Soil and Tillage Research最新文献

{"title":"Soil surface properties and infiltration response to crust forming of a sandy loam and silt loam","authors":"Lin Lin, Patric Yemeli Lonla, Jaianth Vijayakumar, Muhammad Khizar Khan, Gemmina Di Emidio, Nick Krekelbergh, Ann Verdoodt, Wim Cornelis","doi":"10.1016/j.still.2024.106440","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.still.2024.106440","url":null,"abstract":"Soil surface crusting is a common phenomenon on agricultural soils susceptible to raindrop impact. Crusts affect soil hydrological properties, erosion, crop quality and yield, which implicates both agriculture and the environment. While methods for determining hydraulic or basic properties of thick soil layers are well established, measuring the soil characteristics of a thin crust still remains a challenge. In this study, we combined traditional lab methods and advanced techniques to reveal temporal variations of crust micro-morphology and their effect on soil properties with cumulative rainfall. Composite samples from two soil textures, a sandy loam and a silt loam, were collected and packed in soil pans, and exposed to a range of rainfall amounts and two rainfall intensities, using a laboratory nozzle-type rainulator. Intact soil ring samples were collected after each rainfall event. They were scanned using X-ray micro-computed Tomography (CT) to determine the evolution of soil porosity, bulk density and crust thickness during the crust formation process. The water permeability and infiltration dynamics of the developing crusts were investigated with minidisk infiltrometers placed on the crusts developed in the pans. Shear strength was evaluated by a hand vane. Disturbed soil was collected to explore variation in organic matter content and texture with cumulative rainfall. During the simulated rainfall events, soil loss, splash and runoff were recorded as well. We found that runoff volume and sediment mass increased, while splash and infiltration volume decreased with increasing rainfall amount. Shear strength increased until 200 mm of rainfall. Rainfall that resulted in crust formation had a rapid and strong effect on the hydraulic properties, with the unsaturated hydraulic conductivity being reduced as rainfall duration increased, and with high rainfall intensity having a greater impact than the low intensity. This was associated with rainfall-induced aggregate breakdown processes, which was confirmed by micro-CT. From the micro-CT images, we found that porosity reached a minimum value after 50 mm rainfall, while bulk density reached a maximum value. The dense crust was then partially removed/dissolved by further rainfall events. Crust thicknesses were about 3.19 and 4.85 mm, and the mean porosity of the crust layers was about 24 % and 27 % smaller than that of the underlying layer, at relatively high and low rainfall intensity, respectively. In conclusion, rainfall events significantly affect crust formation, on which the early-stage has the greatest influence. The crusts are rapidly formed under high rainfall intensity, but a thicker crust is formed under a longer duration of low rainfall intensity. The thickness of the crust increases with increasing rainfall, but its porosity does not decrease correspondingly.","PeriodicalId":501007,"journal":{"name":"Soil and Tillage Research","volume":"1 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-01-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142925028","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Inhibiting soil and water loss in a saline soil through cyanobacterization","authors":"Sudabeh Gharemahmudli, Seyed Hamidreza Sadeghi","doi":"10.1016/j.still.2024.106446","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.still.2024.106446","url":null,"abstract":"Soil salinity is one of the essential factors of soil degradation and erosion in arid and semiarid regions, seriously limiting sustainable development. New technologies in controlling and restoring saline soils have to support the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. In the same vein, despite the approved role of biological amendments in controlling soil and water loss, the inoculation of soil cyanobacteria to reduce soil degradation in saline soils has yet to be considered. For this purpose, the studied soil was collected from the Incheboron Area in Northeast Golestan Province, Iran, due to saline and sodium soil being sensitive to water erosion and unstable ecological conditions. The experiments were set up in 0.5 × 0.5-m small erosion plots with soil having different salinities and slopes in the Rain and Erosion Simulation Laboratory of Tarbiat Modares University, Iran. The