Soil最新文献

{"title":"Improved management increases soil mineral-protected organic carbon storage via plant-microbial-nutrient mediation in semi-arid grasslands","authors":"Alejandro Carrascosa, Gerardo Moreno, M. Francesca Cotrufo, Cristina Frade, Sara Rodrigo, Víctor Rolo","doi":"10.5194/egusphere-2025-1711","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-1711","url":null,"abstract":"<strong>Abstract.</strong> Soil organic carbon (SOC) storage in semi-arid grasslands is threatened by both climate change and land degradation, impacting food production and climate regulation. Improved management has been proposed to increase SOC stocks and overcome these challenges. However, the benefits of improved management practices in semi-arid regions are in question. Little is known about the effects of management on the functional components of SOC, particulate (POC) and mineral-associated organic carbon (MAOC), which are expected to respond differently, and about the pathways that mediate these responses, such as changes in vegetation and soil microbial communities. This work analyses the effect of rotational grazing, legumes sowing and grazing exclusion on topsoil SOC, POC and MAOC stocks in Mediterranean wooded grasslands compared to continuous conventional grazing. Changes in plant diversity and morpho-chemical traits, soil fertility and microbial composition were also evaluated. A total of 188 plots were sampled in 9 farms across a wide environmental gradient. More resource-acquisitive, nitrogen-rich and less lignified plant community, higher soil microbial biomass with lower Gram+/Gram- ratio, and higher soil fertility were associated with higher SOC storage, with similar impacts on POC and MAOC. Rotational grazing increased MAOC and total SOC stocks by 11 % compared to continuous grazing. This effect was mediated by an increase in soil fertility in the rotationally grazed paddocks. On the other hand, grazing exclusion reduced POC stocks by 12 % compared to continuous grazing. This depletion was mainly due to a reduction in microbial biomass and an increase in the C/N ratio of vegetation in non-grazed paddocks. Both POC and MAOC stocks tended to be lower at the warmer sites. We conclude that rotational grazing can enhance long-term SOC storage in semi-arid grasslands, thereby increasing their resilience and climate mitigation capacity, whereas abandoning grazing could lead to SOC losses.","PeriodicalId":48610,"journal":{"name":"Soil","volume":"70 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":6.8,"publicationDate":"2025-04-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143866397","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":"Weathering without inorganic CDR revealed through cation tracing","authors":"Arthur Vienne, Patrick Frings, Jet Rijnders, Tim Jesper Suhrhoff, Tom Reershemius, Reinaldy P. Poetra, Jens Hartmann, Harun Niron, Miguel Portillo Estrada, Laura Steinwidder, Lucilla Boito, Sara Vicca","doi":"10.5194/egusphere-2025-1667","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-1667","url":null,"abstract":"<strong>Abstract.</strong> Enhanced Weathering using basalt rock dust is a scalable carbon dioxide removal (CDR) technique, but quantifying rock weathering and CDR rates poses a critical challenge. Here, we investigated inorganic CDR and weathering rates by treating mesocosms planted with corn with basalt (0, 10, 30, 50, 75, 100, 150 and 200 t ha⁻¹) and monitoring them for 101 days. Surprisingly, we observed no significant inorganic CDR, as leaching of dissolved inorganic carbon did not increase, and soil carbonate content even declined over time. To gain insights into the weathering processes, we analyzed the mass balance of base cations, which can be linked with anions (including HCO₃^-) through charge balance. This mass balance showed that most base cation charges were retained as (hydr)oxides in the reducible pool of the top soil, while increases in the exchangeable pool were about a factor 10 smaller. Soil base cation scavenging exceeded plant scavenging by approximately two orders of magnitude. From the base cations in all pools (soil, soil water and plants), we quantified log weathering rates of -11 mol TA m^-2 basalt s^-1and a maximum CO₂removal potential of the weathered base cations (i.e., CDR potential) of 18 kg CO₂ t⁻¹ basalt. For climate change mitigation, not only the amount of CDR potential is important, but also the timescale at which that CDR would be realized. Our data suggests that the lag time for realization of inorganic CDR may be larger than commonly assumed. In conclusion, we observed that inorganic CDR was not directly linked to rock weathering in the short-term. Still, the observed increases in secondary minerals and base cation exchange may provide valuable benefits for soil fertility and organic matter stabilization in the long-term.","PeriodicalId":48610,"journal":{"name":"Soil","volume":"234 1 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":6.8,"publicationDate":"2025-04-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143832511","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":"Quantifying hydrological impacts of compacted sandy subsoils using soil water flow simulations: the importance of vegetation parameterization","authors":"Jayson Gabriel Pinza, Ona-Abeni Devos Stoffels, Robrecht Debbaut, Jan Staes, Jan Vanderborght, Patrick Willems, Sarah Garré","doi":"10.5194/egusphere-2025-1166","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-1166","url":null,"abstract":"<strong>Abstract.