Soil & Tillage Research最新文献

{"title":"Quantifying the shear behavior of fine-grained soil with herbaceous plant roots under freeze-thaw conditions using X-ray CT scan","authors":"","doi":"10.1016/j.still.2024.106326","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.still.2024.106326","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study investigates the reinforcement effect of Kentucky bluegrass roots on slope soil under freeze-thaw conditions, with a focus on the Hokkaido region of Japan. Using direct shear tests combined with X-ray CT scanning, we analyzed the impact of root parameters (such as root mass and volume) on the shear strength of root-soil composites. The results revealed that freeze-thaw cycle did not cause significant root breakage or diminish the root system's ability to stabilize the soil compared to non-freeze-thaw conditions. Root-soil samples demonstrated notable ductility during shear deformation, with shear stress continuing to increase after reaching peak values. In contrast, soil samples stabilized after reaching peak shear stress without further increase. Although no significant differences in shear behavior were observed between root-soil and soil samples in the initial shearing stage, the freeze-thaw cycle led to some consolidation in root-soil samples, reducing their resistance to elastic deformation. Moreover, longer root growth periods resulted in a more pronounced increase in shear stress. CT scan image reconstruction allowed us to quantify root system parameters, such as root volume and distribution near the shear plane, which showed a strong correlation with maximum shear stress. Our findings demonstrate the effectiveness of herbaceous plant roots, particularly Kentucky bluegrass, in maintaining soil stability under freeze-thaw conditions.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49503,"journal":{"name":"Soil & Tillage Research","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":6.1,"publicationDate":"2024-10-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142440945","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":"Gully erosion susceptibility mapping considering seasonal variations of NDVI using a machine learning approach in the Mollisol region of China","authors":"","doi":"10.1016/j.still.2024.106322","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.still.2024.106322","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Gully erosion is the most severe form of soil erosion, and mapping gully erosion susceptibility accurately and automatically is crucial for guiding policy decisions. Topography and vegetation cover were general factors for assessing gully susceptibility, yet little attention has been paid to the spatiotemporal variations in vegetation. This study aims to predict gully-prone areas using stable factors (topography, hydrology, soil, etc.) considering the monthly variability in vegetation based on a machine learning approach in the Mollisol region of China. A total of 1890 gully and non-gully points were extracted to establish an inventory database. Twelve treatments were conducted including the stable factors and individual NDVI from January to December, respectively. All potential factors were evaluated for contributing to the gully erosion prediction, and a set of rules based on accuracy, AUC, and kappa were used to evaluate the model performance. The results demonstrated that NDVI varied widely between gully and non-gully areas and the importance of NDVI varied in diverse months. NDVI in August was the most important explanatory factor (25 %) to gully occurrence mapping, followed by the plan curvature (14 %), and elevation (13 %), respectively. The gully-prone areas predicted by NDVI in August exhibited higher accuracy, followed by that in May and June. This was attributed to the greater difference in NDVI between the gully and non-gully areas in June (0.30), May (0.23), and August (0.16). Overall, the very low, low, moderate, high, and very high gully susceptibility levels occupied 35 %, 23 %, 18 %, 14 %, and 10 % of the study area, respectively. This study advances our understanding of spatial-temporal heterogeneity in NDVI among gully and non-gully areas that need to be considered in gully mapping. Further, an automatic and accurate gully mapping approach can provide valuable information to identify areas where urgent and appropriate measures should be applied.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49503,"journal":{"name":"Soil & Tillage Research","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":6.1,"publicationDate":"2024-10-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142432052","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":"Biochar addition enhances silt loam soil resistance to rill flow: A study based on three years of field monitoring data on China’s Loess Plateau","authors":"","doi":"10.1016/j.still.2024.106320","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.still.2024.106320","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Biochar addition can change the physiochemical properties of soil, thus likely influencing soil’s resistance to rill flow (reflected by rill erodibility (K_<em>r</em>, s