Land Degradation & Development最新文献

{"title":"The Effect of Nitrogen and Phosphorus Fertilization on Plant Community Along Chronosequences of Reclaimed and Unreclaimed Postmining Soils After Coal Mining","authors":"Mateusz Rawlik,&nbsp;Ondřej Mudrák,&nbsp;Cecilie Tesnerová,&nbsp;Jan Frouz","doi":"10.1002/ldr.70888","DOIUrl":"10.1002/ldr.70888","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Nitrogen and phosphorus availability drive plant community composition, productivity, and ecosystem functioning. During succession, nutrient availability typically changes as organic matter accumulates in the soil, influencing both nitrogen and phosphorus pools. We assessed nutrient limitation along postmining chronosequences (10–50 years old), including sites reclaimed with alder (<i>Alnus</i>) plantations and unreclaimed sites undergoing spontaneous succession. Plots received N (50 kg ha⁻¹ year⁻¹) or P (5 kg ha⁻¹ year⁻¹) fertilization or served as controls, applied over 3 years. Vegetation surveys were conducted in the first and third years, and aboveground biomass of \u0000 <i>Calamagrostis epigejos</i>\u0000 was collected in the third year for chemical analysis. Redundancy analysis revealed a significant effect of fertilization on community composition at unreclaimed sites, explaining 7% of the variance, whereas the effect was not significant at reclaimed sites and explained only 2% of the variance. On unreclaimed sites, N fertilization increased herb-layer cover, reduced species evenness and turnover, but did not accelerate vegetation change. Although the effects of N fertilization are significant in some cases, they are relatively small. Phosphorus fertilization had negligible effects on vegetation in both site types. Nutrient content analysis of \u0000 <i>C. epigejos</i>\u0000 biomass indicated that the plant community was more limited by P than by N. However, P fertilization had limited potential to alleviate this limitation. This effect likely results from alkaline soils, in which phosphorus is bound in insoluble compounds that are unavailable to plants. Moreover, the effects of both fertilizers do not appear to be clearly positive in terms of ecosystem restoration.</p>","PeriodicalId":203,"journal":{"name":"Land Degradation & Development","volume":"37 17","pages":"12343-12356"},"PeriodicalIF":4.0,"publicationDate":"2026-11-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/ldr.70888","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148809913","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":"Land Restoration as a Catalyst for Regional Economic Revitalization: Evidence From Urban–Rural Transition Zones","authors":"Rui Sun,&nbsp;Jichao Zhou,&nbsp;Yali Li,&nbsp;Xin Cheng,&nbsp;Ziru Zhang","doi":"10.1002/ldr.70887","DOIUrl":"10.1002/ldr.70887","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Large-scale land restoration is widely expected to improve environmental quality, yet causal evidence on its local economic returns remains limited. This gap is especially important in urban–rural transition zones, where development pressure and ecological damage overlap. We examine 30 zones in China's Yangtze River Delta from 2009 to 2024. The analysis uses cohort-specific group-time difference-in-differences estimates with never-treated zones as controls. An interaction-weighted event study evaluates dynamic effects. Restoration significantly increases real GDP per capita, employment density, and real estate values. The gains are larger in initially poorer zones and in projects that create public green amenities. Placebo tests, matching, and alternative outcomes support the main findings. The evidence identifies land restoration as a practical instrument for ecological recovery and inclusive regional development.