Soil & Tillage Research最新文献

{"title":"Long-term effects of cover crops and no-tillage on soil health in the Virginia Coastal Plain","authors":"Joseph R. Haymaker ,&nbsp;Ryan D. Stewart ,&nbsp;Bethany Wolters ,&nbsp;Kurt Stephenson ,&nbsp;Kipling S. Balkcom ,&nbsp;Mark.S. Reiter","doi":"10.1016/j.still.2025.106898","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.still.2025.106898","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>After centuries of conventional tillage practices, sandy loam Coastal Plain soils have been heavily degraded, resulting in severely depleted soil organic carbon (SOC) stocks. This study examined impacts on soil health when transitioning from intensive tillage in vegetable production to no-till (NT) corn (<em>Zea mays</em> L.) and soybean (<em>Glycine max</em> (L.) Merr.) production with cover crops (CC). A long-term cropping system experiment, established in 2014, assessed twelve different crop rotations, including a conventionally tilled (CT) fallow control and various CC treatments, ranging from monocultures to a perennial mixture with corn planted every third year. After nine years, CC treatments increased near-surface SOC concentrations (8.4–10.5 g kg⁻¹ at 0–5 cm) and SOC stocks (4.6–7.3 Mg ha⁻¹) compared to fallow controls (6.4–6.9 g kg⁻¹; 4.6–5.2 Mg ha⁻¹). Soil organic carbon gains were most pronounced in the surface 5 cm and had a positive relationship with cumulative C inputs (R² = 0.38). Cover crops reduced bulk density by up to 11 %, and SOC stocks were still significantly greater than fallow treatments as SOC concentration gains offset the lower bulk density. Treatments with hairy vetch (<em>Vicia villosa</em> Roth L.) or legume-dominant CC mixes lowered soil pH compared to fallow or grass-based CC treatments, potentially increasing the need for lime applications. Adoption of NT alone, without CCs, did not deliver similar soil health benefits. These results highlight the importance of integrating CCs into crop rotations to enhance SOC and improve soil physical properties in degraded Coastal Plain soils.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49503,"journal":{"name":"Soil & Tillage Research","volume":"256 ","pages":"Article 106898"},"PeriodicalIF":6.8,"publicationDate":"2025-10-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145220758","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":"Interactions between fine root-derived dissolved organic matter and K-strategy-dominated soil microbes regulate soil CO2 emissions in a Pinus tabulaeformis plantation under N deposition","authors":"Huiling Wang ,&nbsp;Hang Jing ,&nbsp;Huizhen Ma ,&nbsp;Guoliang Wang","doi":"10.1016/j.still.2025.106878","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.still.2025.106878","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The mechanisms by which belowground plant deposits influence soil organic carbon dynamics under increasing nitrogen (N) deposition remain unclear. In this study, ingrowth cores with different mesh sizes (1 µm, 45 µm and 1 mm) were used to investigate the effects of mycelium and fine root deposits on soil dissolved organic matter (DOM) and CO₂ emissions under N addition. Results indicated that mycelium did not significantly alter DOM composition or microbial community, whereas several labile (including amino sugars and carbohydrates) and recalcitrant DOM (including lignin and tannin) were enriched in the fine root and coarse root treatments, respectively. The fungal community shifted towards a K-strategy in the presence of mycelium and roots compared to the control treatment (1 µm). N addition increased the abundance of recalcitrant DOM molecules, particular in fine root treatments. Root deposit inputs increased DOM transformation and the complexity of the DOM-microbe network. The associations between microbes and labile carbon were enhanced in the mycelium and fine root treatments. The relationships between oligotrophic Basidiomycota and recalcitrant carbon were strengthened in the coarse root treatment. CO₂ emissions in mycelium treatments were inhibited by N addition, primarily due to a decrease in mycorrhizal colonization. Root deposit inputs and DOM-microbe interactions dominated the CO₂ emissions in the forest soil under N addition. Our findings confirm the essential role of fine root deposits, in regulating soil CO₂ emissions by influencing DOM characteristics under N deposition.