treated plots with endemic cyanobacteria and untreated (control) plots were compared after eight weeks under simulated rain conditions with an intensity of about 70 mm h<ce:sup loc=\"post\">−1</ce:sup> lasting for 30 min. The results of the research showed that the runoff volume resulted from the simulated rainfall in the plots with low salinity and 10 % slope and high salinity and 5 % slope inoculated by cyanobacteria were 54.60 and 83.32 % less than untreated plots, respectively. Soil loss was also significantly inhibited (p &lt; 0.001) by seven and 16 times compared to the control treatment. In other words, the treatment of cyanobacteria inoculation on soil with high salinity and low slope was about eight times more effective than that of soil with low salinity and higher slope. Therefore, soil cyanobacteria inoculation can be considered an adequate soil and water conservation strategy in the saline region.","PeriodicalId":501007,"journal":{"name":"Soil and Tillage Research","volume":"159 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-01-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142925030","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Revealing the driving mechanism of soil respiration induced by water erosion in Ultisols landscape of southern China","authors":"Geng Guo, Zhiying Deng, Jie Kuai, Xiaoying Peng, Lihua Wu, Guangruo Zeng, Zhen Ouyang, Jiayi Miao, Jie Lin","doi":"10.1016/j.still.2024.106435","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.still.2024.106435","url":null,"abstract":"Water erosion exerts a profound impact on the terrestrial C cycling and its source/sink patterns through strongly affecting soil respiration (<ce:italic>Rs</ce:italic>). However, the systematic mechanism of erosion-induced CO<ce:inf loc=\"post\">2</ce:inf> emissions remains inadequately elucidated. Herein, we conducted a one-year field experiment to examine the effects of erosion and deposition on <ce:italic>Rs</ce:italic>, as well as the relationships between different environmental factors and <ce:italic>Rs</ce:italic> on a typical eroded slope in southern China. Samples of the topsoil (0–20 cm), classified as <ce:italic>Ultisols</ce:italic>, were collected from four landscape positions (top, up, middle and toe) with different erosional and depositional characteristics along three transects. We also utilized Biolog-Eco microplates to investigate the response of soil microbial community function to water erosion. The results indicated the accumulative <ce:italic>Rs</ce:italic> significantly differed among different sites (<ce:italic>P</ce:italic> &lt; 0.05), primarily in the order of mid-slope&lt; up-slope&lt; toe-slope&lt; top-slope, with the maximum and minimum values of 18.75 and 9.75 t CO<ce:inf loc=\"post\">2</ce:inf> ha<ce:sup loc=\"post\">−1</ce:sup> yr<ce:sup loc=\"post\">−1</ce:sup>, respectively. Moreover, erosion remarkably reduced the soil organic carbon (SOC), nutrients, and the average well color development (AWCD) of the carbon sources in soil microbial communities, while deposition enhanced them. The Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) elucidated the multi-factor driving mechanism of erosional site, soil temperature (<ce:italic>T</ce:italic><ce:inf loc=\"post\"><ce:italic>s5</ce:italic></ce:inf>), moisture (<ce:italic>SWC</ce:italic><ce:inf loc=\"post\"><ce:italic>10</ce:italic></ce:inf>), microbial biomass carbon (MBC), SOC, and Shannon’s index on <ce:italic>Rs</ce:italic> (<ce:italic>R</ce:italic><ce:sup loc=\"post\"><ce:italic>2</ce:italic></ce:sup>=84.20 %). More importantly, SEM revealed that <ce:italic>T</ce:italic><ce:inf loc=\"post\"><ce:italic>s5</ce:italic></ce:inf>, <ce:italic>SWC</ce:italic><ce:inf loc=\"post\"><ce:italic>10</ce:italic></ce:inf>, MBC, SOC were the most significant predictors of <ce:italic>Rs</ce:italic>. In summary, <ce:italic>Rs</ce:italic> was regulated by the interplay of hydrothermal factors, soil properties, and microbial characteristics under erosion and deposition conditions. There is a need to incorporate additional soil properties other than the hydrothermal double-factor model. Our findings highlighted the importance of water erosion on <ce:italic>Rs</ce:italic> and clarified its driving mechanism, providing a theoretical basis for better predicting and managing carbon-climate feedbacks.","PeriodicalId":501007,"journal":{"name":"Soil and Tillage Research","volume":"37 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-01-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142925032","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"An improved approach for estimating root elongation rate from penetrometer resistance