</p>","PeriodicalId":203,"journal":{"name":"Land Degradation & Development","volume":"37 17","pages":"12332-12342"},"PeriodicalIF":4.0,"publicationDate":"2026-11-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/ldr.70887","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148768303","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":"Reclamation Period and Straw Type Alter Soil Organic Carbon Composition via CAZyme Families in Coal Mine Agroecosystems","authors":"Hui‐Juan Bo, Jia‐Hao Bai, Dong‐He Xue, Ze‐Jin Li, Liang Zhao, Wei Wang, Wen‐Jing Zhang, Qiang Zhang, Ming‐Gang Xu, Dong‐Sheng Jin","doi":"10.1002/ldr.70934","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/ldr.70934","url":null,"abstract":"Soil organic carbon (SOC) stabilization is crucial for effective ecological restoration in coal‐mining areas, yet the mechanisms underlying straw‐mediated carbon sequestration remain poorly understood. This study investigated how equal‐carbon but different‐mass incorporation of maize (S + M) and wheat (S + W) straw incorporation, across reclamation chronosequences (1, 10, 30 years; R1, R10, R30), associates with SOC composition, microbial communities, and carbohydrate‐active enzymes (CAZymes). Results showed that straw type and its input mass, together with reclamation duration, significantly shaped SOC dynamics. The S + W treatment under long‐term restoration (R30) yielded the highest content of both labile (14.93 g·kg <jats:sup>−1</jats:sup> ) and recalcitrant (2.55 g·kg <jats:sup>−1</jats:sup> ) SOC. Specifically, S + W preferentially enriched recalcitrant SOC, whereas S + M enhanced labile SOC components. These shifts were associated with distinct microbial community structures and CAZymes profiles. Co‐occurrence network analysis revealed tighter microbial interactions in early restoration (R1). Notably, methyl carbon was identified as the primary driver of community assembly, strongly linked to the abundances of Ascomycota, Chloroflexi, and Firmicutes. Our findings demonstrate that reclamation period and straw type with differential input mass potentially mediate SOC stability via microbial‐mediated pathways, highlighting the importance of targeted straw management, particularly wheat straw in long‐term restoration, for enhancing carbon sequestration in reclaimed mining ecosystems.","PeriodicalId":203,"journal":{"name":"Land Degradation & Development","volume":"18 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.7,"publicationDate":"2026-11-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149374278","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":"Topographic and Climatic Determinants of Soil Organic Carbon Across Landscapes: A Meta-Analysis","authors":"Vishal Sharma,&nbsp;Syed Hujjat ul Baligah,&nbsp;Tajamul Islam Shah,&nbsp;Shahid Shuja Shafai,&nbsp;Owais Bashir,&nbsp;Syed Sheraz Madhi,&nbsp;S. Naresh Kumar,&nbsp;Ayyandar Arunachalam,&nbsp;Shabir Ahmed Bangroo","doi":"10.1002/ldr.70880","DOIUrl":"10.1002/ldr.70880","url":null,"abstract":"&lt;p&gt;The soil is the greatest natural store of organic carbon, holding between 1500 to 1550 Pg C of organic carbon at the top 100 cm of the soil globally—roughly twice the carbon pool in the atmosphere. The spatial distribution of this stock is controlled by a complex chain of controls: topographic position regulates the hydrological redistribution, microclimate and erosion at the landscape scale and climatic variables, such as mean annual temperature (MAT), mean annual precipitation (MAP), aridity index and seasonality of precipitation, determine the envelope of the topographic effects at the regional and continental scale. Although the primary literature is growing at a very fast rate, no quantitative synthesis has to date concurrently evaluated the complete set of topographic variables, such as slope gradient, aspect, elevation, topographic curvature and the topographic wetness index (TWI), alongside the influences of climate and processes of soil carbon fractionation. This meta-analysis screened 1339 peer-reviewed studies (1964–2024) following PRISMA 2020 guidelines; of these, 26 reported extractable correlation coefficients and were included in the quantitative meta-analysis (slope: &lt;i&gt;k&lt;/i&gt; = 15; elevation: &lt;i&gt;k&lt;/i&gt; = 11). The study addresses the following questions: (i) to quantify the mean effect sizes and between-study heterogeneity of topographic and climatic controls on SOC; (ii) to specify the moderating variables that justify the extreme heterogeneity (&lt;i&gt;I&lt;/i&gt;\u0000 &lt;sup&gt;2&lt;/sup&gt; &gt; 98%) and (iii) to define the critical gaps in the research. Fisher &lt;i&gt;r&lt;/i&gt;-to-&lt;i&gt;z&lt;/i&gt; meta-analysis showed that slope gradient has a borderline-significant