m⁻¹) and critical shear stress (τ_<em>c</em>, Pa). However, the persistent time effects of biochar on K_<em>r</em> and τ_<em>c</em> have remained unexplored. This study aimed to assess the impact of biochar composed of apple branches on K_<em>r</em> and τ_<em>c</em>, and to investigate the relationships between K_<em>r</em>, τ_<em>c</em> and soil properties. The undisturbed soil core samples to a depth of 5 cm were collected from field plots that had received biochar at rates of 0, 1, 2.5, 4, 5.5, and 7 % (w/w) after 1, 2, and 3 years, respectively. The K_<em>r</em> and τ_<em>c</em> of these samples were evaluated through a flume experiment, with scouring soil samples under three flow discharges (e.g., 0.00025, 0.00045, and 0.00065 m⁻³ s⁻¹) and five slope gradients (e.g., 5.24, 8.75, 17.63, 26.79, and 40.40 %). The results revealed that the ranges of K_<em>r</em> and τ_<em>c</em> for no biochar treatments varied from 0.1947 to 0.2107 s m⁻¹ and 1.6971–1.7314 Pa, with the averaged values of 0.2007 s m⁻¹ and 1.7100 Pa, respectively. Compared with no biochar addition, the addition of 1–4 % biochar after 1–2 years generally resulted in a reduction in K_<em>r</em> ranging from 20 % to 59 %, while increasing τ_<em>c</em> by 2–4 %. Conversely, 5.5 and 7 % biochar addition increased K_<em>r</em> by 31 and 5 %, and reduced τ_<em>c</em> by 12 and 6 %. All biochar treatments after 3 years resulted in a 51 % reduction in K_<em>r</em> and a 5 % increase in τ_<em>c</em> relative to bare soil, showing an increasing trend with an increasing biochar addition rate. The fluctuations in K_<em>r</em> and τ_<em>c</em> could be elucidated by changes in cohesion (COH) and mean weight diameter of soil aggregates (MWD), with COH (total effect of −0.32 and 0.17, <em>P</em>&lt;0.01) and MWD (total effect of −0.13 and 0.37, <em>P</em>&lt;0.01) serving as reliable estimators of K_<em>r</em> and τ_<em>c</em> during the 1–2 years following biochar addition. After biochar addition for 3 years, total organic carbon (TOC) (total effect of −0.45 and 0.10, <em>P</em>&lt;0.01) emerged as a significant factor influencing K_<em>r</em> and τ_<em>c</em>, making TOC a potential p_<em>r</em>edictor of K_<em>r</em> and τ_<em>c</em>. The results demonstrate that biochar may be an effective measure for enhancing soil resistance to erosion on the Loess Plateau, especially when applied over the long term.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49503,"journal":{"name":"Soil & Tillage Research","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":6.1,"publicationDate":"2024-10-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142416407","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":"Fungal necromass is vital for the storage of subsoil C after deep injection of compost","authors":"","doi":"10.1016/j.still.2024.106325","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.still.2024.106325","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Organic matter (OM) injection into subsoil is expected to improve subsoil properties and thus increase crop nutrient and water uptake from the subsoil. Nevertheless, detailed knowledge of the fate and persistence of injected OM in subsoil does not yet exist. For this study, we sampled a field experiment, where two types of compost of different composition (Bio-waste compost and Green-waste compost, differing in carbon:nitrogen ratio) had been injected into the subsoil at three application amounts each (3, 5, and 7 kg dry mass m⁻¹), and assessed the distribution of soil organic carbon (SOC) into different density fractions, the temperature sensitivity of soil respiration (Q10), and microbial necromass in subsoil. The results demonstrate that both Bio-waste and Green-waste compost injections enhanced the SOC stock, respiration rates, and temperature sensitivity in both top- and subsoil. In the subsoil, respiration rates were increased by 78 %, simultaneously compost addition enhanced microbial growth (increase in fungal residues by 123 %) but also increased the amount of carbon (C) in the mineral fraction. Significant differences in the δ¹³C values of density fractions and Q10 values were only detected between compost types rather than the amount of injected compost. Especially the Bio-waste compost with a narrower C:N ratio contributed to slightly greater soil labile C content, and ultimately elevated respiration rates in the subsoil. Hence, the fate of subsoil incorporated C is controlled by its composition rather than by the injected amount. Moreover, a higher contribution of fungal necromass C to the increase in Q10 values after compost injection was observed in the present study than for bacterial necromass C, suggesting that fungi are largely responsible for the final, enhanced storage of the C injected.