Drylands are arid and semi-arid areas whose main feature is their low level of precipitation. They cover nearly half of Earth’s land surface and are distributed worldwide, constituting the planet’s largest biome. Dryland soils have low fertility, are greatly affected by climate variability, and are vulnerable to wind and water erosion. The phosphorus-rich soil dust traveling by aeolian processes from

Land cover changesdriven by either land degradation or land development have caused distinctchanges in the global environment. China has experienced a large area of land degradation and development, while the environmental responses of the nationalland cover changes are still vague. Based on remote sensed datasets, weanalyzed the multiple ecological effects (temperature, biomass formation, andobserved

Clear-cutting means forest removing (stem only) and is the most common type of forest harvesting but undoubtedly has a negative impact on the C budget in soils. This work aimed to describe responses of soil organic matter (SOM) in the mixed coniferous forest to the removing of trees under temperate climate conditions of lowland and mountain regions in south-western Poland. Investigated soils were described

Biota play major roles in soil function and are highly sensitive to any disturbances including land degradations. However, it is not fully understood which organisms and what parameters can be useful in assessing soil quality. To fill this research gap we searched for good indicators of changes in environmental quality and to assess land degradation. Next to indicators using physical and chemical parameters

Potentially toxic elements (PTEs) in coal mining soil deteriorate soil quality and adversely affect people's health. The increasing mining activities in the Jharia coalfield (JCF) may increase the concentration of PTEs in soils. Therefore, it is vital to have an in-depth analysis of land degradation caused by them, but there is a lack of accurate and efficient methods to estimate land degradation and

The spatial variability of soil organic carbon (SOC) is scale- and location-dependent and controlled by various environmental factors. However, the location- and scale specific factors underpinning SOC variation often demand further investigation. This holds particularly true for topographically complex environments like China’s north-south transitional zone. In this paper, wavelet analysis was used

Digital soil assessment (DSA) is an application for the interpretation of digital soil mapping (DSM) outputs for evaluating soil and related environmental factors. However, DSA has not been widely applied to assess soil fertility in the humid tropics due to the complexity of integrating numerous soil chemical properties into one map. In this study, principal component analysis was applied to extract

Improving soil health is critical to reversing trends of soil degradation and is of increasing interest to a range of stakeholders including policymakers, agricultural industry leaders, food companies, and farmers. Crop and soil management practices focused on ecological functions can be effective in restoring fundamental biological, chemical and physical soil properties. The call for ecological intensification

Zagros forestsin western Iran have been impacted by severe fuelwood removal, traditional agricultural systems, non-timber production removal, and livestock grazing that leads to forest degradation. These conditions have led to area diminishing from 10 to 6 million hectares over the last six decades. This study was conducted to understand the consequences of livestock exclusion on understory plant diversity

Urbanization alters the physicochemical environment on an unprecedented scale and strongly affects biodiversity. How urbanization affects the biodiversity of soil microbial communities, especially in large cities, however, is poorly known. We investigated soil microbial communities from 258 sites covering a variety of environmental gradients in the megacity of Shanghai, China, to determine the impact

Climate change is triggering rapid shifts in plant communities and alterations in soil abiotic conditions in peatlands, with cascading effects on belowground decomposers and ecosystem C turnover. However, elucidating the dominant causal relationships between plant communities, soil biota and C fluxes in these vulnerable ecosystems requires a better understanding of the spatial-temporal variability

The adoption of different row spacing configurations has been advocated as a possible solution to mitigate the problems related to soil compaction in sugarcane areas due to the frequent use of heavy agricultural machines. This study aimed to (i) identify factors that influence the relationships of biometric attributes of sugarcane and attributes of an Oxisol soil under different scenarios in Southern

Evaluation of soil properties that enable aggregates to resist breakdown from impacting water drops is useful in modeling soil erosion process and tillage of some tropical soils. The effect of applications of poultry manure and spent mushroom wastes on soil properties related to resistance of aggregates of a degraded ultisol to water drops detachment energy (D) in southern Nigeria was studied. The

Background A multitude of studies analyzed the dynamics of soil organic carbon (SOC), but their methodology does not provide sufficient understanding of the differential impact of artificial and natural afforestation on SOC dynamic. Methods and aims We investigated the SOC dynamics following artificial (AR) and natural (NQ) afforestation on abandoned farmland (AF) in China’s Loess Plateau in an attempt