positive mean effect on SOC (&lt;i&gt;μ̂&lt;/i&gt; = 0.238; 95% CI: 0.001–0.474; &lt;i&gt;k&lt;/i&gt; = 15; &lt;i&gt;I&lt;/i&gt;\u0000 &lt;sup&gt;2&lt;/sup&gt; = 98.1%; &lt;i&gt;p&lt;/i&gt; = 0.049) and a non-significant effect of altitude on SOC (&lt;i&gt;μ̂&lt;/i&gt; = 0.130; 95% CI: −0.178–0.437; &lt;i&gt;k&lt;/i&gt; = 11; &lt;i&gt;I&lt;/i&gt;\u0000 &lt;sup&gt;2&lt;/sup&gt; = 98.7%; &lt;i&gt;p&lt;/i&gt; = 0.409). Wide heterogeneity of the two analyses indicates dominant expression of moderating roles of ecosystem type, land use, soil texture and mineralogy. The topographic aspect has the strongest topographical dominance: the northward slopes accrete 1.9–3.2 times more SOC compared to southward counterparts at the same altitude. TWI—an index that combines terrain location stance and hydrological connection—emerges as the most effective terrain predictor of SOC in digital soil mapping (DSM) models and explains 15%–38% of the landscape-scale variance in SOC. The current particulate organic carbon (POC) versus mineral-associated organic carbon (MAOC) fractionation model shows that erosional summit locations selectively lose labile POC and depositional foot-slope locations accrue high levels of MAOC by means of organo-mineral complexation with Fe/Al oxides. In the IPCC AR6 warming scenarios (1.5°C–2.0°C) the change in SOC stocks is expected to be an 8%–12% reduction in the global stocks of the soils i","PeriodicalId":203,"journal":{"name":"Land Degradation & Development","volume":"37 17","pages":"12023-12040"},"PeriodicalIF":4.0,"publicationDate":"2026-11-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/ldr.70880","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148717326","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":"Causal Linkages Between Forestation, Health Issues, and Sustainability Dimensions in the United States and China: A Climate Resilience Perspective","authors":"Jiyang Cheng,&nbsp;László Vasa,&nbsp;Wolanin Elżbieta,&nbsp;U. Shahzad,&nbsp;Ummara Razi","doi":"10.1002/ldr.70849","DOIUrl":"10.1002/ldr.70849","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Growing environmental pressures and climate-related risks have intensified concerns regarding population health and sustainability. This study explores how the predictive relationship between public health and key sustainability indicators, such as agricultural emissions, forests, governance, digitalization, green energy, and climate outcomes, varies over time across the United States and China. For this, the study applied the Bootstrap rolling window Granger causality framework to identify whether health sustainability relationships remain stable or vary over time. The study uses the annual data from 1996 to 2023. The findings revealed different structural patterns. For instance, in the United States, causal flows from sustainability factors to health with episodic positive effects from forest, green energy, and climate outcomes, while digitalization exhibited weak health reinforcement. In contrast, for China, health exhibits stronger predictive effects on agricultural emissions, renewable energy transitions, and governance indicators. The results indicate distinct sustainability health pathways, with environmental conditions playing a more prominent role in health dynamics in the United States, while improvements in health are more closely associated with sustainability transition in China, which can be used to inform resilience-oriented policy development.</p>","PeriodicalId":203,"journal":{"name":"Land Degradation & Development","volume":"37 17","pages":"12142-12166"},"PeriodicalIF":4.0,"publicationDate":"2026-11-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/ldr.70849","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149086189","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":"Mixed Litter Decomposition Drives Functional Gene Rearrangement in the Microbial Carbon Cycle","authors":"Jiaying Liu,&nbsp;Changjun Ding,&nbsp;Weixi Zhang,&nbsp;Xiaohua Su,&nbsp;Yawei Wei,&nbsp;Siqi Wu,&nbsp;Wenxu Zhu","doi":"10.1002/ldr.70883","DOIUrl":"10.1002/ldr.70883","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Understanding how mixed-species litter decomposition regulates microbial communities and