</strong> Numerical models can quantify subsoil compaction’s hydrological impacts, useful to evaluate water management measures for climate change adaptations on compacted subsoils (e.g., augmenting groundwater recharge). Compaction also affects vegetation growth, which, however, is often parameterized using only limited field measurements or relations with other variables. Our study shows that uncertainties in vegetation parameters linked to transpiration (leaf area index [LAI]) and water uptake (root depth distribution) can significantly affect hydrological modeling outcomes. We used the HYDRUS-1D soil water flow model to simulate the soil water balance of experimental grass plots on Belgian Campine Region’s sandy soil. The compacted plot has the compact subsoil at 40–55 cm depths while the non-compacted plot underwent de-compaction. Using two year soil moisture sensor data at two depths, we calibrated and validated our models of these compacted and non-compacted plots under three different vegetation parameterizations, reflecting various canopy and root growth reactions to compaction. We then simulated the water balances under future climate scenarios. Our experiments reveal that the compacted plots exhibited lower LAI while the non-compacted plots had deeper roots. Considering these vegetations’ reactions in models, our simulations show that compaction will not always reduce deep percolation, compensated by the deep rooted non-compacted case model’s higher evapotranspiration. Therefore, this affected vegetation growth can also further influence the water balance. Hence, hydrological modeling studies on (de-)compaction should dynamically incorporate vegetation growth above- and belowground, of which field evidence is vital.","PeriodicalId":48610,"journal":{"name":"Soil","volume":"20 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":6.8,"publicationDate":"2025-04-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143827665","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":"Effects of nitrogen and phosphorus amendments on CO2 and CH4 production in peat soils of Scotty Creek, Northwest Territories: potential considerations for wildfire and permafrost thaw impacts on peatland carbon exchanges","authors":"Eunji Byun, Fereidoun Rezanezhad, Stephanie Slowinski, Christina Lam, Saraswati Bhusal, Stephanie Wright, William L. Quinton, Kara L. Webster, Philippe Van Cappellen","doi":"10.5194/soil-11-309-2025","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-11-309-2025","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract. Impacts of nutrient enrichment on soil carbon cycling have been extensively studied in temperate and tropical regions where intensive agriculture and land development has led to large increases in anthropogenic inputs of nitrogen (N) and phosphorous (P). However, how soil carbon sequestration and soil–atmosphere gas exchanges in cold regions respond to greater inputs of N and P remains poorly known despite recent observations showing significant increases in porewater N and P in burned subarctic peatlands and downstream waters. Wildfires and enhanced hydrological connectivity due to permafrost thaw therefore have the potential to change carbon turnover and gas emissions in the soils of northern peatlands. To start exploring the sensitivity of peatland soil biogeochemistry to variations in N and P availability, we measured the carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane (CH4) production rates during a month-long incubation experiment with soils from a bog and fen collected at the long-term Scotty Creek research station in the Northwest Territories, Canada. Sub-samples of the peatland soils were divided into containers to which artificial porewater solutions were added. These solutions were amended with either dissolved inorganic N, dissolved inorganic P, or dissolved N and P together. Unamended controls were run in parallel. The containers were cycled through pre-set temperature steps of 1, 5, 15, and 25 °C. Overall, the fen soil yielded higher CO2 and CH4 production rates than the bog soil. The amendment of N in the bog soil produced more CO2 compared to its control, while the amendment of P increased CO2 production in the fen soil. The amendment of N and P together reduced CO2 production but increased that of CH4 in both the fen and bog soil incubations. Porewater chemistry at the end of the 30 d experiment showed aqueous C, N, and P stoichiometric ratios that trended toward those of the soil microbial biomasses, hence implying that the initial microbial nutrient status played a crucial role in determining the responses to the different nutrient amendments. Our results demonstrate that porewater nutrient availability and soil carbon cycling interact in complex ways to change CO2 and CH4 production rates in peatland soils, with potentially far-reaching implications for the impacts of wildfires and permafrost thaw on peatland–atmosphere carbon exchanges.","PeriodicalId":48610,"journal":{"name":"Soil","volume":"96 