and macropore porosity on a silty clay loam soil","authors":"Shijie Qin, Lingling Liu, W. Richard Whalley, Hu Zhou, Tusheng Ren, Weida Gao","doi":"10.1016/j.still.2024.106439","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.still.2024.106439","url":null,"abstract":"The role of macropores is often ignored in classical models for predicting root elongation using soil penetrometer resistance (<ce:italic>PR</ce:italic>). In this study, we propose an empirical model that includes the effects of macropores and <ce:italic>PR</ce:italic> on maize (<ce:italic>Zea mays L</ce:italic>.) root elongation rate (<ce:italic>RER</ce:italic>) and compare its performance with three previous models. Undisturbed soil cores were collected from an 11-yr tillage experiment (including no-tillage and conventional tillage systems) in Northeast China. For each soil core, soil bulk density (<ce:italic>BD</ce:italic>), penetrometer resistance (<ce:italic>PR</ce:italic>), air-filled porosity <ce:italic>(AFP</ce:italic>), and pore size distribution from water release characteristics, and <ce:italic>RER</ce:italic> of maize seedlings at a matric potential of −20 kPa were determined. Results showed that <ce:italic>RER</ce:italic> negatively correlated with <ce:italic>BD</ce:italic>, <ce:italic>PR</ce:italic>, and the volume of <ce:italic>ε</ce:italic><ce:inf loc=\"post\">&lt;6</ce:inf> (the volume of pores less than 6 µm), but it was positively correlated with the <ce:italic>AFP</ce:italic> and <ce:italic>ε</ce:italic><ce:inf loc=\"post\">&gt;60</ce:inf> (the volume of pores greater than 60 µm) (<ce:italic>P</ce:italic> &lt; 0.001). <ce:italic>RER</ce:italic> exhibited a 50 % reduction when <ce:italic>PR</ce:italic> was over 1.3 MPa or <ce:italic>AFP</ce:italic> was below 10 %. Additionally, <ce:italic>RER</ce:italic> became less sensitive to <ce:italic>PR</ce:italic> change at <ce:italic>PR</ce:italic> values greater than 1.3 MPa. The new <ce:italic>RER</ce:italic> model, which accounts for the influences of <ce:italic>PR</ce:italic> and macroporosity (&gt; 60 µm), performed better in predicting <ce:italic>RER</ce:italic> than the previous models, with a root mean square error (<ce:italic>RMSE</ce:italic>) of 0.36. The new model is useful in simulating maize root distribution under field conditions.","PeriodicalId":501007,"journal":{"name":"Soil and Tillage Research","volume":"6 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-01-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142925029","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The functional role of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi in enhancing soil organic carbon stocks and stability in dryland","authors":"Meng-Ying Li, Wei Wang, Hai-Hong Yin, Yinglong Chen, Muhammad Ashraf, Hong-Yan Tao, Shi-Sheng Li, Wen-Ying Wang, Chang-Lang Yang, Yun-Li Xiao, Li Zhu, You-Cai Xiong","doi":"10.1016/j.still.2024.106443","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.still.2024.106443","url":null,"abstract":"Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) are known to influence soil organic carbon (SOC) stock, but the mechanisms by which they affect SOC stability in the rhizosphere remains poorly understood. To address this gap, a 7-year field observation was conducted in a rainfed dryland maize field, with AMF inoculation, AMF exclusion (only benomyl treatment), and the control (no AMF and no benomyl). AMF introduction increased soil occluded particulate organic carbon (oPOC) and mineral-associated organic carbon (MAOC) contents by 15.6 % and 7.1 %, respectively, compared to the control. However, no significant changes were observed in free particulate organic carbon (fPOC) levels. As expected, AMF exclusion led to a general reduction in SOC content. Analyses of <ce:italic>in situ</ce:italic><ce:sup loc=\"post\">13</ce:sup>C labeling showed that AMF inoculation evidently promoted the retention of <ce:sup loc=\"post\">13</ce:sup>C in oPOC (13.6 %) and MAOC (5.4 %), thereby enhancing SOC stability. High-throughput sequencing results revealed that AMF inoculation led to significant increases in the diversity and abundance of rhizosphere fungal community, with higher co-occurrence network complexity. Meanwhile, the diversity and abundance of rhizosphere bacterial community were substantially reduced (<ce:italic>p</ce:italic> &lt; 0.05). Importantly, long-term AMF inoculation was observed to weaken soil N stocks, and inhibit microbial hydrolase secretion for C sources. The findings suggest that AMF inoculation can conserve and stabilize SOC by enhancing fungal community proliferation, while reducing microbial extracellular enzyme activity through soil N