₂ = 3.2) in Ochsenhausen (Germany). The five amendments included wood ash (10 Mg/ha) and the rock dust phonolite (10 Mg/ha), both referenced to dolomite (10 Mg/ha), K₂SO₄ (1 Mg/ha), or the combination of both (1 Mg K₂SO₄/ha + 6 Mg dolomite/ha). Radial tree growth did not respond to dolomite or rock dust but responded to wood ash and responded most strongly to all mineral K treatments, i.e., growth (R² = 0.83) and foliar K concentrations could be predicted by the applied available K in the treatment. The K-feldspar in the rock dust dissolved too slowly to supply sufficient K. Calcium loss from 80 cm depth was highest in the wood ash treatment and was mainly accompanied by nitrate leaching (up to 35 kg N/ha/yr), but it was more moderate with the K₂SO₄ + dolomite mixture (humus solution pH 5). The K₂SO₄ treatment increased ecosystem carbon (C) sequestration (including tree biomass and 0–40 cm mineral soil) with 1.3 Mg C/ha/year above the unamended control. The community weighted mean Ecological Indicator Values (EIVE) for fertility (N) slightly increased in the herb layer for the plots that received alkaline amendments. The amendments also increased the diversity indices of the herb layer without the loss of calcifuge species. It is concluded that the phonolite rock dust did not restore forest vitality and that most positive effects are obtained with K fertilisation. The combination of K₂SO₄ + dolomite also stimulated tree growth and carbon stocks in the organomineral soil, but the liming effect also decreased the forest floor C-stock, leading to counteracting effects on the C-balance.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":12511,"journal":{"name":"Geoderma","volume":"461 ","pages":"Article 117485"},"PeriodicalIF":6.6,"publicationDate":"2025-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144932180","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":"A conceptual framework for soil function evaluation: Towards a common base","authors":"Henri Lechevallier,&nbsp;Philippe Lagacherie,&nbsp;Alexandre M.J.-C. Wadoux","doi":"10.1016/j.geoderma.2025.117476","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.geoderma.2025.117476","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The increasing pressure of humans on soils affects their ability to provide key functions and deliver ecosystem services. In the last decades, many methods and tools have been developed to evaluate soil functions, with the aim of providing guidance to land users and policymakers for the sustainable management of soil resources. These methods and tools, however, have been developed in isolation from each other using different conceptual frameworks such as soil health or soil quality, which in turn have evolved over time. This currently results in a diversity of available terminology and definitions to represent the objectives of evaluation and to describe the information on soil functions that is produced in the quantification process. For actors interested in soil function evaluation, this diversity is a source of confusion. In this paper, we develop a conceptual framework to describe the types of information on soil functions that can be searched for and link them with soil functioning and user needs. These concepts are soil function supply, soil dynamic capacity for a function, and soil inherent capacity for a function. The framework is then used with a set of publications on soil function evaluation to identify the information on soil functions they produce and helps rank these publications in terms of objectives and produced information. We highly recommend authors to use our framework to explicitly link their objectives with the information on soil functions that is sought and the method used to obtain this information, in relation to the specific context of the study. The framework also helps to open up a discussion on the fundamentals of monitoring soil functions for the sustainable use of soil resources.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":12511,"journal":{"name":"Geoderma","volume":"461 ","pages":"Article 117476"},"PeriodicalIF":6.6,"publicationDate":"2025-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145018660","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":"High nitrogen retention potential of cellulose and starch applied to four soils under simulated post-harvest conditions","authors":"Kerui Zhao ,&nbsp;Rüdiger Reichel ,&nbsp;Holger Wissel ,&nbsp;Xiao Lu ,&nbsp;Nicolas Brüggemann","doi":"10.1016/j.geoderma.2025.117500","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.geoderma.2025.117500","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Conventional agriculture often leaves surplus mineral nitrogen (N_min) after harvest, increasing the risk of nitrogen (N) loss. Applying high soil carbon amendments (HCA) can promote microbial N retention when catch crops are not feasible. However, the effects of soil type on microbial N immobilization in response to HCA application are insufficiently understood. Here, we applied 50 kg N ha⁻¹ as ¹⁵N-labelled (NH₄)₂SO₄ and 4 t C ha⁻¹ as starch or cellulose to the Ap horizon of four contrasting agricultural soils in different soil organic carbon (SOC) and texture: alkaline silty Luvisol (SOC 0.93 %) and Regosol (SOC 0.35 %), and acidic sandy Luvisol (SOC 0.58 %) and Gleysol (SOC 1.72 %). Soils were incubated for 98 days at 8.6 °C and 65 % water-holding capacity, simulating post-harvest conditions in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. After 98 days under post-harvest condition, cellulose application reduced N_min by 50–140 kg N ha⁻¹ depending on the soil type, while starch induced faster N_min retention, followed by gradual re-release of N_min towards the end of the incubation period. HCA-amended soil showed that most of the ¹⁵N was recovered in the soil N pool inaccessible to multiple extractions (N_ret), rather than in microbial biomass. In HCA-amended clay soils, the recovery of ¹⁵N in N_ret was approximately twice that of the Control. In sandy acidic soils, HCA increased the recovery of ¹⁵N in N_ret to levels comparable to those in alkaline soils, while in SOC-rich sandy loam soils, only cellulose caused a slight increase in N_ret. After incubation, up to 41 % of labeled N_min was stabilized in the form of amino acids, with a more pronounced effect when HCA was added. We conclude that labile organic C can promote the conversion of excess N_min into more stable N forms, such as amino acids or peptides, that are able to stabilize N beyond the post-harvest period.