Soil & Tillage Research最新文献

{"title":"Tillage combined with straw return increases maize yield and water use by regulating root morphological distribution and nitrogen metabolism in Northeast China","authors":"Wen Zhang ,&nbsp;Anran Long ,&nbsp;Xinjie Ji ,&nbsp;Zhanxiang Sun ,&nbsp;Ping Tian ,&nbsp;Chengcheng Jin ,&nbsp;Xiangwei Gong ,&nbsp;Ying Jiang ,&nbsp;Hua Qi ,&nbsp;Haiqiu Yu","doi":"10.1016/j.still.2025.106876","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.still.2025.106876","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The combination of tillage and straw return is effective for improving soil structure and increasing farmland productivity; however, few studies have explored the changes in the root morphological distribution and nitrogen (N) metabolism of crops, grain yield, and their potential interactions in Northeast China. A field study that commenced in 2017 was conducted with a two-factor split design and included nine treatments in total: three tillage depths of 10 (D10), 30 (D30), and 50 cm (D50), and three straw application techniques, i.e., mixing with soil (SM), burying in soil (SB), and straw removal (SR). Soil and plant samples were collected and analyzed in 2022 and 2023. The root growth and distribution of maize significantly increased under SM and SB, contributing to greater root length density, surface area density, and volume density in the 0 −90-cm soil layer. The responses of soil N availability and root N metabolism to straw return increased, as indicated by higher ammonium and nitrate N contents, and nitrate reductase, nitrite reductase, glutamine synthetase, glutamate dehydrogenase, and glutamate synthase activities. Combined with partial-least-squares path modeling and random forest, these morphological and physiological improvements were conducive to increasing the maize grain yield and water use efficiency. Tillage of the upper 30-cm soil layer combined with SM and tillage of the upper 50-cm soil layer combined with SB resulted in high productivity for maize. Our results emphasize the key roles and synergistic effects of tillage depth and straw return in enabling sustainably high maize yields in Northeast China.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49503,"journal":{"name":"Soil & Tillage Research","volume":"256 ","pages":"Article 106876"},"PeriodicalIF":6.8,"publicationDate":"2025-09-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145093866","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"A physically-constrained inversion method for rapid and robust estimation of soil hydraulic parameters from one-dimensional upward infiltration","authors":"SiCong Wu ,&nbsp;DongHao Ma ,&nbsp;ZhiPeng Liu ,&nbsp;Lin Chen ,&nbsp;Congzhi Zhang ,&nbsp;Guixiang Zhou ,&nbsp;JiaBao Zhang","doi":"10.1016/j.still.2025.106859","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.still.2025.106859","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Low-cost, simple, efficient, and robust methods for measuring soil hydraulic properties are essential for land management and hydrological modeling across scales. The recently developed Approximate Solutions under Constant Pressure (ASCP) method provides a promising approach. Here, we further developed a new inversion approach, the Piston-type Approximate Solutions under Constant Pressure (PASCP) method, which greatly enhances the robustness of the estimated results by reducing the sensitivity of the ASCP method to measurement errors through two key innovations: (1) an original explicit formula linking soil saturation time to hydraulic parameters, used as a physical constraint to improve inversion accuracy; and (2) an interval constraint that explicitly accounts for measurement errors and enhances robustness, tolerating up to 99.9 % of observed errors. The PASCP method allows simultaneous estimation of all Brooks-Corey hydraulic parameters (<em>n</em>, 1/<em>h</em>_d, and <em>K</em>_s) from only an upward infiltration test conducted on a standard 5-cm soil core, with easily obtainable input data. The new method was evaluated through numerical verification and laboratory validation, covering 12 soil samples and four initial moisture conditions. Numerical verifications demonstrated excellent agreement with theoretical parameter values (R² ≥ 0.998). Laboratory tests confirmed PASCP’s robust performance even in the presence of measurement errors (R² ≥ 0.804), showing 31–60 % improvement in R² compared to the original ASCP method. Overall, PASCP provides a practical, reliable technique for estimating hydraulic parameters across a wide range of soil textures under low initial moisture conditions (<em>S</em>_ei ≤ 0.3).