Aims Soil nematode community is an important component of the soil food web, which has been widely recognized as a key bio-indicator for assessing the influence of nature restoration on ecological functions. However, the dynamics of the abundance, structure of soil nematode community remain unclear under nature restoration. Methods The soil nematode community of natural secondary forests was investigated

Flooding is known to mobilise soil phosphorus (P). However, it is still not clear how climate change-driven extended periods of soil drying followed by flooding will affect soil-P dynamics. We tested the hypothesis under laboratory conditions that soil antecedent conditions (moist/dry) determine the amount of P mobilised upon flooding. A series of controlled laboratory experiments were carried out

Cadmium (Cd) pollution in soil poses a grave threat to human health. Combining various approaches to reduce Cd accumulation in crops is an active area of research to remediate farmlands with medium-high levels of Cd contamination. The Mercapto-functionalized palygorskite (PGS-SH) and zinc (Zn) application alone or in combination were investigated to explore the reduction of Cd uptake by B. chinensis

Inorganic P is adsorbed by a variety of soil minerals. For acidic subtropical Alfisols with high contents of both (hydr)oxides and clay minerals, there is an underappreciated understanding of the importance of clay minerals to P species and availability varying with soil pH and P concentration. In this study, the rate and equilibrium of P adsorption in a subtropical Alfisol were investigated by combining

Chernozems are among the most fertile agricultural soils on Earth and are important terrestrial carbon reservoirs. Since the Miocene-advent of grassland-ecosystems, they develop on fine-grained calcareous parent materials, generally in continental climates. So far, no theory explains all Chernozem occurrences. This limits modeling of their long-term soil carbon dynamics. Insights gained on Chernozems

To highlight the importance of the soil-root interface in bacterial root colonization, we performed 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing on the Illumina MiSeq platform to characterize the bacterial endophytes of rice plants grown by two experiments – soil and hydroponic, considering their soil, solution, and endosphere compartments. We hypothesized that rice plants from both experiments would exhibit

The capacity of several plant species or landraces to inhibit nitrification in soil (biological nitrification inhibition, BNI) has been assessed in certain tropical pastures. These assessments are commonly based on potential net nitrification rates, which do not differentiate between gross nitrification and other processes that may reduce the amount of nitrate in soil. In a greenhouse experiment using

It is well known that AM symbiosis provides several ecosystem services leading to plant adaptation in different environmental conditions and positively affects physiological and production features. Although beneficial effects from grapevine and AM fungi interactions have been reported, the impact on growth-defence tradeoff features has still to be elucidated. In this study, the potential benefits

The soil microbial community actively drives biogeochemical cycling even in the plant-dormant season of winter in temperate forests. The northern ecosystems are experiencing considerable winter climate change, which causes the snowpack to become thinner and the soil freeze-thaw cycles to occur more frequently in winter. These climatic and edaphic changes may affect the microbial community function

Land degradation negatively impacts water, food, and nutrition security and is leading to increased competition for resources. While landscape restoration has the potential to restore ecosystem function, understanding the drivers of degradation is critical for prioritizing and tracking interventions. We sampled 300–1000 m2 plots using the Land Degradation Surveillance Framework across Nyagatare and

Despite the importance of soil organic matter (SOM) in the global carbon cycle, there remain many open questions regarding its formation and preservation. The study of individual organic compound classes that make up SOM, such as lipid biomarkers including n-alkanes, can provide insight into the cycling of bulk SOM. While studies of lipid biomarkers, particularly n-alkanes, have increased in number

Methanotrophs contribute significantly to methane consumption in paddy ecosystems. Currently, the biogeographical distribution and regulation of methanotrophs in Chinese paddy soils remain poorly understood. Here, we investigated the activity, abundance and community structure of methanotrophs in paddy soils from different geographical regions and three climate zones across China, with a total of 20

Over 50 years of the Green Revolution since the 1960s, the global population has increased by 2.5 times, cereal production by 3.3 times and the use of N, P and K fertilisers by 9.4, 4.2 and 4.3 times, respectively. Information is still limited, however, on the influence of these impacts on the fertility status of agricultural soils. Here we investigated the influence of the Green Revolution on 142

Local (cm) scale water loss distribution and evaporation in soil with flat and furrowed surfaces as a function of near-surface wind speed and wind direction was investigated. Four levels of average main wind speed (10 cm above furrow ridge summits, 0, 1, 3 and 5 m·s−1), three main wind directions (compared to the direction of the furrows, 0°, 45° and 90°) and two levels of relative air humidity (70%