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":12511,"journal":{"name":"Geoderma","volume":"461 ","pages":"Article 117500"},"PeriodicalIF":6.6,"publicationDate":"2025-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144988085","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":"A simple kit to detect extractable lead concentrations in soil","authors":"Samantha S. Moura ,&nbsp;Daphne van der Molen ,&nbsp;Alexander van Geen","doi":"10.1016/j.geoderma.2025.117503","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.geoderma.2025.117503","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Lead (Pb) contamination of soil is often spatially very heterogeneous and therefore difficult to map and remediate. To address the issue, we simplified a previously developed screening method that relies on an acidic glycine solution to extract Pb from soil using a 10:1 solution to soil ratio and the precipitation of purple Pb rhodizonate as a visual indicator to avoid filtration of the extract. The simplified kit consists of a plastic test tube, a soluble gel capsule of glycine hydrochloride crystals, a strip of pH paper, and a commercially available cotton swab impregnated with sodium rhodizonate designed for testing Pb-based paint. The swab turns purple at a concentration in the extract equivalent to a concentration of ∼200 mg/kg Pb in soil. The swab method was evaluated using 201 dried and sieved soil samples from the US and Peru spanning the 100–10,000 mg/kg range in total Pb concentrations. Excluding 14 samples from Peru with an extract pH &gt; 3, the results show a sensitivity and selectivity of 85 % relative to an extractable Pb concentration of 200 mg/kg in the kit extract measured by X-ray fluorescence. The kit extracts about a third of the Pb released from soil using US EPA Method 1340. Depending on the proportion of extractable Pb in a specific soil sample, the kit could therefore help households and communities detect soil contamination from mining, smelting, battery recycling, or flaking paint down to 3 times the recently lowered US EPA screening level of 200 mg/kg for total Pb in soil.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":12511,"journal":{"name":"Geoderma","volume":"461 ","pages":"Article 117503"},"PeriodicalIF":6.6,"publicationDate":"2025-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145044751","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":"Sources and relationships of inorganic carbon and organic carbon in arable soils of the west Loess Plateau","authors":"Xiujun Wang ,&nbsp;Xingyu Zhu ,&nbsp;Minggang Xu ,&nbsp;Lipeng Wu ,&nbsp;Tongping Lu","doi":"10.1016/j.geoderma.2025.117499","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.geoderma.2025.117499","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>There is evidence of high levels of soil inorganic carbon (SIC) in low- to mid-fertility loess soils of north China. However, little is known about the dynamics of SIC fractions and their relationship with soil organic carbon (SOC) in cropland. Here, we hypothesize that more pedogenic carbonate (PIC) is accumulated in mid-fertility soils, and PIC has a positive relationship with SOC. We select two groups of (low-fertility and mid-fertility) soils in the cropland of the west Loess Plateau. SOC and SIC contents and their ¹³C isotopic compositions were measured down to 100 cm or deeper. Our data show that the contribution of C4 crops to SOC (31–35 %) is approximately half of C3 crops’ contribution over 0–40 cm in both low- and mid-fertility soils, reflecting a low retention rate of C4 crops. SIC content is higher in low-fertility soils (16.0–17.2 g kg⁻¹) than in mid-fertility soils (13.2–15.2 g kg⁻¹) over the 0–100 cm layer, while δ¹³C values are more negative in mid-fertility (–4.53 ‰ to –3.89 ‰) than in low-fertility soils (–3.10 ‰ to –2.78 ‰). The fraction of PIC in SIC is ∼30 % in low-fertility soils but ∼50 % in mid-fertility soils. Despite relatively lower levels of SIC in mid-fertility soils, PIC stock is much greater in mid-fertility soils (5.9–7.8 g kg⁻¹) than in low-fertility soils (3–6 g kg⁻¹) over 0–100 cm. There is a significantly positive correlation (<em>P</em> &lt; 0.05) between PIC stock and SOC stock in spite of a negative SIC-SOC correlation in the west Loess Plateau. Our analysis suggests that soil fertility enhancement may lead to the accumulation of PIC but the dissolution of lithogenic carbonate in loess soils. This study underscores the complex and nuanced relationships between SIC and SOC in arid/semi-arid croplands, which holds vital implications for carbon sequestration strategies and sustainable soil management in fragile loess environments.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":12511,"journal":{"name":"Geoderma","volume":"461 ","pages":"Article 117499"},"PeriodicalIF":6.6,"publicationDate":"2025-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144996259","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}