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49503,"journal":{"name":"Soil & Tillage Research","volume":"256 ","pages":"Article 106878"},"PeriodicalIF":6.8,"publicationDate":"2025-10-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145220764","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":"Developing an adequate DEM model to simulate soil-tool interactions under sticky soil conditions","authors":"Abouelnadar El Salem ,&nbsp;Shuqi Shang ,&nbsp;Dongwei Wang ,&nbsp;Guozhong Zhang ,&nbsp;Hongchang Wang ,&nbsp;Mohamed Anwer Abdeen ,&nbsp;Taher A. Shehabeldeen","doi":"10.1016/j.still.2025.106893","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.still.2025.106893","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The numerical modelling of interactions between soil-engaging tools is crucial for designing more effective and affordable soil preparation equipment. In this study, the linear cohesion model was coupled with the hysteretic spring model (HSCM) to effectively represent soil cohesion behavior and plastic deformation in sticky soil found in paddy fields. The sensitivity of DEM-simulated soil bulk density to specific parameters of the proposed model was analyzed using a two-level factorial test to identify the key influencing parameters. The discrete element model was calibrated against experimentally determined wet bulk density (wet weight basis) to accurately represent the soil mass being displaced by soil-engaging tools, which is critical for draught prediction under high-moisture soil conditions. These key parameters were calibrated in two consecutive phases: (1) the steepest ascent design and (2) the Box-Behnken design to determine the optimum values of these parameters that minimize the relative error between the DEM-simulated bulk density and experimentally measured soil wet bulk density. The calibrated model was then validated through soil furrowing experiments, using the created furrow profile dimensions and the draught at different depths as evaluation metrics. The validation results demonstrate that the calibrated model achieves satisfactory predictive accuracy for draught across multiple furrowing depths, with relative errors between 7.5 % and 8.8 %. Furthermore, comparative analysis of furrow profile dimensions revealed that the model accurately simulates both width and depth, exhibiting relative errors of 14.7 % and 1.3 %, respectively. Thus, the proposed model can facilitate and accelerate the design and optimization of components that engage with sticky soil. The findings also offer a framework for selecting optimal DEM parameters for soft, sticky soils, minimizing the computational cost of model calibration in future applications.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49503,"journal":{"name":"Soil & Tillage Research","volume":"256 ","pages":"Article 106893"},"PeriodicalIF":6.8,"publicationDate":"2025-10-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145220763","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":"Microplastics enhance soil nitrogen availability by stimulating nitrogen-acquiring enzyme activity over three decades-long fertilization regimes","authors":"Lin Han ,&nbsp;Jingjie Dou ,&nbsp;Kai Zhu ,&nbsp;Lu-Jun Li ,&nbsp;Peng He ,&nbsp;Xiaowei Wei ,&nbsp;Xiaojing Hu ,&nbsp;Yueyu Sui ,&nbsp;Xiangxiang Hao ,&nbsp;Xuechen Yang","doi":"10.1016/j.still.2025.106892","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.still.2025.106892","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Agricultural productivity heavily relies on fertilization to enhance soil nitrogen (N) availability and improve crop yields. Concurrently, agroecosystems are facing increasing contamination from microplastics (MPs), which are known to reduce crop yields and potentially threaten soil health. While the individual effects of fertilization and MPs on soil N dynamics are recognized, the complex interactive impacts of these ubiquitous factors on soil N availability remain poorly understood. Here, we conducted a laboratory incubation experiment on a long-term fertilized cropland amended with different MPs types. Our results revealed that 34-year fertilization decreased soil pH. Notably, the application of mineral fertilizers with crop residue incorporation enhanced soil organic carbon by 8.93 % and total nitrogen by 10.71 %, respectively, compared to the non-fertilized plots. After 60-day incubation, significant effects of fertilization, MPs addition, and their interaction were observed on soil N availability. In fertilized soils, biodegradable MP increased N-acquisition enzyme (NAE) activity by 36.61–41.20 %, and substantially altered the composition (β-diversity) of N-cycling microbial community. In contrast, non-degradable MP significantly decreased the N-cycling microbial α-diversity. We also found that soil N availability was related to soil pH, C:N ratio, and NAE activity. Structural equation modeling further identified the critical role of NAE, which was the most important factor in determining soil N availability. Overall, this study highlights that MPs, by acting as a high-carbon resource, alter the soil C:N ratio, which in turn stimulates microbial N-acquiring enzyme activity to increase N availability. These results underscore the need for greater attention to MPs pollution and its consequences on soil N cycling in global agroecosystems.