Soil & Tillage Research最新文献

{"title":"The optimal DEM resolution for determining sediment connectivity at runoff plot scale","authors":"Zou Weiting,&nbsp;Xin Zhongbao","doi":"10.1016/j.still.2025.106700","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.still.2025.106700","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Digital Elevation Model (DEM) resolution significantly influences the representation of surface topography and the assessment of sediment connectivity, which is crucial for understanding erosion processes and optimizing soil and water conservation (SWC) measures. However, the optimal DEM resolution for runoff plot sediment connectivity remains unclear, particularly in complex terrains such as the Loess Plateau. This study aimed to: (1) analyze the effects of varying DEM resolutions (2 cm to 100 cm) on sediment connectivity indices (IC) across different SWC measures and slope gradients; (2) identify the most suitable DEM resolution for sediment connectivity assessment at the runoff plot scale. Using high-resolution DEMs generated through UAV/Structure from Motion (UAV/SoFM) photogrammetry, the study encompassed 14 runoff plots (5 m×20 m) on the Loess Plateau. Results showed that IC values increased with coarser DEM resolution but stabilized beyond 20–30 cm, indicating the resolution-dependent nature of IC. The optimal DEM resolution varied with SWC measures: 20 cm for woodland with fish-scale pits, grassland under contour cultivation, and control plots without SWC, and 30 cm for farmland with horizontal ridging. Additionally, significant differences in IC values (P &lt; 0.05) were observed among SWC measures, with control plots exhibiting the highest IC value (-2.18), indicating greater connectivity, while farmland under horizontal ridging exhibited the lowest IC (-3.20). These findings underscore the importance of selecting the appropriate DEM resolution for accurate sediment connectivity assessment and optimizing SWC measures to mitigate erosion. The results provide valuable insights for sediment connectivity evaluations at the runoff plot scale globally.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49503,"journal":{"name":"Soil & Tillage Research","volume":"254 ","pages":"Article 106700"},"PeriodicalIF":6.1,"publicationDate":"2025-06-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144306920","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":"Conservation tillage increases maize (Zea mays L.) root lodging resistance through improving brace root development","authors":"Xiaoqing Wei ,&nbsp;Xuelong Guo ,&nbsp;Erin E. Sparks ,&nbsp;Weida Gao ,&nbsp;Tusheng Ren ,&nbsp;Baoguo Li ,&nbsp;Hu Zhou","doi":"10.1016/j.still.2025.106719","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.still.2025.106719","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Maize root lodging causes yield and grain quality reduction. We hypothesized that conservation tillage (CST) could increase root lodging resistance compared to conventional tillage (CVT) by facilitating root development. In this study, we compared maize root pushing resistance (RPR), a proxy for root lodging, in paired CST and CVT fields at 14 field sites and evaluated the relationship between RPR, soil physical properties and the maize plant traits. We found CST significantly increase maize RPR by 33.0 % in CVT system. Soil bulk density (BD), penetration resistance (PR) and shear strength (SS) of the topsoil (0–20 cm) was also significantly higher in CST. Brace root traits, including diameter (BRD), whorl number (BRWN) and angle (BRA), and stalk width were significantly increased following CST relative to CVT. Correlation analysis showed the variation in RPR can be attributed to maize stalk width and brace root phenotypes. A positive correlation was also found between soil strength and brace root traits. These findings indicate that improved soil properties are key factors for stimulating maize brace root development, and increasing maize root lodging resistance in CST fields. These results shed new light on the optimizing tillage practice to minimize maize root lodging.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49503,"journal":{"name":"Soil & Tillage Research","volume":"254 ","pages":"Article 106719"},"PeriodicalIF":6.1,"publicationDate":"2025-06-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144297132","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 promoted soil organic carbon accumulation and aggregate stability by increasing the content of organic complex metal oxides in paddy soil","authors":"Jiajun Wu ,&nbsp;Bin Zhou ,&nbsp;Zichuan Li ,&nbsp;Cheng Liu ,&nbsp;Yan Li ,&nbsp;Yulin Wang ,&nbsp;Ning Zhao ,&nbsp;Zhuozhe Wang ,&nbsp;Yanjun Chai ,&nbsp;Antonio Scopa ,&nbsp;Marios Drosos ,&nbsp;Vishnu D. Rajput ,&nbsp;Shengdao Shan","doi":"10.1016/j.still.2025.106713","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.still.2025.106713","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The physical protection