carbon cycling is vital for guiding ecosystem restoration and climate change mitigation, as it is a key process for nutrient cycling and carbon sequestration. A 15-month field experiment compared single-species (\u0000 <i>Pinus sylvestris</i>\u0000 var. mongolica [Ps], Populus × canadensis[Pc]) and mixed (PcPs) litters using metagenomics to analyze microbial communities and carbon cycle genes (KO01200). Metagenomic sequencing revealed significant differences in microbial community composition and carbon cycle-related functions. Carbon metabolism genes accounted for 12.93% of the total sequenced genes, with Bacteria dominating these genes (97.23%–99.76%). In contrast, Archaea, Eukaryota, and Viruses showed lower relative abundances in carbon metabolism. Microbial diversity increased (e.g., Simpson and Shannon indices), but richness decreased (ACE and Chao1 indices). Beta diversity analysis showed significant differences among treatments, with principal coordinates analysis (PCoA) explaining 72.4% of variation in community structure and 80.9% in functional classification. A total of 352 microbial species exhibited significant differential abundance, including 20 species with LDA scores &gt; 4. Specifically, the relative abundance of Proteobacteria increased in mixed litter (PcPs) compared to single species, with a significant difference between Pc and PcPs (<i>p</i> &lt; 0.05). Functional analysis revealed 20 carbon cycle units with altered abundance: Photosystems I/II (psa/psb) peaked in mixed litter, while fermentation dominated in Ps. Mixed litter restructuring enhanced photosynthetic genes and reduced fermentation, shifting metabolism toward carbon sequestration via increased diversity and Proteobacteria dominance. Findings inform soil carbon management in degraded forests.</p>","PeriodicalId":203,"journal":{"name":"Land Degradation & Development","volume":"37 17","pages":"12271-12283"},"PeriodicalIF":4.0,"publicationDate":"2026-11-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/ldr.70883","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148809911","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":"Aerial Seeding for Forest and Landscape Restoration: A Systematic Review of Technology, Challenges, and Future Directions","authors":"James Maua,&nbsp;Stephen Kiama,&nbsp;Jane Njuguna,&nbsp;John N. Kigomo,&nbsp;Charles Kiprono Koech","doi":"10.1002/ldr.70914","DOIUrl":"10.1002/ldr.70914","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Land degradation is a critical global challenge, threatening biodiversity, food security, and livelihoods. Ecological restoration has therefore become a priority, with aerial seeding emerging as a key method to address issues of scale, accessibility, and efficiency. By dispersing seeds from aircraft or drones, aerial seeding complements ground-based approaches and is especially effective in remote or degraded areas. First applied in agriculture during the 1940s, its role has expanded with technological advances that allow greater precision, though challenges such as seed predation and uneven distribution remain. A systematic literature review (SLR) of studies published between 2000 and 2024 synthesized current evidence and identified research gaps. A total of 34 articles were analyzed, showing increased interest since 2017, with China contributing 29% of publications. Highly cited studies emphasized unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) applications in forest regeneration. The literature was stratified into two primary domains: environmental constraints and associated mitigation strategies, and technological innovations designed to overcome technical barriers in aerial seeding. Findings show that aerial seeding is an effective, low-cost method for large-scale restoration. It is particularly valuable for degraded and postfire landscapes, where it enhances carbon recovery and reduces costs compared to manual planting. However, outcomes depend on seed traits, site conditions, timing, and predation pressure. Future success will rely on technological advances, ecosystem-specific strategies, and adaptive responses to climate change. By enhancing seed resilience and precision delivery, aerial seeding could become a cornerstone of global reforestation and restoration efforts.