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49503,"journal":{"name":"Soil & Tillage Research","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":6.1,"publicationDate":"2024-10-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142416391","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"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":"The PROMETHEE-GAIA: A multi-criteria decision-making method for identifying best conservation agricultural practices","authors":"","doi":"10.1016/j.still.2024.106315","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.still.2024.106315","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>In a first, we used Preference Ranking Organization Method and Geometrical Analysis for Interactive Aid (PROMETHEE-GAIA) tool in agricultural research for identifying the best management decision with weakening factors for cultivation of mustard following rice under fifteen regimes of conservation agriculture (CA) practices, because of its versatility, simplicity and usefulness. We created the regime of CA practices based on energy spent for raising the crop combining different tillage practices viz., reduced tillage and zero tillage, and quantity of crop residues and fertilizer application. The performance of the CA regimes was evaluated over the conventional ones using conflicting criteria (31) related to soil, agronomy, plant protection, energy use and economics. With the PROMETHEE-II method, we found zero tillage with 100 % residue plus 75 % NPK (ZERO₃) as the best performing alternative, while GAIA analysis identified ZERO₃ and zero tillage with 50 % residue plus 100 % NPK (ZERO₄). On integration, PROMETHEE-GAIA helped the decision makers to segregate the effects of the criteria on the outcome creating a scope for maneuvering the weak links for optimizing the performance of mustard crop under different CA-regimes. The tool has a huge potential for use in multi-factorial agricultural research.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49503,"journal":{"name":"Soil & Tillage Research","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":6.1,"publicationDate":"2024-10-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142416420","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":"Modeling and digital mapping of shallow water table depth using satellite-based spectral and thermal data: Introducing a framework for digital shallow water table mapping","authors":"","doi":"10.1016/j.still.2024.106317","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.still.2024.106317","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Shallow groundwater is a key variable of the hydrological cycle and has significant impacts on the components of energy, carbon, and water balances. Moreover, shallow saline groundwater plays a critical role in secondary soil salinization. Therefore, comprehensive information on spatial distribution of shallow water table depth is fundamental for effective land management and sustainable development. But determining it by conventional methods is time-consuming and financially costly in large areas. Shallow groundwater naturally has signatures at the land surface, and it can be parameterized by properties inferred from satellite-based surface data. Against this background, this study is to introduce a novel approach and framework for Digital Shallow Water Table Mapping (DSWTM). The efficiency and performance of the proposed DSWTM was assessed by different covariate sets and employing different predictive models. In the DSWTM framework, remote sensing spectral/thermal indices, geographic and trend data were used as covariates and the PLSR, M5, Cubist, and RF algorithms were employed as predictive models under four scenarios. For two high-performance models in each scenario, the water table depth maps were generated, and associated uncertainties were quantified using the bootstrapping technique at a spatial resolution of 30 m. The results revealed that the prediction accuracies of each predictive model were constantly increasing from the first to the fourth scenario. Moreover, the Cubist and RF models had higher performance than PLSR and M5 in all scenarios. The uncertainties’ of prediction maps generated by Cubist and RF models were decreased from the first to the fourth scenarios. The RF generated maps in all scenarios had the lowest uncertainty and provided accurate prediction maps compared to Cubist. The RF as a predictive model showed the highest ability and is recommended to use in DSWTM studies. The presented DSWTM framework opened a new research window for accurate shallow water table mapping.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49503,"journal":{"name":"Soil & Tillage Research","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":6.1,"publicationDate":"2024-10-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142416421","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":"The legacy of deep ploughing and liming – A 1990s experimental site revisited","authors":"","doi":"10.1016/j.still.2024.106323","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.still.2024.106323","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Management of agricultural soils for increased productivity may exert positive or negative effects on soil structure, functions, and organic carbon (SOC) stocks. In this study, a field experiment established in 1993 on a clayey soil in southwest Finland was revisited to investigate the long-term effects of deep ploughing and liming on SOC concentration and stock, particulate (POC) and mineral-associated (MOC) fractions of SOC, pH, electrical