of soil organic carbon (SOC) by soil aggregates is one of the important mechanisms on SOC accumulation. Mineral-organic complexes can immobilize organic carbon. It is also a key factor affecting aggregate stability. Biochar can not only promote the accumulation of SOC, but also improve the stability of aggregates. Under frequent fluctuations of soil redox potential in paddy soil, the precipitation-dissolution equilibrium of reactive metal oxides demonstrates heightened sensitivity to biochar addition. These metal oxides play a critical role in stabilizing organic carbon through their regulatory effects. So far, the effect of biochar on the stability of SOC in soil aggregates and mineral-organic complexes in paddy soils has rarely been reported. A field experiment using gradient application rates of biochar was conducted to verify whether mineral-organic complexes play a key role in aggregate stability under biochar application. The results showed that biochar application improved the contents of SOC and total nitrogen. The contents of the soil complexed iron (Fep) and aluminum (Alp), exchangeable manganese (Mnexc) and organic complex manganese (Mnorg) oxides increased with the increase of the biochar application rate. Biochar application resulted in the increased proportion of large macroaggregates and macroaggregates, while the proportion of microaggregates and silt-clay aggregates was decreased. At the same time, biochar application resulted in higher SOC content in four aggregate size fractions with the lower effect in the smaller size fractions compared to the larger size fractions. Structural equation model showed that application of biochar enhanced SOC accumulation by increasing the contents of organic matter and forming Fep, Alp and Mnorg in macroaggregate. The result of gradient application rates of biochar showed that the treatment of 45 t·hm⁻² was the best. In summary, the application of biochar promoted soil organic carbon accumulation and aggregate stability by increasing the content of organic complex metal oxides in paddy soil. This finding could provide practical implications for carbon sequestration, soil health and sustainable agriculture in paddy fields.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49503,"journal":{"name":"Soil & Tillage Research","volume":"254 ","pages":"Article 106713"},"PeriodicalIF":6.1,"publicationDate":"2025-06-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144297134","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 penetration resistance prediction based on a comparative evaluation of individual and ensemble machine learning under varying tillage, fertilization and liming treatments","authors":"Danijel Jug ,&nbsp;Dorijan Radočaj ,&nbsp;Irena Jug ,&nbsp;Mladen Jurišić ,&nbsp;Bojana Brozović ,&nbsp;Jorge Ivelic-Sáez ,&nbsp;Edward Wilczewski ,&nbsp;Jose Dörner ,&nbsp;Boris Đurđević","doi":"10.1016/j.still.2025.106720","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.still.2025.106720","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study evaluated ensemble machine learning for soil penetration resistance prediction under multiple tillage, fertilization and liming treatments, potentially reducing time-consuming field sampling. Fieldwork was conducted between 2020 and 2023 at two locations in continental Croatia, resulting in a total of 1458 samples per location during 2020 and 2021, and 972 samples in 2023. Four individual machine learning methods, including Random Forest (RF), Cubist (CUB), Support Vector Regression (SVR) and Bayesian Regularized Neural Networks (BRNN), and their ensemble were evaluated using 10-fold cross-validation in 10 repetitions for each combination of locations and years. The ensemble machine learning model achieved superior prediction accuracy in comparison to the four individual machine learning models evaluated in the study, with R² values of 0.681–0.896. Among covariates examined, soil measurement depth, day of year (DOY) of sampling and tillage were the most impactful for the optimal ensemble model, while liming had a limited effect on the soil penetration resistance prediction. These results suggest that ensemble machine learning provided a stable and accurate soil penetration resistance prediction approach, which could reduce labor requirements of future fieldwork campaigns.