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":6.8,"publicationDate":"2025-04-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143805730","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":"Mapping near-real-time soil moisture dynamics over Tasmania with transfer learning","authors":"Marliana Tri Widyastuti, José Padarian, Budiman Minasny, Mathew Webb, Muh Taufik, Darren Kidd","doi":"10.5194/soil-11-287-2025","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-11-287-2025","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract. Soil moisture, an essential parameter for hydroclimatic studies, exhibits considerable spatial and temporal variability, which complicates its mapping at high spatiotemporal resolutions. Although current remote sensing products offer global estimates of soil moisture at fine temporal resolutions, they do so at a coarse spatial resolution. Deep learning (DL) techniques have recently been employed to produce high-resolution maps of various soil properties; however, these methods require substantial training data. This study sought to map daily soil moisture across Tasmania, Australia, at an 80 m resolution using a limited set of training data. We assessed three modeling strategies: DL models calibrated using an Australian dataset (51 411 observation points), models calibrated using the Tasmanian dataset (9825 observation points), and a transfer learning technique that transferred information from the Australian models to Tasmania using region-specific data. We also evaluated two DL approaches, i.e., multilayer perceptron (MLP) and long short-term memory (LSTM). The models included the Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP) dataset, weather data, an elevation map, land cover, and multilevel soil property maps as inputs to generate soil moisture at the surface (0–30 cm) and subsurface (30–60 cm) layers. Results showed that (1) models calibrated from the Australian dataset performed worse than Tasmanian models regardless of the type of DL approaches; (2) Tasmanian models, calibrated solely using local data, resulted in shortcomings in predicting soil moisture; and (3) transfer learning exhibited remarkable performance improvements (error reductions of up to 45 % and a 50 % increase in correlation) and resolved the drawbacks of the two previous models. The LSTM models with transfer learning had the highest overall performance with an average mean absolute error (MAE) of 0.07 m3 m−3 and a correlation coefficient (r) of 0.77 across stations for the surface layer as well as MAE=0.07m3m-3 and r=0.69 for the subsurface layer. The fine-resolution soil moisture maps captured the detailed landscape variation as well as temporal variation according to four distinct seasons in Tasmania. The models were then applied to generate daily soil moisture maps of Tasmania, integrated into a near-real-time monitoring system to assist agricultural decision-making.","PeriodicalId":48610,"journal":{"name":"Soil","volume":"43 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":6.8,"publicationDate":"2025-04-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143805731","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":"Drivers of soil C quality and stability: Insights from a topsoil dataset at landscape scale in Ontario, Canada","authors":"Inderjot Chahal, Adam W. Gillespie, Daniel D. Saurette, Laura L. Van Eerd","doi":"10.5194/egusphere-2025-1055","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-1055","url":null,"abstract":"<strong>Abstract.</strong> Although soil C is a critical component of soil health, studies robustly exploring the agronomic and pedoclimatic effects on soil C are limited, especially at the landscape scale. Therefore, a dataset of 1511 samples from agricultural fields across Ontario was used to evaluate the impacts of agronomic and pedoclimatic factors on eight soil C indicators including chemistry and thermal stability of soil C using the programmed pyrolysis approach. Soil C quality and stability were largely controlled by the inherent soil characteristics such as soil texture. Significant interactive effects of cropping system and tillage intensity on soil C indicators were observed; however, the number of significant effects varied among the three soil textural classes. All soil C indicators were significantly different among the cropping systems for the coarse textured soils, but the cropping system differences decreased under medium and fine textured soils. From the pyrolysis analysis, the hydrogen index (HI) and oxygen index (OI) also confirmed that the soil C chemistry was influenced by the cropping system. For instance, orchard systems had stable pools of soil C whereas vegetable systems were associated with less advanced degree of soil C decomposition. Remaining soil management variables (cover crop use, tillage intensity, and organic amendments) had less influence on soil C indicators in all soil textural classes. Principal component analysis revealed a close association of soil C indicators with the mean annual precipitation (MAP) and cropping system; suggesting that the quantity and quality of soil C inputs associated with different cropping systems and increase in precipitation had a large influence on soil C. Our results confirm the significant effects of agronomic and pedoclimatic variables on chemistry, thermal stability, and composition of soil C pools, which have long-term implications on soil C storage, mitigating global climate change, and improving soil health.","PeriodicalId":48610,"journal":{"name":"Soil","volume":"38 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":6.8,"publicationDate":"2025-04-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143766548","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":"What if publication bias is the rule and net carbon loss from priming the exception?","authors":"Jennifer Michel, Yves Brostaux, Bernard Longdoz, Hervé Vanderschuren, Pierre Delaplace","doi":"10.5194/egusphere-2025-1067","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-1067","url":null,"abstract":"<strong>Abstract.