</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49503,"journal":{"name":"Soil & Tillage Research","volume":"256 ","pages":"Article 106859"},"PeriodicalIF":6.8,"publicationDate":"2025-09-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145093868","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 applications of radiocesium-137 to soil redistribution and related studies in NE China: a review","authors":"Haiyan Fang ,&nbsp;Andrey Zhidkin","doi":"10.1016/j.still.2025.106865","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.still.2025.106865","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Since the 1960s, fallout radiocesium-137 (¹³⁷Cs) has been widely used to study soil erosion and related issues. However, in this context, its specific applications have so far eluded a systematic analysis. To start filling this knowledge gap, the ¹³⁷Cs-derived achievements in Northeastern (NE) China were reviewed and its future needs and some implications were also given. Among the collated 81 papers, over 60 % were about soil erosion and its induced soil organic carbon (SOC) and nutrients loss. Over 25 % of the papers were about sedimentation dating, and only several studies employed ¹³⁷Cs as one type of fingerprints. Due to the decay of ¹³⁷Cs and short half-life, its mean inventory in soils will be difficult to be detected after around 50 years. Fortunately, it could be replaced by radionuclides ^239+240Pu and Np to estimate soil erosion due to their longer half-lives and similar transport behavior in soils to ¹³⁷Cs. Future studies can be conducted through mining sedimentation information in ponds, reservoirs, lakes, or in lowland areas by ¹³⁷Cs and other tracers. Furthermore, deep and more studies can be done when the ¹³⁷Cs technique is coupled with soil erosion models under land use and climate changes. The importance of expanding research at lager spatial scales is emphasized through their combinations under changing environments. This paper is intended to better conduct soil erosion and related issues through reviewing the applications of ¹³⁷Cs in NE China.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49503,"journal":{"name":"Soil & Tillage Research","volume":"256 ","pages":"Article 106865"},"PeriodicalIF":6.8,"publicationDate":"2025-09-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145093867","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"A portable matting system mitigates soil disturbance caused by a mini forestry crawler","authors":"Ingo Siebert ,&nbsp;Björn Klaes ,&nbsp;Raimund Schneider ,&nbsp;Sören Thiele-Bruhn","doi":"10.1016/j.still.2025.106829","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.still.2025.106829","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Climate change-driven disturbances of forest ecosystems such as bark beetle infestations have been counteracted with salvage logging resulting in vast clear cuts. During these operations, commonly used heavy machinery causes irreversible degradation of forest soils. Thus, traffic has been restricted to skid trails. However, the emerging trend of mechanizing manual work leads to an increasing application of remote-controlled mini forestry crawlers (MFC) on undisturbed forest soils. We present the first study simulating the initial traffic effects on soil physical properties and functions of a Cambisol caused by a light-weight, rubber tracked MFC, with and without using a portable matting system (PMS) for soil protection at unfavorable soil moisture content. Our data document that successive passes without PMS significantly intensify soil structural damage and cause deep reaching compaction. Even a PMS does not completely protect against negative effects on soil physical properties and functions. However, after five passes over the PMS, these effects corresponded to those of a single pass without PMS, but even 10 passes with PMS use did not lead to further soil degradation. Steering maneuvers caused the most intense soil compaction and deformation. The induced shear forces and machine vibrations could provoke a loosening of the topsoil and the formation of macropore-like crack structures. These structures will most likely increase the aeration and hydraulic conductivity of the damaged soil, but should not be misinterpreted as soil improvement. Hence, MFC traffic on undisturbed, moist forest soil should be avoided and cannot be recommended without using a PMS.