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49503,"journal":{"name":"Soil & Tillage Research","volume":"254 ","pages":"Article 106720"},"PeriodicalIF":6.1,"publicationDate":"2025-06-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144271121","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":"Comparison of the sand flow over mobile sand, farmland, and gobi surfaces and the conditions required for saturated sand flow to develop","authors":"Xiaoyu Zhang ,&nbsp;Chunlai Zhang ,&nbsp;Xuesong Wang ,&nbsp;Bo Wu ,&nbsp;Zhuoli Zhou ,&nbsp;Wenping Li ,&nbsp;Jiaqi Zhao ,&nbsp;Xiaofeng Zuo ,&nbsp;Yixiao Yuan","doi":"10.1016/j.still.2025.106703","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.still.2025.106703","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The soil surface’s content of particles that are erodible at different wind velocities determines whether the sand flow can become saturated. However, the quantitative relationship between the content of erodible particles and the saturation degree of the sand flow is not yet known. Using field observations of the sand flow above surfaces with greatly different erodibility (mobile sand, farmland, and gobi), we calculated the degree of saturation of the sand flow (δ) at each site, which is defined as the ratio of the measured sand transport rate to the potential saturated transport rate. The sediment’s grain-size composition determined the content of erodible particles, which increased with increasing wind velocity. We found that δ of each surface increased following a power function with increasing shear velocity (<em>u</em>_*) and exponentially with increasing content of erodible particles. When <em>u</em>_* increased to 0.5 m s⁻¹, all particles from the mobile sand were erodible, enabling the sand flow to become almost saturated, whereas the sand flow over farmlands and gobis was far from saturated because fewer particles were erodible at a given wind velocity. Based on the relationship between δ and <em>u</em>_*, we identified the conditions for sand flow to achieve saturation at each site; that is, the shear velocity (<em>u</em>_*sat) that can entrain most particles from the surface. Under normal weather conditions, the near-surface shear velocities of bare farmland and gobi surfaces rarely reaches <em>u</em>_*sat, resulting in a generally unsaturated sand flow. Thus, both land types were always exposed to a wind-erosion-dominated environment.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49503,"journal":{"name":"Soil & Tillage Research","volume":"254 ","pages":"Article 106703"},"PeriodicalIF":6.1,"publicationDate":"2025-06-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144263187","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 phosphorus availability modulates root exudation under long-term nitrogen fertilization","authors":"Zheng Jiang ,&nbsp;Cong Wang ,&nbsp;Huifeng Sun ,&nbsp;Xianxian Zhang ,&nbsp;Jining Zhang ,&nbsp;Liuming Hai ,&nbsp;Sheng Zhou","doi":"10.1016/j.still.2025.106699","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.still.2025.106699","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Root carbon (C) investment in exchange for phosphorus (P) is a pivotal nutrient acquisition strategy that profoundly impacts soil biogeochemical processes and maintains the functional stability of rice paddy ecosystems. However, the response patterns of C cost-P benefit strategies to external nitrogen (N) input in rice paddies remain unclear. Therefore, root C exudation rates were repeatedly measured using an <em>in situ</em> collection method under control, low N (100 kg ha⁻¹), and high N (200 kg ha⁻¹) treatments. Additionally, soil properties and root morphology were analyzed to identify the main factors influencing variations in root exudation. The results showed that root C exudation rates under high N application increased by 55.1 % compared to the control. These differences were primarily linked to N-induced changes in soil P availability, root biomass, root length, root surface area, and root volume. Consequently, understanding the interplay between soil nutrient availability and root exudation is crucial for optimizing fertilization strategies and improving nutrient use efficiency in rice cultivation systems.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49503,"journal":{"name":"Soil & Tillage Research","volume":"254 ","pages":"Article 106699"},"PeriodicalIF":6.1,"publicationDate":"2025-06-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144263186","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 organic carbon trade-offs under conservation tillage: Carbon stock versus stability mediated by particulate and mineral-associated fractions","authors":"Rui Jiang ,&nbsp;Shuai Liu ,&nbsp;Fahui Jiang ,&nbsp;Zichun Guo ,&nbsp;Samuel Adingo ,&nbsp;Zengming Chen ,&nbsp;Lei Gao ,&nbsp;Xinhua Peng","doi":"10.1016/j.still.2025.106704","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.still.2025.106704","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Conservation tillage (CS) has been widely applied to maintain the sustainability of agricultural systems. Soil organic carbon (SOC) fractions, including particulate organic carbon (POC) and mineral-associated organic carbon (MAOC), facilitate the comprehension and prediction of further dynamics of SOC. However, there is a limited understanding of how CS affects the interplay of SOC fractions stocks and SOC stability (POC:MAOC ratio, briefly noted as P/M ratio) across soil layers. Herein, we conducted a meta-analysis to quantitatively examine CS-induced changes in the SOC fractions stocks and their stability