depletion. Therefore, AMF can be considered rhizosphere carbon engineer that boost persistent carbon sink in drylands via selectively affecting SOC components. The findings provide new insights into global nature-based carbon neutrality strategies.","PeriodicalId":501007,"journal":{"name":"Soil and Tillage Research","volume":"34 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-01-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142925027","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Soil carbon, nitrogen dynamics, and energy, carbon budgeting in response to uncultivated land management with crop biomass in the southwestern US","authors":"Hui Yang, Manoj K. Shukla, John Begay","doi":"10.1016/j.still.2024.106427","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.still.2024.106427","url":null,"abstract":"Uncultivated agricultural land management by leaving biomass of the last crop planted in the field can prevent soil health degradation over time. However, the effects of different uncultivated land management practices on soil organic carbon stock, total nitrogen stock, and soil health changes remain unclear. A field experiment from June 2021 to September 2023 investigated the effects of integrated crop residue-uncultivated land management. The treatments include winter wheat in fall then uncultivated with entire crop biomass left in the farm (WT); corn in summer then uncultivated with biomass (CT); bare or no vegetation (BT); and continuous annual irrigated winter wheat (CWT). The study focused on investigating changes in soil organic carbon (SOC), soil inorganic carbon (SIC), total carbon (TC), and total nitrogen (TN) in 100 cm soil depth and quantifying cost budgeting, energy budgeting, and carbon budgeting in various treatments. The results showed that the highest SOC stock for 0–100 cm soil depth (115.2 Mg/ha) with an increase of 49.6 % was observed in CWT. However, the SIC stocks in CWT were 37.4 %, 52.4 %, and 36.3 % lower than those in BT, CT, and WT, respectively. No significant differences in TN stocks were observed between the four treatments after 3-year implementations of land management, WT showed slightly higher TN stock in 100 cm depth than the other three treatments. Considering the budgets of cost, energy, and carbon, although CT had the highest net returns of 7726.3 US$/ha, WT increased surface coverage thereby enhancing the net energy (275776.4 MJ/ha), energy use efficiency (12.0), energy profitability (10.97), carbon efficiency (12.41) and carbon sustainability index (11.41), accompanied by second highest net returns of 6610.6 US$/ha. Planting winter wheat in one season and then leaving the land uncultivated, with the entire biomass left on the land, not only reduces soil degradation but also improves carbon and energy efficiency. This approach could be an effective solution for land management and groundwater conservation in the Lower Rio Grande Valley.","PeriodicalId":501007,"journal":{"name":"Soil and Tillage Research","volume":"25 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-12-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142925036","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Effects of Pisha sandstone additions on microstructural stability of sandy soil in Mu Us Sandy Land, China","authors":"Lin Zhou, Jiangwen Li, Chenyang Xu, Wei Du, Zhe Liu, Feinan Hu","doi":"10.1016/j.still.2024.106437","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.still.2024.106437","url":null,"abstract":"The degradation of soil structure in sandy regions undermines soil functionality and poses a significant threat to environmental sustainability. The incorporation of Pisha sandstone, a natural soil amendment, has been recognized as an effective intervention to reduce soil erosion and expand arable land in the Mu Us Sandy Land, China. However, the microstructural stability and resilience of amended sandy soil formed by mixing Pisha sandstone with sandy soils remain inadequately understood. This study aims to evaluate the effects of Pisha sandstone addition on the microstructural stability of sandy soils. Four amendment rates of Pisha sandstone (16.7 %, 33.3 %, 50 %, and 100 % w/w) and five water content levels (40 %-80 %) were tested. Key parameters related to microstructural stability and structural resilience were assessed using amplitude sweep and rotational shear tests via a rheometer. Results indicated that soil shear resistance (τ<ce:inf loc=\"post\">LVR</ce:inf>, τ<ce:inf loc=\"post\">max</ce:inf>, τ<ce:inf loc=\"post\">y</ce:inf>), storage modulus (G'<ce:inf loc=\"post\">YP</ce:inf>) and viscosity (η<ce:inf loc=\"post\">0</ce:inf>) decreased with the addition of Pisha