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49503,"journal":{"name":"Soil & Tillage Research","volume":"256 ","pages":"Article 106892"},"PeriodicalIF":6.8,"publicationDate":"2025-09-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145220757","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":"Size-dependent colloidal stability and transport behaviors of typical zonal soil colloids","authors":"Yu-yang Yan ,&nbsp;Qiong-fang Yang ,&nbsp;Yi-ming Zhang ,&nbsp;Xiao-lan Zhang ,&nbsp;Ya-nan Liu ,&nbsp;Fei-nan Hu ,&nbsp;Zeng-chao Geng ,&nbsp;Chen-yang Xu","doi":"10.1016/j.still.2025.106891","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.still.2025.106891","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Colloidal particles, the finest constituents of soil, originate from complex physicochemical interactions among clay minerals, metal oxides, and organic matter. Their environmental behavior plays a critical role in soil structure formation, solute transport, and soil genesis. As particle size decreases, changes occur in the composition of organic matter and clay minerals, as well as in surface properties and aggregation-migration behaviors. However, studies addressing the size-dependent surface characteristics and environmental behaviors of soil colloids remain limited. In this study, typical zonal soils from China—Phaeozem (black soil), Cambisol (brown soil), Luvisol (yellow-brown earth), and Ferralsol (latosol)—were selected. Colloidal fractions with diameters of <em>d</em> &lt; 2000 nm, <em>d</em> &lt; 1000 nm, <em>d</em> &lt; 500 nm, and <em>d</em> &lt; 100 nm were extracted through ultrasonic dispersion combined with high-speed centrifugation, and their composition, surface properties, and aggregation/migration behaviors were systematically analyzed. The results showed that, as particle size decreased, colloidal particles from Phaeozem, Cambisol, and Luvisol exhibited reductions in both diameter and thickness, while Ferralsol colloids showed minimal changes. The absolute value of the zeta potential initially increased and then decreased, indicating reduced surface charge variability. Soil organic carbon was predominantly enriched in finer fractions, particularly in nanocolloids (<em>d</em> &lt; 100 nm), which were characterized by a higher density of surface functional groups, greater aromaticity, and lower hydrophilicity. The critical coagulation concentration (CCC) of Phaeozem colloids decreased with decreasing particle size, while Cambisol colloids exhibited an initial decrease followed by an increase. In contrast, the CCC of Luvisol and Ferralsol colloids increased as particle size decreased. These variations in aggregation behavior were attributed to the balance between electrostatic repulsion and van der Waals attraction. The highest mobility was observed for the <em>d</em> &lt; 500 nm fractions of Phaeozem, Cambisol, and Luvisol colloids, and for the <em>d</em> &lt; 1000 nm fraction of Ferralsol colloids. Conversely, the weakest mobility was found in the nanocolloidal fractions of all soils, likely due to their lower absolute value of the zeta potential and higher densities of surface functional groups. The critical particle diameters controlling size effects were determined to be 500 nm for Phaeozem, Cambisol, and Luvisol colloids, and 1000 nm for Ferralsol colloids. These findings provide a theoretical foundation for more accurately assessing the environmental behavior of soil colloids and their roles in pollutant transport processes.