in the two depth soil layers (0–10 cm for upper topsoil and 10–20 cm for lower topsoil) under varying climatic factors, initial soil conditions, and agronomic practices. Our findings indicate that relative to conventional tillage (CT), CS notably increased SOC stock (14.7 %) in the upper topsoil by increasing POC stock (27.4 %), while decreasing SOC stability (<em>P</em> &lt; 0.01). Adverse changes were observed in the lower topsoil layer. Experiment duration, straw-C input rate, and cropping system were the key factors moderating POC and MAOC stocks and SOC stability under CS (<em>P</em>_M &lt; 0.05). The positive effects of CS on SOC stock and its stability diminished with duration time in the upper topsoil layer. Conversely, CS significantly decreased POC stock (- 9.2 %) and enhanced SOC stability in the lower topsoil layer (<em>P</em> &lt; 0.01). Compared to CT, the highest SOC stocks and the lowest SOC stability were observed under CS in the C input range of 4–6 Mg C ha⁻¹ yr⁻¹. Our results highlight the importance of soil depth- and duration-induced differences in the accurate estimation of SOC stocks and stability dynamics under CS. The balance between SOC stock and its stability is calling for more attention.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49503,"journal":{"name":"Soil & Tillage Research","volume":"254 ","pages":"Article 106704"},"PeriodicalIF":6.1,"publicationDate":"2025-06-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144253430","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":"Does 46 years of conservation tillage and crop rotations change soil carbon and nitrogen distribution and storage?","authors":"Asmita Gautam,&nbsp;Christopher O. Anuo,&nbsp;Eileen Kladivko,&nbsp;Tony J. Vyn,&nbsp;Shalamar Armstrong","doi":"10.1016/j.still.2025.106702","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.still.2025.106702","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Soil conservation practices, including no-tillage and crop rotation, are widely promoted to enhance soil quality and sequester carbon (C), thereby contributing to climate change mitigation. This study investigates the long-term impacts of tillage intensity and crop rotation on soil organic carbon (SOC) and total nitrogen (TN) distribution and storage to a depth of 1 m in a U.S. Midwest Mollisol. Tillage treatments included no-tillage (NT), intermediate or reduced tillage (chisel plow: CP), and intensive tillage (moldboard plow: MBP), with three crop rotations: continuous corn (CC), corn-soybean (CB), and continuous soybean (BB). After 46 years of continuous management, NT systems stored, on average, 15 Mg ha⁻¹ more SOC and 2.0 Mg ha⁻¹ more TN than tilled systems when the full depth profile was considered. The SOC and TN storage were similar between the CP and MBP treatments, suggesting limited benefit of CP over MBP in long-term C and N retention. Crop rotation had minimal effects on SOC storage; however, CC systems accumulated significantly more TN than CS and BB rotations, particularly when assessed on an equivalent soil mass basis. Additionally, tillage practices had a pronounced effect on the vertical distribution of SOC and TN, especially within the upper 75 cm of the soil profile. These findings highlight the importance of deep soil sampling for accurately capturing the full impact of management practices and suggest that long-term NT is more effective at promoting SOC and TN storage than conventional tillage, regardless of intensity.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49503,"journal":{"name":"Soil & Tillage Research","volume":"254 ","pages":"Article 106702"},"PeriodicalIF":6.1,"publicationDate":"2025-06-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144240275","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 crop evapotranspiration in a drip-irrigated sweet potato [Ipomoea batatas (L.) Lam.] field with plastic film mulching","authors":"Youliang Zhang ,&nbsp;Yu Guo ,&nbsp;Duo Li ,&nbsp;Zhiming Qi ,&nbsp;Fengxin Wang ,&nbsp;Kaijing Yang ,&nbsp;Shaoyuan Feng","doi":"10.1016/j.still.2025.106701","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.still.2025.106701","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>As evapotranspiration (ET) is the main parameter determining crop water demand, accurate estimation of evapotranspiration rates is critical for optimizing water management strategies in agriculture. Using Bowen ratio energy balance (BREB) data measured in Shandong Province, China, during 2021–2022, along with corresponding meteorological and soil data, the adjusted Shuttleworth-Wallace (SW) model, along with adjusted single and dual crop coefficient models, were evaluated for their ability to accurately estimate crop ET (<em>ET</em>_<em>c</em>) for a drip-irrigated sweet potato [<em>Ipomoea batatas</em> (L.) Lam.] field crop with plastic film mulching. The BREB method effectively measured <em>ET</em>_<em>c</em> under these crop production conditions and can thus be