conductivity (EC), bulk density (BD), porosity, critical pore size and cereal yield. The experiment comprised whole plots of conventional tillage (CT) to a maximum depth of ca. 20 cm, and plots deep ploughed to ca. 35 cm depth by a commercial (DP1) or by a self-made (DP2) plough. The tillage plots were divided into three split-plots assigned to liming treatments (low, medium and high). Three decades after implementation, the increasing liming rates still induced consistent differences in soil pH, a significant increasing effect on total porosity in the subsoil, and a marginally significant decrease in yield with an increase in soil acidity. The deep ploughing exerted a minor difference in topsoil texture, slightly lowered SOC concentration in the topsoil in DP2 in comparison to CT, and slightly higher subsoil SOC concentration in DP1 in comparison to CT, which indicated transfer of the topsoil SOC to deeper layers and dilution of the SOC in the new topsoil. However, no significant differences between the tillage treatments occurred in SOC stocks. In MOC and POC concentrations, there were no significant differences between the control and tillage treatments. The effects of deep ploughing on soil structural properties on the decadal time scale were minor and scattered. Cereal yield exhibited a slight negative trend for deep ploughing. For EC and BD, no treatment effects were recorded. Overall, the study showed that the legacy of soil management effects on soil properties can be persistent on decadal time scales, but no permanent structural damage due to deep ploughing nor gains in SOC stock accrual could be observed.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49503,"journal":{"name":"Soil & Tillage Research","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":6.1,"publicationDate":"2024-10-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142416400","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"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 an arbuscular mycorrhizal fungus on Amorpha fruticosa roots and soil preferential flow in an arid area of opencast coal mine waste","authors":"","doi":"10.1016/j.still.2024.106321","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.still.2024.106321","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Preferential flow plays a key role in soil hydrological processes in arid and semi-arid areas of opencast coal mine waste. Inoculation with arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi can significantly affect vegetation root growth and improve soil physical structure. However, the impact on preferential flow in new areas of waste remains poorly understood. Here, the effects of AM fungal inoculation on root spatial distribution and preferential flow within the waste area at Heidaigou opencast coal mine in China were analyzed where <em>Amorpha fruticosa</em> was grown for revegetation. A staining tracer method and a grid sampling method were used. Preferential flow pathway development in the newly formed waste areas was affected mainly by <em>A. fruticosa</em> root systems<em>,</em> with closer proximity to <em>A. fruticosa</em> resulting in more preferential flow pathways. Inoculation with the AM fungus <em>Funneliformis mosseae</em> significantly increased preferential flow development. In the profile closest to the <em>A. fruticosa</em>, the dye coverage increased by 59 %, the uniform infiltration depth by 73 %, and the maximum stained depth by 80 %. Plant roots occurred mainly at 0−20 cm soil depth, accounting for ∼ 80 % of the total root length of the entire root system. In the profile closest to <em>A. fruticosa</em>, inoculation with <em>F. mosseae</em> increased the total number of roots and the root length density by 32 %. The preferential flow pathways were developed only in roots with diameters of &gt; 2 mm and more widely distributed at both 0−10 and 10−20 cm soil depths. Substrate infiltration was influenced mainly by roots with diameters of &lt; 4 mm but deep infiltration was more dependent on roots with diameters &gt; 2 mm. Mycorrhizal hyphae contributed to the preferential flow. Inoculation with the AM fungus increased the preferential flow of the newly formed drainage sites and this effect should be considered in the ecological restoration of opencast coal mine wastes in arid and semi-arid areas.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49503,"journal":{"name":"Soil & Tillage Research","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":6.1,"publicationDate":"2024-10-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142416696","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":"Aeration treatment promotes transformation of soil phosphorus fractions to plant-available phosphorus by modulating rice rhizosphere microbiota","authors":"","doi":"10.1016/j.still.2024.106318","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.still.2024.106318","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Microorganisms play an important role in affecting the content of available phosphorus (P) in plant rhizosphere soil. However, the effect of aeration on available P in rice rhizosphere soil and its microbial mechanism remain