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49503,"journal":{"name":"Soil & Tillage Research","volume":"256 ","pages":"Article 106829"},"PeriodicalIF":6.8,"publicationDate":"2025-09-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145093870","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":"Spatial variability and microbiological and structural quality in sandy soil under managed functional diversity in integrated crop-livestock systems","authors":"Laércio Santos Silva ,&nbsp;Andrielly Beatriz Freitas da Silva ,&nbsp;Maísa Rosa Tosin ,&nbsp;Emilio Carlos de Azevedo ,&nbsp;Mateus Rosas Ribeiro Filho ,&nbsp;Edivan Rodrigues de Souza ,&nbsp;Milton César Costa Campos ,&nbsp;Raphael Moreira Beirigo ,&nbsp;Romário Pimenta Gomes ,&nbsp;Izabela Aline Gomes da Silva ,&nbsp;Paulo César de Faccio Carvalho ,&nbsp;Edicarlos Damacena de Souza","doi":"10.1016/j.still.2025.106855","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.still.2025.106855","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Managed functional diversity (MFD), with or without grazing, plays a fundamental role in conservation agriculture. However, its effects on the spatial variability of soil physical and biological quality and crop productivity remain unclear. Therefore, understanding these relationships is essential to inform more efficient and sustainable management strategies, especially in sandy soils. The objective was to investigate the impact of five MFD levels, acting as determinants of soil quality in a context of spatial variability, on soybean (<em>Glycine max</em>) and cotton (<em>Gossypium hirsutum</em>) production in sandy soils of the Cerrado, in Mato Grosso, Brazil. A total of 60 soil samples (0–20 cm), georeferenced, in a grid covering the whole field area, were recorded at MFD levels: very low (VL), low (LW), average (AVG), long-term average (AVL) and high (ICLS). The soil properties and crop yield were assessed in 2017 and 2020, respectively, and results were analyzed using classic statistics and geostatistics by constructing semivariograms and 2D mapping by kriging estimation. The MFD affected microbiological indicators and weighted mean diameter of soil aggregates (MWD), without significant changes in total organic carbon (TOC) of soil. The rise in microbiological stress suggests that a very low MFD is an inefficient and unsustainable agronomic model for crop production. High MFD in ICLS increased soybean productivity by 20 % and cotton productivity by 60 %, which was directly related to improvements in microbiological abundance (C and N of microbial biomass: <em>R</em>^<em>2</em> <em>&gt; 0.50</em>) and the soil MWD (<em>R</em>^<em>2</em> <em>&gt; 0.60</em>). The MFD induced strong spatial variability for microbial biomass C and N, microbial quotient and MWD and moderate for crop yield. With the shortest effective ranges (<em>a</em>), soybean yield (<em>a</em> = 40 m) and SBR (<em>a</em> = 61 m) were more sensitive to MFD disturbances, exhibiting greater spatial variability at shorter distances. High MFD proved to be an efficient and valid strategy to intensify crop production and increase the microbiological and physical quality of sandy soil in the Brazilian Cerrado.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49503,"journal":{"name":"Soil & Tillage Research","volume":"256 ","pages":"Article 106855"},"PeriodicalIF":6.8,"publicationDate":"2025-09-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145093871","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":"Rubber plant root-derived organic carbon influences aggregate stability through soil internal forces in tropical region","authors":"Waqar Ali ,&nbsp;Xiuquan Wang ,&nbsp;Zahid Ullah ,&nbsp;Khurram Shehzad ,&nbsp;Asad Shah ,&nbsp;Hongyu Ran ,&nbsp;Qiu Yang ,&nbsp;Wenxian Xu ,&nbsp;Wenxing Long ,&nbsp;Jianxiong Huang ,&nbsp;Huai Yang ,&nbsp;Wenjie Liu ,&nbsp;Zhixiang Wu","doi":"10.1016/j.still.2025.106873","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.still.2025.106873","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Soil organic carbon (SOC) from rubber plant roots enhances soil aggregate stability; however, the role of soil internal forces (<em>SIFs</em>), including electrostatic repulsive force (<em>P</em>_<em>erf</em>), van der Waals attractive force (<em>P</em>_<em>vdw</em>), and surface hydration repulsive force (<em>P</em>_<em>h</em>), remains unclear. This study investigated the effects of root characteristics, SOC, and root chemical composition on soil aggregate stability, focusing on the role of <em>SIFs</em>, by comparing rubber plantations of four distinct ages: 5-year-old (5Y_RP), 11-year-old (11Y_RP), 20-year-old (20Y_RP), and 27-year-old (27Y_RP). Among the rubber plants, 20Y_RP had the largest root diameter (RD) (0.88 mm) and root length density (RLD) (2.81 cm/cm³), along with a higher proportion of fine and medium roots, resulting in greater SOC (13.55 g/kg) and chemical composition (higher cellulose and lower lignin) than younger rubber plants. Greater SOC concentration of 20Y_RP resulted in a higher specific surface area (<em>SSA</em>) and lower surface charge density (<em>σ</em>_<em>₀</em>), surface charge number (<em>Q</em>_<em>s</em>), and surface potential (<em>φ</em>_<em>0</em>) compared to younger rubber plants, and the control, with significant correlations (<em>r</em> = 0.60 to 0.99) confirming the relationship between root traits, SOC, and soil surface charge properties. Consequently, older rubber plantations exhibited higher <em>P</em>_<em>vdw</em>, lower <em>P</em>_<em>erf</em>, and a decrease in the net repulsive force (<em>P</em>_<em>net</em>) (sum of three <em>SIFs</em>), with the average <em>P</em>_<em>net</em> in order of 20Y_RP (12.63 MPa) &lt; MF (14.09 MPa) &lt; 27Y_RP (14.22 MPa) &lt; 11Y_RP (14.83 MPa) &lt; 5Y_RP (15.59 MPa) &lt; CK (24.57 MPa) at a 2 nm distance. Furthermore, the release of small particles (&lt;20, &lt;15, and &lt;5 µm) from aggregates was lower in rubber plantations than in the control, showing that plant roots enhance SOC, chemical composition, and soil aggregate stability by reducing repulsive <em>P</em>_<em>net</em>. These results highlight the need to select rubber plants with optimal root traits to enhance soil structure and carbon sequestration, providing practical benefits for sustainable land management and long-term agricultural productivity in tropical areas.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49503,"journal":{"name":"Soil & Tillage Research","volume":"256 ","pages":"Article 106873"},"PeriodicalIF":6.8,"publicationDate":"2025-09-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145093848","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":"Biennial subsoiling with ridge-furrow planting enhances soil quality, ecosystem multifunctionality and maize yield on the Loess Plateau","authors":"Xiaoling Wang ,&nbsp;Qingxuan Yang ,&nbsp;Zhe Ji ,&nbsp;Wenjing Li ,&nbsp;Wenjing Feng ,&nbsp;Peng Zhang ,&nbsp;Xining Zhao ,&nbsp;Tiening Liu ,&nbsp;Enke Liu ,&nbsp;Kadambot H.M. Siddique ,&nbsp;Xiaoli Chen ,&nbsp;Zhikuan Jia ,&nbsp;Xiaolong Ren","doi":"10.1016/j.still.2025.106871","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.still.2025.106871","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Dryland agriculture on the Loess Plateau has long faced the challenges of water scarcity and soil degradation, which severely threaten soil ecosystem multifunctionality (EMF) and crop yields. Biennial subsoiling tillage (ST) and ridge-furrow sowing (RS) can ensure sustainable agriculture production by regulating soil quality. However, their integrated effects of ST and RS on soil quality index (SQI), EMF, and crop yield remain poorly understood. A three-year field experiment was performed with two tillage methods, conventional tillage (CT) and ST, and two sowing patterns, flat sowing (FS) and RS, yielding four treatments: CT+FS, CT+RS, ST+FS and ST+RS. We examined the effects of tillage and sowing on crop yield, SQI, enzymatic stoichiometry, and EMF, as well as their interrelationships in topsoil and subsoil. Layers. The results showed that the combined ST+RS treatment significantly enhanced SQI by 13.8–40.6 % (topsoil) and 17.0–49.7 % (subsoil) compared to other treatments. Moreover, ST+RS enhanced the carbon (C), nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) enzyme activities. Furthermore, the integrated ST+RS management significantly alleviated microbial C and P limitations, and enhanced EMF by 76.8–203.0 % (topsoil) and 48.8–222.8 % (subsoil), while also enhancing crop yield by 9.5–24.5 % compared to other strategies (<em>P</em> &lt; 0.05). Strong positive correlations were observed between SQI, EMF, and crop yield. Random forest analysis identified that ammonium