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49503,"journal":{"name":"Soil & Tillage Research","volume":"256 ","pages":"Article 106891"},"PeriodicalIF":6.8,"publicationDate":"2025-09-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145220756","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":"Effect of crop residue quality, nitrogen rate and CNPS stoichiometry on microbial respiration and C pools in a dispersive subsoil","authors":"Andrew T. Regan ,&nbsp;John A. Kirkegaard ,&nbsp;Alan E. Richardson ,&nbsp;Brian R. Wilson ,&nbsp;Chris N. Guppy","doi":"10.1016/j.still.2025.106890","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.still.2025.106890","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Soil organic matter (SOM) is crucial for nutrient cycling, biological health, and aggregate stability. Integrated residue and nutrient management (IRNM) is an innovative method of retaining SOM in cropping systems and involves the incorporation of crop residues with exogenous nutrients at a targeted ratio of 10,000 C:833 N:200 P:143S. The practicalities of IRNM for adoption by farmers remain uncertain as limited data exists on soil C response to residues of varying quality and specific impacts of each nutrient. Furthermore, little is known about the effectiveness of IRNM to build SOM on degraded soils such as dispersive subsoils, and recent studies have found stable SOM can occur in both the mineral-associated organic carbon (MAOC) and particulate organic carbon (POC) fractions. An incubation experiment was conducted to determine the microbial respiration response and changes to mid-infrared spectroscopy derived soil C pools under three residue treatments (no residue (Nil-res), a sorghum residue with low nutrient content (R1) and a sorghum residue with higher nutrient content (R2)), three N rates (Nil N, Half N, Full N), and three nutrient treatments (N, N(+S), and N(+S+P)). The application of residue compared to Nil-res caused an increase in total organic carbon (TOC) from 0.57 % to 0.69 %, MAOC from 0.44 % to 0.51 % and POC from 0.09 % to 0.13 %. Within residue treatment groups, the application of N at the Full N rate was the major determinant of C increase followed by application of N(+S+P) compared to N and N(+S). There was an increase in CO₂ respiration following application of both residues versus Nil-res, and Full N versus Half N and Nil-N. Microbial respiration was significantly higher in the N and N(+S+P) treatments compared to the N(+S) and nutrient control. When residue was applied, the correlation between respiration and C was negative in the nutrient control and positive when applied with N(+S+P). The concomitant increase in CO₂ respiration and MAOC following residue incorporation indicated microbial cycling of C occurred leading to stabilisation. Overall, the study provided initial evidence that microbial cycling of C is mediated by the adequate supply of nutrients and this occurred on a soil that contains abiotic stressors that limit plant growth (therefore C inputs) and microbial health.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49503,"journal":{"name":"Soil & Tillage Research","volume":"256 ","pages":"Article 106890"},"PeriodicalIF":6.8,"publicationDate":"2025-09-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145220765","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":"Effect of plastic mulching on soil organic carbon chemical stability: Insights from soil organic carbon chemical fractions and structure","authors":"Jinchao Li ,&nbsp;Jiankang Fu ,&nbsp;Jiaxuan Wen ,&nbsp;He’nan Li ,&nbsp;Kadambot H.M. Siddique ,&nbsp;Hao Feng ,&nbsp;Naijiang Wang","doi":"10.1016/j.still.2025.106889","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.still.2025.106889","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Plastic mulching (PM) is commonly applied in dryland agriculture to improve crop production on China’s Loess Plateau. With the increasing emphasis on carbon neutrality in agriculture, understanding the PM effect on soil organic carbon (SOC) has become critically important. Most existing studies have focused on the change in SOC content after applying PM, whereas the change in SOC chemical stability remains unclear. Thus, this study conducted a 3-year winter wheat–summer maize rotation experiment to assess the PM effects on crop production, SOC content, carbon-degrading enzyme activities, SOC chemical fractions and structure, and SOC chemical stability. The results indicated that PM increased annual aboveground biomass and grain yield by 8307 and 4189 kg ha⁻¹, respectively, but had no effect on harvest index. Due to increased soil carbon inputs, SOC content under PM was 0.61 g kg⁻¹ greater than that under no mulching (NM). PM positively affected the activities of hydrolytic enzymes (β-glucosidase: +14.4 %; cellobiohydrolase: +25.7 %; β-1,4-xylosidase: +25.9 %) but did not change the activities of oxidative enzymes (polyphenol oxidase and