</strong> Priming effects in soil science describe the influence of labile carbon inputs on rates of microbial soil organic matter mineralisation, which can either increase (positive priming) or decrease (negative priming). While both positive and negative priming effects occur in natural ecosystems, the latter is less documented in the peer-reviewed literature and the overall impact of priming effects on the carbon balance of vegetated ecosystems remains elusive. Here, we highlight three aspects which need to be discussed to ensure (rhizosphere) priming effects are correctly perceived in their ecological context and measured at appropriate scales: (i) We emphasize the importance of evaluating net C balances because usually experimental C inputs exceed C losses meaning even positive priming doesn’t cause net C-loss; (ii) We caution against publication bias, which forces overrepresentation of positive priming effects, neglects negative or no priming, and potentially misguides conclusions about C loss; and (iii) We highlight the need to distinguish between general priming effects and rhizosphere- specific priming, which differ in their scale and driving factors, and hence require different methodological approaches. Future research should explore potential discrepancies between laboratory and field studies and examine the role of rhizosphere priming in nutrient cycling and plant nutrition.","PeriodicalId":48610,"journal":{"name":"Soil","volume":"52 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":6.8,"publicationDate":"2025-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143745120","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":"Assessing soil fertilization effects using time-lapse electromagnetic induction","authors":"Manuela S. Kaufmann, Anja Klotzsche, Jan van der Kruk, Anke Langen, Harry Vereecken, Lutz Weihermüller","doi":"10.5194/soil-11-267-2025","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-11-267-2025","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract. Adding mineral fertilizers and nutrients is a common practice in conventional farming and is fundamental to maintain optimal yield and crop quality; nitrogen is the most applied fertilizer and is often used excessively, leading to adverse environmental impacts. To assist farmers in optimal fertilization and crop management, non-invasive geophysical methods can provide knowledge about the spatial and temporal distribution of nutrients in the soil. In recent years, electromagnetic induction (EMI) has been widely used for field characterization, to delineate soil units and management zones, or to estimate soil properties and states. Additionally, ground-penetrating radar (GPR) and electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) have been used in local studies to measure changes in soil properties. Unfortunately, the measured geophysical signals are confounded by horizontal and vertical changes in soil conditions and parameters, and the individual contributions of these conditions and parameters are not easy to disentangle. Within fields, and also between fields, fertilization management might vary in space and time, and, therefore, the differences in pore fluid conductivity caused directly by fertilization or indirectly by different crop performance make the interpretation of large-scale geophysical surveys over field borders complicated. To study the direct effect of mineral fertilization on the soil electrical conductivity, a field experiment was performed on 21 bare-soil plots with seven different fertilization treatments. As fertilizers, calcium ammonium nitrate (CAN) and potassium chloride (KCl) were chosen and applied in three dosages. Soil water content, soil temperature, and bulk electrical conductivity were recorded continuously over 450 d. Additionally, 20 EMI, 7 GPR, and 9 ERT surveys were performed, and on days of ERT measurements, soil samples for nitrate and reference soil electrical conductivity measurements were taken. The results showed that (1) the commonly used CAN application dosage did not impact the geophysical signals significantly. (2) EMI and ERT were able to trace back the temporal changes in nitrate concentrations in the soil profile over more than 1 year. (3) Both techniques were not able to trace the nitrate concentrations in the very shallow soil layer of 0–10 cm, irrespective of the low impact of fertilization on the geophysical signal. (4) The results indicated that past fertilization practices cannot be neglected in EMI studies, especially if surveys are performed over large areas with different fertilization practices or on crops grown with different fertilizer demands or uptakes.","PeriodicalId":48610,"journal":{"name":"Soil","volume":"183 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":6.8,"publicationDate":"2025-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143744962","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":"Terrain is a stronger predictor of peat depth than airborne radiometrics in Norwegian landscapes","authors":"Julien Vollering, Naomi Gatis, Mette Kusk Gillespie, Karl-Kristian Muggerud, Sigurd Daniel Nerhus, Knut Rydgren, Mikko Sparf","doi":"10.5194/egusphere-2025-1046","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-1046","url":null,"abstract":"<strong>Abstract.