nitrogen (<span><math><msubsup><mrow><mi>NH</mi></mrow><mrow><mn>4</mn></mrow><mrow><mo>+</mo></mrow></msubsup></math></span>) content and fungal biomass as key predictors of EMF in both topsoil and subsoil, respectively. Partial least squares path modeling (PLS-PM) further revealed that tillage and sowing practices had a direct negative effect on EMF in the topsoil but a positive effect in the subsoil, indicating distinct ecological functional responses and restructuring processes across soil layers. Overall, the study suggests that the integrated ST+RS planting system synergistically improves soil quality, EMF, and crop yield, offering an effective strategy for enhancing the resilience of the soil ecosystem to climate change and improving crop production in dryland farming systems.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49503,"journal":{"name":"Soil & Tillage Research","volume":"256 ","pages":"Article 106871"},"PeriodicalIF":6.8,"publicationDate":"2025-09-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145093889","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":"Microbial resource limitation in soil aggregates effects soil organic carbon storage under straw incorporation","authors":"Naiwen Zhang ,&nbsp;Guangren Zheng ,&nbsp;Xiaozeng Han ,&nbsp;Xu Chen ,&nbsp;Xinchun Lu ,&nbsp;Jun Yan ,&nbsp;Wenxiu Zou","doi":"10.1016/j.still.2025.106874","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.still.2025.106874","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Soil aggregates play a crucial role in microbially mediated soil organic carbon (SOC) cycling. However, the microbial constraints governing SOC storage under straw incorporation at different soil aggregation levels remain unclear. To address this, a 4-year field experiment was conducted in northeast China using a completely randomized block design with three replicates: conventional tillage (15 cm depth) without straw (CT) and with straw (10,000 kg ha⁻¹ y⁻¹, SCT), as well as deep tillage (35 cm depth) without straw (DT) and with straw (10,000 kg ha⁻¹ y⁻¹, SDT). Soil aggregates were fractionated into &gt; 2 mm, 2–0.25 mm, and &lt; 0.25 mm size classes. Compared to CT, SCT, and DT, the SOC storage under SDT increased significantly by 4.45 %, 1.71 %, 4.64 %, respectively, across the 0–35 cm soil depth. Straw incorporation (SCT vs. CT) elevated the proportion of &gt; 2 mm and 2–0.25 mm aggregates, along with soil organic carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium nutrient contents, and microbial biomass within the 0–15 cm layer. Similarly, SDT (vs. DT) enhanced these parameters in both the 0–15 cm and 15–35 cm layers. Straw addition (SCT vs. CT, SDT vs. DT) also increased the microbial diversity (Actinobacteriota and Chloroflexi in the 0–15 cm layer), and complexity of microbial co-occurrence networks in 2–0.25 mm and &lt; 0.25 mm aggregates while alleviating microbial carbon (by 0.93–2.29 %) and phosphorus (by 0.80–2.94 %) limitations. Partial least squares path modeling indicated that the 2–0.25 mm aggregate fraction was the primary driver of SOC storage enhancement under straw incorporation, with bacterial and fungal co-occurrence network relationships collectively mitigating microbial resource (carbon and phosphorus) limitations in this key size class. Therefore, these findings underscore the importance of microbial regulation in SOC dynamics at the aggregate level, providing insights for field management strategies aimed at improving soil quality.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49503,"journal":{"name":"Soil & Tillage Research","volume":"256 ","pages":"Article 106874"},"PeriodicalIF":6.8,"publicationDate":"2025-09-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145093887","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":"Optimizing maize straw return enhances wheat yield and nitrogen use efficiency while reducing N2O emissions","authors":"Liuge Wu ,&nbsp;Qiang Wang ,&nbsp;Yuxiao Su ,&nbsp;Yuntan Zheng ,&nbsp;Yulun Lu ,&nbsp;Shanchao Zheng ,&nbsp;Muhammad Akhtar ,&nbsp;Aixing Deng ,&nbsp;Xin Zhang ,&nbsp;Zhenwei Song ,&nbsp;Chengyan Zheng ,&nbsp;Weijian Zhang","doi":"10.1016/j.still.2025.106866","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.still.2025.106866","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Crop straw return can not only affect soil fertility &amp; crop productivity, but also influence nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) and