unclear. This study aimed to elucidate the effects of aeration strategies on available P and P-solubilizing microorganisms in rhizosphere soil, employing three different aeration methods (continuous flooding (CF), continuous flooding and aeration (CFA), and alternate wetting and drying (AWD)). We analyzed the bacterial and fungal community structures in rice rhizosphere soil via Illumina sequencing techniques and quantified the abundance of P transformation functional genes related to inorganic P solubilization (<em>pqqC</em>) and organic P mineralization (<em>phoC</em>, <em>phoD</em>, and <em>appA</em>) through quantitative PCR. Our findings revealed that the AWD treatment significantly increased soil pH and Eh; Both AWD and CFA treatments markedly increased soil Olsen-P content at the tillering and heading stages, as well as the microbial carbon-to-phosphorus ratio (MBC/MBP) at the heading and maturity stages. Cluster analysis showed distinct bacterial communities at the heading and maturity stages under AWD, which differed from those in other treatments. Fungal communities at the tillering and heading stages under CFA and AWD grouped together. AWD and CFA treatments consistently enhanced labile-P in the rhizosphere soil throughout the entire growth stages, while reducing moderately labile-P during the tillering and heading stages. Compared to CF, at the heading and maturity stages, the copy numbers of <em>pqqC</em>, <em>phoD</em>, <em>phoC</em>, and <em>appA</em> were higher under AWD compared to other treatments. In conclusion, this study posits that the increase in Olsen-P in paddy fields due to aeration results from improved oxygen conditions in the rhizosphere, alterations in pH and Eh, effects on microbial stoichiometry, and adjustments in the abundance and composition of P-solubilizing microorganisms, thereby promoting P transformation. This conclusion provides new insights into the conversion of soil P Fractions into plant-available forms.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49503,"journal":{"name":"Soil & Tillage Research","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":6.1,"publicationDate":"2024-10-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142416416","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":"Reducing initial cotton yield penalties in a transition to conservation agriculture through legume cover crop cultivation – evidence from Northern Benin","authors":"","doi":"10.1016/j.still.2024.106319","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.still.2024.106319","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Much effort has been spent on promoting conservation agriculture (CA) in Northern Benin to sustain the transition of cotton (<em>Gossypium hirsutum L.)</em> cropping systems toward agroecology. However, its limited adoption by farmers is often ascribed to initial yield penalties during the transition to CA and to trade-offs around crop biomass use. Here, we assess the effect of different CA-based cropping systems promoted in the region on water productivity and cotton yield in a three-year cotton/maize (<em>Zea mays</em> L.) crop rotation during the initial transition phase to CA. Three CA options were assessed combining different levels of soil disturbance and cover, and introducing cover crops to alleviate the biomass trade-offs. Direct seeding (DS), strip tillage (ST), and direct seeding mulched-based cropping systems (DMC) were compared with conventional tillage (CT) from 2017 to 2019 under a dominant soil type in the region, Haplic Lixisols. Two legume species, <em>Stylosanthes guianensis</em> (Aubl.) Sw. and <em>Crotalaria retusa</em> L. were grown as cover crops with maize under ST and DMC. The experiment followed a randomized block design comprising six replicates. After 2–3 years of DMC, the cotton yield advantage with respect to CT increased from 5 % to 7 %. Cotton yield penalties of respectively 11 % in 2018 and 26 % in 2019 were found for DS. ST treatment went from a yield advantage of 8 % in 2017 to a yield penalty of 20 % in 2019. The DMC and CT treatments gave similar and highest boll weights compared to the ST and DS treatments. The treatments had no significant difference regarding the number of bolls per plant. Soil water storage in the upper 30 cm depth and water use efficiency (WUE) were the highest in the plots with the DMC treatment compared to CT, ST, and DS. At 28 days of active vegetative stage (between 34 and 62 days after sowing), the WUE of seed cotton was 0.11 kg ha⁻¹ mm⁻¹ under DMC, while it was 0.08, 0.07, and 0.04 kg ha⁻¹ mm⁻¹ under DS, CT, and ST, respectively. The performance of DMC at increasing water productivity could be an argument to improve adoptability by farmers in northern Benin who are facing increased weather variability, given that the yield penalties often associated with early transitions to CA were not observed here with full DMC.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49503,"journal":{"name":"Soil & Tillage Research","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":6.1,"publicationDate":"2024-10-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142416389","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}