Anion exclusion is an important phenomenon in agricultural, environmental and engineering fields which still needs suitable quantitative models. In this work, a novel model is proposed which considers the porous media as parallel capillaries with negatively charged walls that cause total anion exclusion at a distance from the walls. By defining the ‘anion velocity coefficient’, υ − , as the ratio of

Ethiopia currently faces severe land degradation and desertification and has attracted increasing attention for international restoration projects. However, selecting appropriate potential afforestation and reforestation areas is challenging because of limited geospatial assessment tools on a national scale. Therefore, the globally used MEDALUS approach was applied to identify areas sensitive to land

Soil organic matter (SOM) plays a central role in mediating soil productivity through its impacts on nutrient cycling and retention, aggregate stability and water retention. Thus, management techniques or technologies including novel soil amendments could benefit farmers through the accumulation of carbon (C) and other nutrients in SOM. However, these same inputs can also lead to accelerated mineralization

Weed control is important to improve crop yield in organic farming. In Northern Europe, the use of mechanical weed control restricts the ability to use green manure-cover crops that could be a key source of N supply. In a two-year experiment repeated twice, the objective of this study was to compare the effect of cover crop- and autumn tillage-based systems on N uptake of the succeeding barley crop

Aims Root aerenchyma, a key adaptive trait to anoxic soils has rarely been integrated into trait-based plant ecology. This study aims to evaluate the relationship between root porosity and root economics-related traits among wetland plants, focusing on the effect of aerenchyma on root tissue density, a central trait in plant economics spectrum. Methods Root porosity, root tissue density with air-space

Abstract. Benzobicyclon is a triketone pro-herbicide that needs to be hydrolyzed to form an active compound benzobicyclon hydrolysate (BH). This study aimed to investigate the migration behavior of BH in different types of agricultural soil and the associated influencing factors. Soil thin-layer chromatography and column leaching tests were used to study the migration behavior of BH in these soils

Abstract. Soils and landscapes can show complex, non-linear evolution, especially under changing climate or land use. Soil-landscape evolution models (SLEMs) are increasingly equipped to simulate the development of soils and landscapes over long timescales under these changing drivers, but provide large data output that can be difficult to interpret and communicate. New tools are required to analyse

Saprolite is the weathered rock below the soil and constitutes the least researched region of the regolith. The association between saprolithology and pedology can contribute to a better understanding of the whole regolith. The Triunfo massif in the state of Pernambuco (NE Brazil) is a natural laboratory suitable for the study of regoliths derived from crystalline rocks under a climate gradient, from

Compost application is viewed as an eco-friendly and sustainable method to improve agricultural soil fertility. However, composts vary in lability and recalcitrance, which drives energy supply for microbial biomass formation and microbial processes such as soil respiration, nitrogen mineralization, and enzyme production. To provide further insights into the issue, this study aimed to elucidate how

Phaeozems with very deep mollic topsoil overlying a cambic B horizon occur in a patchy distribution in Eastern Romania, in areas where present climatic conditions are rather favourable for forest soils development. Due to their unusual characteristics, it has been hypothesized that the main factors implied in their development could be related to the prehistoric habitation and climate changes during

Plastics are now widespread in the natural environment. Due to their size, microplastics (MPs; defined as particles <5 mm) in particular, have the potential to cause damage and harm to organisms and may lead to a potential loss of ecosystem services. Research has demonstrated the significant impact of MPs on aquatic systems; however, little is known about their effects on the terrestrial environment

For decades, conservation tillage has been promoted as a measure to increase carbon stocks in arable soils. Since organic farming improves soil quality and soil carbon storage, reduced tillage under organic farming conditions may further enhance this potential. Therefore, we assessed soil organic carbon (SOC) stocks of reduced tillage compared with mouldboard ploughing in nine organic farming field

Contour-felled log debris (CFD) and log erosion barriers (LEB) are two restoration practices used worldwide on hillslopes to avoid soil erosion after wildfires. Although significant work has evaluated the effectiveness of these practices on soil loss prevention, their effects on soil properties have been little researched to date. Here, the effects of CFD and LEB treatments on several physico-chemical