sandstone, attributed to its lubricating effect and swelling properties. Additionally, Pisha sandstone enhanced physical elasticity (γ<ce:inf loc=\"post\">LVR</ce:inf>) and structural recovery of sandy soil under conditions of low disturbance. However, when water content exceeded 50 %, the fluidity of the amended sandy soil increased with Pisha sandstone addition. The sandy soil with a Pisha sandstone addition rate of 16.7 % exhibited optimal structural elasticity, shear resistance, and stiffness. These findings provide valuable insights into the enhancement of sandy soil structural stability using Pisha sandstone, offering a scientific foundation for refining amendment ratios and advancing agricultural management practices.","PeriodicalId":501007,"journal":{"name":"Soil and Tillage Research","volume":"37 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-12-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142925035","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Enhancing the coupling coordination of soil–crop systems by optimising soil properties and crop production via subsoiling","authors":"Jingyi Shao, Ling Liu, Jichao Cui, Hong Yang, Yecheng Zhang, Ruxin Li, Yi Lv, Yifei Ma, Qin Fang, Shengkai Sun, Siyu Chen, Huifang Han","doi":"10.1016/j.still.2024.106438","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.still.2024.106438","url":null,"abstract":"Subsoiling is a well-known practice for improving soil structure, increasing soil nutrient content and enhancing crop growth. However, studies applying the coupling coordination analysis (CCA) model to reflect the coupling coordination between soil properties and crop production via subsoiling are still scarce. This study used the CCA to analyse the coupling coordination between soil properties and yield based on a long-term tillage positioning experiment. Tillage treatments included subsoiling (SS35 and SS40—subsoiling shovel) and rotary tillage (RT15—harrow blade, control). Soil pore structure was analysed using X-ray computed tomography and mercury injection tests. Results showed that SS35 and SS40 increased the macropore area by 82.0 %–130.7 % and the cumulative pore volume by 47.8 %–62.1 % in the 20–40 cm soil layer compared to RT15. This led to a 1.3 %–1.8 % increase in soil macro-aggregates, 9.0 %–14.5 % increase in mean weight diameter and 6.9 %–12.1 % increase in geometric mean diameter in case of SS35 and SS40 compared to RT15. These results indicated that subsoiling significantly enhanced the pore characteristics and aggregate stability in the 20–40 cm soil layer. The impact of SS40 on soil pore properties and aggregate stability surpassed that of SS35. As a result, SS35 and SS40 significantly increased carbon sequestration by 2.4 %–14.5 % and maize yield by 8.9 %–11.9 % compared to RT15. The CCA model analysis showed that SS35 and SS40 increased the coupling coordination (D) between soil properties and crop production compared to RT15, especially in the 30–40 cm soil layer. The D value was 0.617–0.899 for SS35 and 0.631–0.817 for SS40. This study provides new insights into quantifying the role of tillage for multi-indicators in the soil–crop system. The findings will guide policymakers in formulating for more sustainable tillage to improve crop production and ensure carbon mitigation.","PeriodicalId":501007,"journal":{"name":"Soil and Tillage Research","volume":"66 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-12-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142925031","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Supplemental irrigation in the humid Pampean region: Effects on soil salinity, physical properties, nutrients and organic carbon","authors":"Mariano Santiago Iseas, Claudia Mabel Sainato, Catalina Romay","doi":"10.1016/j.still.2024.106421","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.still.2024.106421","url":null,"abstract":"The use of supplemental irrigation could stabilise crop yields in the Pampean region in the face of climate variability. However, inadequate management of this practice could compromise soil quality. The effect supplemental irrigation on soil salinity and sodicity, nutrients, organic carbon and some physical properties was studied on a farm, with production of grains and oilseeds, in the Pampean region of Argentina. Although the groundwater used for irrigation is classified as sodium bicarbonate type, it has no risk of soil salinity and sodicity. This work was carried out on 7 plots with different conditions of soil type, soil cover and recovery time after last irrigation. Significant increases in salinity, sodicity and alkalinity due to supplemental irrigation were observed. Phosphates