regarded as a reference benchmark to verify the reliability of other <em>ET</em>_<em>c</em> calculation models. Under these production conditions, <em>ET</em>_<em>c</em> was low during the initial growth stage, gradually increased and remained at a high level during the middle growth stage, then began to decrease gradually during the later growth stage. The average proportions of <em>ET</em>_<em>c</em> during the sweet potato crop's early, middle, and late growth stages were 7.28 %, 61.67 %, and 31.05 % of the total growing season evapotranspiration, respectively. Soil evaporation (<em>E</em>) and crop transpiration (<em>T</em>) accounted for 9 % and 91%, respectively, of <em>ET</em>_<em>c</em> in this study. The adjusted SW model and the adjusted single and double crop coefficient models estimated <em>ET</em>_<em>c</em> accurately, with the adjusted dual crop coefficient model providing more accurate <em>ET</em>_<em>c</em> estimates than the single crop coefficient model. The SW model best reflected variations in <em>ET</em>_<em>c</em> under the present study conditions. The <em>R</em>^<em>2</em>, <em>MAE</em>, <em>RMSE</em>, and <em>IA</em> between the adjusted-SW-model-estimated ET (<em>ET</em>_{<em>c-SW</em>}) and the ET measured using the BREB system (<em>ET</em>_{<em>c-BREB</em>}) were 0.79, 0.29 mm d^‑1, 0.69 mm d^‑1, and 0.92, respectively in 2021, and 0.77, 0.26 mm d^‑1, 0.67 mm d^‑1, and 0.93 in 2022, respectively. The adjusted SW model can be applied to the estimation of soil <em>E</em> and crop <em>T</em> in drip-irrigated sweet potato field with plastic film mulching.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49503,"journal":{"name":"Soil & Tillage Research","volume":"254 ","pages":"Article 106701"},"PeriodicalIF":6.1,"publicationDate":"2025-06-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144240849","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":"Assessing the soil organic carbon stability and greenhouse gases mitigation in rice-wheat system: Seventeen-years assessment of tillage and residue management","authors":"Ram K. Fagodiya ,&nbsp;Kamlesh Verma ,&nbsp;Gargi Sharma ,&nbsp;Arvind Kumar Rai ,&nbsp;Kailash Prajapat ,&nbsp;Ranbir Singh ,&nbsp;Parvender Sheoran ,&nbsp;Nirmalendu Basak ,&nbsp;Priyanka Chandra ,&nbsp;D.P. Sharma ,&nbsp;R.K. Yadav ,&nbsp;A.K. Biswas","doi":"10.1016/j.still.2025.106697","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.still.2025.106697","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>To mitigate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from the rice-wheat system (RWS), various management strategies have been explored. Long-term field experiments are particularly effective in directly comparing these strategies. We analyzed a 17-year field experiment focusing on crop establishment, conservation tillage, and residue management (CTRM) in the western Indo-Gangetic plains of India, a region highly impacted by crop residue burning and GHG emissions for its impacts on carbon sequestration, stability, and GHG mitigation in rice-wheat system. These findings have significant implications for sustainable agricultural practices in regions facing similar environmental challenges. The experiment included five scenarios: (a) Sc-1: Puddled transplanted rice (PTR) – conventionally tilled wheat (CTW); (2) Sc-2: Reduced-tillage direct-seeded rice (RTDSR) – reduced-tillage wheat (RTW); (3) Sc-3: RTDSR-RTW with one-third residue incorporation; (4); Sc-4: Zero-tillage direct-seeded rice (ZTDSR) – zero-tillage wheat (ZTW); (5) Sc-5: ZTDSR-ZTW with one-third residue retention (RR). Our analysis showed that CTRM significantly enhanced soil organic carbon (SOC) stock (by 11.41–17.28 %) and carbon sequestration (by 35.12–86.63 %) compared to conventional practice (Sc-1). Among all the scenarios, Sc-5 (ZTDSR-ZTW + RR) achieved the highest carbon management index (CMI: 150.56 and 188.11) across both the soil layers, indicating a reduced need for carbon management due to higher TOC (10.59 and 10.07 g kg⁻¹) compared to Sc-1. The highest net GHG emissions were observed in PTR/CTW (Sc-1), while Sc-5 recorded the lowest emissions, with 84.07 % reduction compared to Sc-1. Carbon footprints decreased progressively with reduction in tillage intensity and residue incorporation. This study highlights that reduced or zero tillage combined with residue retention in RWS holds substantial potential for increasing carbon sequestration, reducing net GHG emissions, and lowering carbon footprints. Additionally, this practice offers an alternative to crop residue burning, a significant contributor to air pollution in the western IGP, particularly in Punjab and Haryana, India.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49503,"journal":{"name":"Soil & Tillage Research","volume":"254 ","pages":"Article 106697"},"PeriodicalIF":6.1,"publicationDate":"2025-06-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144240279","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}