The distribution of soil organic carbon (SOC) in subsoil is much more heterogeneous than in topsoils. This is largely caused by more localized inputs of fresh substrates and nutrients that mainly derive from rhizodeposition creating hotspots of microbial activity. To elucidate the role of rhizosphere soil as an important input path for substrates into deeper soil layers, we investigated differences

Soil organic carbon (SOC) in intensively human-impacted areas often presents extremely complicated patterns in space and time, which brought a new challenge to space–time SOC modelling. Here we attempt to create a space-for-time GWRK-RothC model by incorporating the predictions of the process-based RothC model into the geographically weighted regression kriging (GWRK) for improving the space–time modelling

In contrast to good knowledge of dissolved organic matter (DOM) adsorption on mineral soils in temperate climate, the behavior of DOM in frozen mineral horizons located under peat soils of permafrost-affected regions remains poorly characterized. Yet, these regions contain sizeable and potentially highly labile pools of organic (peat) carbon (C) that may migrate downwards across mineral layers in case

Tracing the origin of sediment is needed to improve our knowledge of hydro-sedimentary dynamics at the catchment scale. Several fingerprinting approaches have been developed to provide this crucial information. In particular, spectroscopy provides a rapid, inexpensive and non-destructive alternative technique to the conventional analysis of the geochemical properties. Here, we investigated the performance

Abstract. Biochar production and application as soil amendment is a promising carbon (C) negative technology to increase soil C sequestration and mitigate climate change. However, there is a lack of knowledge about biochar degradation rate in soil and its effects on native soil organic carbon (SOC), mainly due to the absence of long term experiments performed in field conditions. The aim of this work

The restoration practices in marginal lands for food production are the most important sustainability challenge for humans at global level. The nature based solutions (NBS) are the best interventions to improve the soil health which directly enhanced the soil productivity and biodiversity for sustainability of ecosystems. The field experiment was conducted to evaluate the effects of three inoculants

Rhizosphere processes play a critical role in soil organic carbon (SOC) cycling that is primarily regulated by temperature. Understanding the response of rhizospheric SOC decomposition to global warming, which is called temperature sensitivity (Q10), is pivotal for predicting the feedback of SOC cycling to global warming. However, the rhizosphere effects (REs) on Q10 and their underlying mechanisms

In alpine environments, the decomposition rate of soil organic carbon (SOC) is controlled by several biotic and abiotic factors, which mostly change simultaneously and often lead to freezing and thawing cycles. However, it is highly uncertain whether the temperature sensitivity of decomposition around the freezing point of water is similar as in higher temperature ranges. In this study, we conducted

The alkaline phosphatase-harboring community (the phoD community hereafter) plays an important role in organic P mineralization. Here, we comparatively studied the biogeographical patterns of abundant and rare phoD subcommunities and their roles in mediating soil phosphatase (ALP) activity and available P content in three representative steppe regions in China, namely the Inner Mongolian Plateau, the

Aims This study explored a possibility that leaf silicious trichomes slow down leaf mass loss by soil meso- and macrofauna. Methods We focused on closely related Moraceae tree species (Broussonetia papyrifera and Morus australis) with different leaf trichome densities. First, we conducted microscopic analyses of leaf trichomes and investigated nine other leaf traits. We then performed a 25-day decomposition

Wind erosion is one of the results of desertification and is among the natural processes that mostly occur under dry conditions and high wind velocity. Using oil-mulches is one of the common methods to stabilize sand dunes. The current study aimed to investigate the short-term effects of oil-mulch on vegetation attributes (i.e., cover and diversity) and rangeland condition score (RCS) using integrated

Climate warming is responsible for many environmental changes in the Arctic, which lead to the decomposition of soil organic matter (SOM) and emissions of greenhouse gases from the soil into the atmosphere. Soil minerals play a crucial role in SOM stabilization. However, little is known about the occurrence and stability of organo-mineral associations in permafrost-affected soils in the Arctic. The

Freeze-thaw (FT) events exert a great physiological stress on soil microorganisms and hence impact biogeochemical processes in soils. As numerous environmental factors affect microbial and chemical responses to FT, a better understanding of the leverage factors that regulate the responses to FT events is required. To date, FT-induced shifts and transformations in microbial and resource stoichiometry

Linkages between aboveground and belowground communities are a key but globally under-researched component of responses to environmental change. Given the logistical complications to studying these relationships, much of our knowledge derives from laboratory experiments and localized field studies which have so far yielded inconsistent results. Because environmental factors may alter relationships