nitrous oxide (N₂O) emissions. However, the optimal straw return methods that ensure high yield and NUE (grain yield/total N uptake, %) with less N2O emissions remain inadequately understood. Here, we conducted a two-year field experiment in the North China Plain to investigate the integrated effects of maize straw return on wheat yield, NUE and N₂O emissions with five treatments: straw removal (CK), straw mulch (SM), straw mixed evenly into the 0–10 cm soil layer (SR10), straw mixed evenly into the 0–20 cm soil layer (SR20), and straw mixed evenly with the 0–10 cm soil and then the mixture incorporated into the 10–20 cm soil layer (TB). Results showed that maize straw return significantly increased wheat yield compared to straw mulch, with the method of TB achieving the highest yield (10.63 Mg ha^-1) and NUE (32.97). TB also improved soil organic carbon (SOC) and total N (TN) at the 10–20 cm soil layer, with TN increased by 24.89 % on average compared with SM, promoting soil N uptake by wheat plant and reducing N₂O emissions. Conversely, straw mulch or mixed into 0–10 cm soil layer triggered cumulative N₂O emissions by 22.33 % and 20.39 % compared to TB, respectively, particularly during the early growing stages, due to enhanced nitrification microbial activity and reduced substrate supply for denitrification. TB reduced yield-scaled N₂O emissions by 27.6–29.4 % compared with straw mulch. Structural equation modeling (SEM) revealed that effects of straw return on soil chemical properties (r = 0.37, <em>P</em> &lt; 0.001) and denitrification microbial activity (r = 0.62, <em>P</em> &lt; 0.001) were key drivers of N₂O emissions. These findings highlight that stratified incorporation of straw–soil mixtures is a promising strategy to balance wheat yield, NUE, and N₂O mitigation in intensive wheat–maize cropping systems in the North China Plain.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49503,"journal":{"name":"Soil & Tillage Research","volume":"256 ","pages":"Article 106866"},"PeriodicalIF":6.8,"publicationDate":"2025-09-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145093872","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":"SOC erosion reduction of the “Grain for green” program on the Loess Plateau, China","authors":"Ruihua Bai ,&nbsp;Xining Zhao ,&nbsp;Xiaozhen Wang ,&nbsp;Wenwen Lv ,&nbsp;Jiwei Li ,&nbsp;Feng Yang ,&nbsp;Zhouping Shangguan ,&nbsp;Lei Deng","doi":"10.1016/j.still.2025.106863","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.still.2025.106863","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Soil erosion is a primary driver of terrestrial carbon loss, particularly in the Loess Plateau of China, where intense erosion processes mobilize substantial quantities of soil organic carbon (SOC). While vegetation restoration is widely acknowledged as an effective approach to mitigate erosion and enhance SOC sequestration, its effectiveness in reducing SOC loss at the regional scale remains insufficiently quantified. This study synthesized the dataset from 183 sites comprising 1950 observations across the Loess Plateau to assess the effects of land-use changes on soil erosion and SOC loss. Additionally, key environmental factors including slope, slope length, precipitation, vegetation cover, and soil properties were analyzed to determine their relative impacts. Compared to cropland, areas undergoing vegetation restoration exhibited significantly reduced soil erosion and increased soil organic carbon content. The implementation of the “Grain for Green” Program (GGP), covering 5.6 × 10⁶ ha of the Loess Plateau, resulted in an estimated annual reduction of approximately 1.7 Tg C of SOC erosion, accounting for about 11 % of the ecosystem carbon sequestration under the GGP of the Loess Plateau. These findings underscore the importance of tailoring restoration strategies to specific topographic and climatic conditions to maximize the dual benefits of soil conservation and carbon sequestration. The insights gained from this study provide a scientific basis for precision ecological management and policy development in the Loess Plateau and other similarly degraded regions.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49503,"journal":{"name":"Soil & Tillage Research","volume":"256 ","pages":"Article 106863"},"PeriodicalIF":6.8,"publicationDate":"2025-09-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145060286","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}