peroxidase). The PM-induced changes in soil carbon inputs and carbon-degrading enzyme activities largely contributed to the changes in SOC chemical fractions and structure. For SOC chemical fractions, the contents of labile carbon pools I and II remained unchanged following PM application, whereas the content of recalcitrant carbon pool increased by 0.66 g kg⁻¹. For SOC chemical structure, NM and PM yielded comparable relative abundance of the alkyl, O-alkyl, aromatic, and carbonyl carbon functional groups. Five SOC chemical stability indices, which were calculated based on SOC chemical fractions and structure, did not differ between PM and NM. Thus, PM did not alter SOC chemical stability. These findings deepen our understanding of SOC sequestration under increased crop production in PM-based dryland agriculture on China’s Loess Plateau.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49503,"journal":{"name":"Soil & Tillage Research","volume":"256 ","pages":"Article 106889"},"PeriodicalIF":6.8,"publicationDate":"2025-09-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145158727","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":"Water vapor from deep soil reservoirs as a viable water source for plants in sandy soils","authors":"Simran Sekhri,&nbsp;Volker Kleinschmidt,&nbsp;Annette Eschenbach,&nbsp;Joscha N. Becker","doi":"10.1016/j.still.2025.106887","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.still.2025.106887","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>In sandy soils, the formation of a dry soil layer creates a capillary barrier that restricts the upward flow of water, thereby limiting its availability to plants. Under such conditions, the water from deeper soil reservoirs may reach the root zone primarily as vapor. It is currently unknown if plants can utilize this water vapor and if there are management possibilities that could enhance the respective water vapor uptake. This study investigates the potential for water vapor uptake in <em>Vigna radiata</em> under controlled drought conditions. Ten-to-fifteen-day old saplings were introduced into columns with sandy soil, that was separated from a water reservoir by a capillary barrier and a root impermeable mesh (50 µm). Treatments included unplanted and planted columns (with and without mulch), with an additional set of planted columns comparing plant survival in the presence or absence of the water vapor source. Cryo-extraction and liquid water isotopic analysis (<em>δ</em>^<em>2</em><em>H</em>) of saplings, soil layers (0–5, 5–10 and 10–15 cm) and vapor condensates revealed differential deuterium enrichment, indicating upward vapor flux and plant uptake of water vapor. Plants with access to water vapor source exhibited an extended survival of ∼ 2.7 days under drought. Mulching further amplified the effectiveness of vapor availability by 38.2 % through reduced surface evaporation, thereby extending the plant survival by ∼4.5 days, compared to planted treatment with no vapor source. These findings provide evidence that plants can access water from a spatially separated water reservoir under conditions permitting only water vapor movement and suggest that agronomic practices such as mulching could enhance this process in semi-arid regions.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49503,"journal":{"name":"Soil & Tillage Research","volume":"256 ","pages":"Article 106887"},"PeriodicalIF":6.8,"publicationDate":"2025-09-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145158729","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":"Quantitative prediction of black soil horizon thickness at the watershed scale in Northeast China's black soil region","authors":"Weimin Ruan ,&nbsp;Huanjun Liu ,&nbsp;Yueyu Sui ,&nbsp;Changkun Wang ,&nbsp;Chong Luo ,&nbsp;Xiangtian Meng ,&nbsp;Chang Dong","doi":"10.1016/j.still.2025.106886","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.still.2025.106886","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The thickness of the black soil horizon in sloping farmland within China's black soil region is primarily affected by various elements, including terrain, climate, and anthropogenic activity. While conventional studies on soil thickness prediction primarily rely on topographic variables and vegetation indices, they often overlook the potential importance of spectral data. This study employs Sentinel-2 optical imagery data from May 2023, during the bare soil phase, in conjunction with topographic features and vegetation indices, to investigate the efficacy of various input