</strong> Peatlands are Earth's most carbon-dense terrestrial ecosystems and their carbon density varies with the depth of the peat layer. Accurate mapping of peat depth is crucial for carbon accounting and land management, yet existing maps lack the resolution and accuracy needed for these applications. This study evaluates whether digital soil mapping using remotely sensed data can improve existing maps of peat depth in western and southeastern Norway. Specifically, we assessed the predictive value of LiDAR-derived terrain variables and airborne radiometric data across two, &gt;10 km² sites. We measured peat depth by probing and ground-penetrating radar at 372 and 1878 locations at the two sites, respectively. Then we trained Random Forest models using radiometric and terrain variables, plus the national map of peat depth, to predict peat depth at 10 m resolution. The two best models achieved mean absolute errors of 60 and 56 cm, explaining one-third of the variation in peat depth. Terrain variables were better predictors than radiometric variables, with elevation and valley bottom flatness showing the strongest relationships to depth. Radiometric variables showed inconsistent predictive value – improving performance at one site while degrading it at the other. The accuracy of the national map of peat depth did not measure up to any of our remote sensing models, even though it was calibrated to the same data. Still, weak relationships with remotely sensed variables made peat depth hard to predict overall. Based on these findings, we conclude that digital soil mapping can improve existing, broad-scale maps of peat depth in Norway, but highly localized carbon stock assessments are best made from field measurements. Furthermore, the inability of models to identify peat presence outside known peatlands highlights the need for integrated mapping of peat lateral extent and depth. Together, these pathways promise more accurate landscape-scale carbon stock assessments and better-informed land management policies.","PeriodicalId":48610,"journal":{"name":"Soil","volume":"15 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":6.8,"publicationDate":"2025-03-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143736749","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":"Do morphological hillslope features affect soil properties and processes promoting chestnut ink disease? The study case of the Northern Apennine mountains","authors":"William Trenti, Mauro De Feudis, Sara Marinari, Sergio Murolo, Giulia Tabanelli, Federico Puliga, Rosita Marabottini, Alessandra Zambonelli, Fausto Gardini, Livia Vittori Antisari","doi":"10.5194/egusphere-2025-911","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-911","url":null,"abstract":"<strong>Abstract.</strong> Ink disease caused by the soil-borne Phytophthora cambivora and Phytophthora cinnamomi is threatening sweet chestnut (Castanea sativa) groves in Europe. This study aims to explore whether soil morphology and its related properties influence the development of chestnut ink disease considering the whole soil depth. In C. sativa stand in Northern Italy, along a small altitudinal transect, soil profiles were dug close to ink diseased plants (INK1 at 978 m a.s.l.) and healthy plants (INK2 988 m a.s.l. and INK3 at 998 m a.s.l.) and each soil horizon evaluated for its properties. Further, INK1, INK2 and INK3 had a slope of 3, 9 and 30 %, respectively. The results showed that the lower slope position of INK1 combined with the lower slope gradient than INK2 and INK3 might have promoted the transport of clay particles and water from the latters to the former. Such process allowed the accumulation of clay within the whole INK1 soil profile increasing the saturated hydraulic conductivity and the wilting point. Such soil features might promote the water accumulation within the deeper soil horizons of INK1 which would explain the presence of Phytophthora spp. DNA. The presence of the root pathogen in INK1 might have affected the microbial functionality as observed by the higher abundance of the contact and medium-distance exploration ectomycorrhizal fungal community than the long-distance types. Finally, such study highlighted the pivotal role of soil processes (i.e., clay and water transport) to shape the soil microbial community and soil-borne pathogens because of the changes of edaphic properties.","PeriodicalId":48610,"journal":{"name":"Soil","volume":"61 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":6.8,"publicationDate":"2025-03-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143723157","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}