</p>","PeriodicalId":203,"journal":{"name":"Land Degradation & Development","volume":"37 17","pages":"12127-12141"},"PeriodicalIF":4.0,"publicationDate":"2026-11-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/ldr.70914","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149090322","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":"Future Soil Erosion Under Combined CMIP6 Climate Projections and Land Use/Land Cover Change: A RUSLE-Based Assessment of the Kampe Omi Dam Basin in Nigeria","authors":"Titus Adeyemi Alonge,&nbsp;Amos T. Kabo-Bah,&nbsp;Lily Lisa Yevugah,&nbsp;Abdul-Karim Iddrisu","doi":"10.1002/ldr.70878","DOIUrl":"10.1002/ldr.70878","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Soil erosion remains a major environmental challenge in Nigeria, driven by the combined effects of climate variability and land use/land cover (LULC) changes. Understanding future dynamics is essential for effective soil conservation planning. This study assessed future soil erosion in the Kampe Omi Dam Basin using the Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE) integrated with Coupled Model Intercomparison Phase six (CMIP6) climate projections and simulated LULC scenarios for intermediate-emission SSP2-4.5 and high-emission SSP5-8.5 pathways for 2021–2040 and 2041–2060, relative to a 1995–2014 baseline. The results showed no statistically significant trend in annual precipitation, although rainfall erosivity exhibited spatial variability with a general declining tendency across scenarios. Cropland expansion and vegetation loss increased the cover-management (C) factor, whereas improved conservation practices reduced the support practice (P) factor. The soil loss ranged from 0.00 to 7776.90 t/ha/yr. Despite increasing land-use pressure, mean soil loss is projected to decline by over 50% in 2021–2040 and by more than 40% by 2041–2060 relative to the baseline (33.71 t/ha/yr), suggesting that reduced rainfall erosivity and improved management may offset erosion risks. Low erosion risk (0–10 t/ha/yr) dominated the basin (88.16%), although localised high-risk hotspots persisted. Sensitivity analysis showed that while soil loss was most responsive to changes in the C-factor under perturbed conditions, erosion outcomes were influenced by rainfall erosivity, LULC dynamics, and conservation practices, with the P-factor exerting an important moderating effect. These findings support targeted watershed management to mitigate future erosion risks and soil conservation planning.</p>","PeriodicalId":203,"journal":{"name":"Land Degradation & Development","volume":"37 17","pages":"12199-12224"},"PeriodicalIF":4.0,"publicationDate":"2026-11-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/ldr.70878","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148717324","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":"Synergistic Regulation of Soil Function and Wind Erosion Resistance by Sand Barriers, Vegetation, and Artificial Biological Crust in the Tengger Desert","authors":"Bin Pan,&nbsp;Chen Meng","doi":"10.1002/ldr.70882","DOIUrl":"10.1002/ldr.70882","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Aeolian desertification poses a critical threat to ecosystem stability in arid regions worldwide. Although the combination of sand barriers and vegetation has been widely applied for sand fixation, its long-term effectiveness is constrained by barrier degradation, slow natural development of biological soil crusts (BSCs), and the resulting spatial–temporal heterogeneity in surface erodibility. This study addresses the knowledge gap regarding how artificial BSC inoculation interacts with different sand barrier types and vegetation species to regulate soil properties and wind erosion resistance. established a three-factor completely randomized block design involving five sand barrier types (6-year, 4-year, and 2-year brush-net rope checkerboard barriers; HDPE barriers; and no barriers as shifting sand control), five vegetation conditions (\u0000 <i>Pinus sylvestris</i>\u0000 var. <i>mongolica</i>, \u0000 <i>Caragana korshinskii</i>\u0000 , \u0000 <i>Hedysarum scoparium</i>\u0000 , <i>Artemisia ordosica</i>, and non-vegetated), and artificial BSC inoculation. Soil