variables in predicting soil thickness in sloping farms within the watersheds of the black soil region. The model was trained and validated using 157 sampling points of black soil horizon thickness (BSHT) through three machine learning techniques: Random Forest (RF), Extreme Gradient Boosting (XGBoost), and Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs), to assess the influence of various variable combinations on soil thickness prediction. The findings show that models incorporating spectral information (R² ranging from 0.62 to 0.71) have better explanatory power for predicting BSHT than models without (R² ranging from 0.68 to 0.75). While topographic factors were strong predictors, including spectral information significantly enhanced prediction accuracy. The findings indicated that RF exhibited superior prediction accuracy compared to XGBoost and ANNs among the three methodologies. This study's findings yield novel insights for accurately predicting soil thickness on sloping farmland within the black soil region and furnish scientific support for soil conservation and sustainable agricultural growth.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49503,"journal":{"name":"Soil & Tillage Research","volume":"256 ","pages":"Article 106886"},"PeriodicalIF":6.8,"publicationDate":"2025-09-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145158728","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 abundant and rare microbes and their contributions to nutrient cycling in the upland and paddy stages: Insights from oilseed rape-rice and wheat-rice rotations","authors":"Jian Zhao,&nbsp;Tao Ren,&nbsp;Yating Fang,&nbsp;Xin Yang,&nbsp;Qiannan Sheng,&nbsp;Rihuan Cong,&nbsp;Xiaokun Li,&nbsp;Zhifeng Lu,&nbsp;Jun Zhu,&nbsp;Jianwei Lu","doi":"10.1016/j.still.2025.106888","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.still.2025.106888","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Microorganisms can be divided into abundant and rare microbial taxa, which play a vital role in soil nutrient cycling. However, it remains unclear how paddy-upland rotation patterns and stages affect soil abundant and rare microbial taxa and their roles in soil multi-nutrient cycling. In this study, we investigated the differences in abundant and rare microbial taxa between oilseed rape-rice (OR) and wheat-rice (WR) rotations in upland and paddy stages through an 8-year field experiment, and their roles in soil nutrient cycling were also explored. The results showed that crop rotation patterns significantly altered the composition of both abundant and rare microbial communities in paddy-upland rotation systems. Bacterial taxa were more affected by crop rotation patterns than fungal taxa. Compared with the WR rotation, the OR rotation increased the relative abundance of rare bacterial taxa but decreased that of rare fungal taxa, particularly in the paddy stage. Additionally, the OR rotation significantly increased the Chao1 index of rare bacterial taxa, but decreased the Shannon index of rare fungal taxa. PLFA analysis showed higher soil viable microbial biomass in the upland than in the paddy stage. Compared with the WR rotation, the viable microbial biomass in the soil of the OR rotation decreased by 17.7 % during the upland stage, but increased by 22.3 % during the paddy stage. In the upland stage, rare bacterial taxa were primarily influenced by viable microbial biomass (including bacterial PLFAs, gram-positive bacteria and gram-negative bacteria). The composition of rare fungal taxa was affected by viable microbial biomass, as well as nitrate nitrogen, potentially mineralizable nitrogen, and dissolved organic nitrogen (DON). In the paddy stage, both abundant and rare bacterial and fungal taxa were mainly influenced by DON and free amino acids. Compared with the WR rotation, the OR rotation improved the soil multi-nutrient cycling index, increased by 44.6 % and 143.3 % in the upland and paddy stages, respectively. Crop rotation regulated soil multi-nutrient cycling mainly by influencing rare bacterial taxa and viable microbial biomass in both upland and paddy stages. Therefore, this study highlights the critical role of rare bacterial taxa in soil multi-nutrient cycling within paddy-upland rotation systems.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49503,"journal":{"name":"Soil & Tillage Research","volume":"256 ","pages":"Article 106888"},"PeriodicalIF":6.8,"publicationDate":"2025-09-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145158730","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}