content (PO<ce:inf loc=\"post\">4</ce:inf>) and organic carbon (OC) slightly decreased, while nitrate content (NO<ce:inf loc=\"post\">3</ce:inf>) did not change significantly. It is assumed that PO<ce:inf loc=\"post\">4</ce:inf> may have decreased due to increased leaching and/or consumption by the irrigated crop, while the change in OC may be related to an increased rate of organic decomposition. Changes in physical properties were less important. Slight increases in aggregate stability (AS), bulk density (BD) and loss of clay content were observed. It may be hypothesised that the observed joint increase in salinity and sodicity may stabilise the flocculation-dispersion processes that give structure and aggregation to the soil, thus neutralising the effects of irrigation on physical properties.","PeriodicalId":501007,"journal":{"name":"Soil and Tillage Research","volume":"21 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-12-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142889227","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Changes in mechanical and resilience characteristics of degraded arable land under long-term grassland management","authors":"Ayodele Ebenezer Ajayi, Oluwaseun Temitope Faloye, Jens Rostek, Veronika Schroeren, Abayomi Fasina, Rainer Horn","doi":"10.1016/j.still.2024.106387","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.still.2024.106387","url":null,"abstract":"The sustained intensification of agricultural production to meet increasing food, feed and fibre demands has aggravated soil deformation, thereby accelerating soil degradation. The conversion of some of these degraded arable lands to permanent grassland has been recommended to recover the soil functions. However, there is still a considerable gap in understanding the timeline for the effective recovery of degraded land in terms of its stability (resistance and resilience to disturbance). Moreover, the dynamics of the recovery process in ameliorative grasslands are still not fully understood. In this study, the physical, hydraulic, and mechanical properties including the coefficient of compressibility (C&lt;ce:inf loc=\"post\"&gt;n&lt;/ce:inf&gt;) and precompression stress were investigated in degraded arable land at three different depths (0–5, 10–15 and 20–25 cm) after 1-, 2-, 8-, 13-, 19-, and 25-years ameliorative grassland conversion. To fully understand and finalise the dynamics of the recovery process as a function of time since the amelioratory conversion, we combined the analysed data from 2 different sets of measurements (loading conditions) on samples predrained to − 60 hPa matric potential. The loading conditions were (a). static - confined compression with normal stresses applied for 4 h in steps of 1, 20, 50, 100, 200, and 400 kPa without stress relaxation on each sample, and (b). dynamic - cyclic loading at 50 kPa with 30 seconds of loading and unloading (relaxation). We included data concerning porewater pressure dynamics under the cyclic loading condition to document possible changes in elasticity. Our results showed that settlement during loading and the elastic rebound during unloading were related to the sward age and the sampled depth. Before the cyclic loading experiment, higher values of effective stress were recorded in the older swards, but the values changed after loading in response to the change in the porewater pressure. The effective stress values were less negative during loading than when unloading. At soil depth of 0–5 cm in the 25 years old sward, the rebound rate (values) and the coefficient of compressibility were higher due to changes in soil properties, particularly the soil bulk density, while at the 10–15 and 20–25 cm depths, the mean values were much closer. When the rebound rate was considered, the highest mean value occurred at 13 years after conversion. In addition, significantly higher values of pre-compression stress were observed in the 8-year-old sward under static loading, which decreased by 19 years. Higher values of pre-compression stress were mostly recorded at the lower depths under static loading. Finally, the results showed that a period between 8 and 13 years is needed to document the starting of strength regain and the recovery of the physical properties and functions, after conversion to grassland. This recovery was observed even up to deeper depths of 20–25 cm for precompression stress and for the soil ","PeriodicalId":501007,"journal":{"name":"Soil and Tillage Research","volume":"72 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-12-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142889228","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}