samples were collected at 0–10 cm and 10–20 cm depths, and wind erosion depth was monitored using the erosion pin method at 30, 60, and 90 days post-inoculation. Three-way ANOVA revealed that sand barrier type was the dominant factor influencing BSC development, with the 6-year barrier producing the greatest crust thickness (5.63 mm at 60 days, <i>F</i> = 9.15, <i>p</i> &lt; 0.001) and the most stable crust area (CV ≤ 15%). Wind erosion depth was significantly reduced under the 6-year barrier compared to shifting sand (from 51.0 mm to 3.32 mm, a 93.5% reduction at 60 days). Soil organic carbon (SOC) in the surface layer was significantly affected by vegetation type (<i>F</i> = 3.43, <i>p</i> = 0.015), with the \u0000 <i>C. korshinskii</i>\u0000 treatment under the 4-year barrier achieving the highest SOC content (2.28 g/kg). Pearson correlation analysis demonstrated that wind erosion depth was significantly negatively correlated with crust thickness (<i>r</i> = −0.542 to −0.951, <i>p</i> &lt; 0.05) but not with crust area, indicating that crust thickness is the primary driver of wind erosion resistance. The optimal restoration model identified was “artificial BSCs + 6-year brush-net barrier + \u0000 <i>H. scoparium</i>\u0000 /<i>A. ordosica</i>”, which enhances system stability through the chain mechanism of “barrier stabilization → BSC-mediated soil improvement → plant consolidation”. For large-scale restoration in arid sandy lands, we recommend integrating long-lasting brush-net barriers with artificial BSC inoculation and well-adapted shrub species to maximize synergistic effects.</p>","PeriodicalId":203,"journal":{"name":"Land Degradation & Development","volume":"37 17","pages":"12255-12270"},"PeriodicalIF":4.0,"publicationDate":"2026-11-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/ldr.70882","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148768347","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":"Effects of Straw Incorporation and Tillage Depth on Soil Quality in Mollisol Profiles","authors":"Yu Xu,&nbsp;Jinsong Liang,&nbsp;Mingzhe Sun,&nbsp;Xiaozeng Han,&nbsp;Xinchun Lu,&nbsp;Xianfa Ma,&nbsp;Wenxiu Zou","doi":"10.1002/ldr.70876","DOIUrl":"10.1002/ldr.70876","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Although improvements in soil quality under straw incorporation have been well documented, responses across soil profiles under different tillage depths remain unclear. To address this issue, a field experiment was established in 2011 in Mollisols with conventional tillage (20 cm depth) without straw (CT) and with straw (SCT), no tillage with straw mulching (SNT), inversion tillage (35 cm depth) with straw (SIT), and subsoil tillage (20–35 cm depth) with straw (SST). Compared with CT, nutrient contents, microbial biomass, enzyme activities, and phospholipid fatty acids (PLFAs) increased significantly in 0–60 cm soil layers in each of SCT, SIT, and SST treatments; microbial phosphorus limitation in 20–60 cm layers decreased; and a soil quality index (SQI) increased by 7.35%–45.45% in 0–60 cm layers. Yield of maize in SCT, SIT, and SST increased significantly by 8.62%–30.01%. Dominant factors affecting SQI varied by soil depth. Of soil chemical properties, these included available potassium and nitrogen (0–20 cm), NO₃\u0000 ⁻–N and dissolved organic carbon (DOC) (20–40 cm), microbial carbon and DOC (40–60 cm), and bacteria and G⁺, total PLFAs and G⁺, and G⁺ and G⁻ among PLFAs, respectively. Partial least-squares path modeling suggested that straw incorporation directly affected soil chemical properties, reduced microbial phosphorus limitation, and increased the SQI from 0 to 20 cm. Straw incorporation with tillage jointly increased the SQI from 20 to 60 cm. This study provides feasible strategies for improving the quality of soil profiles and provides valuable insights for the sustainable agricultural management of Mollisols.</p>","PeriodicalId":203,"journal":{"name":"Land Degradation & Development","volume":"37 17","pages":"12185-12198"},"PeriodicalIF":4.0,"publicationDate":"2026-11-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/ldr.70876","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148687807","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}