Studies of forest clear‐felling operations in 1995‐97 in the Afon Tanllwyth sub‐catchment of the upper River Severn on Plynlimon, mid‐Wales, by Stott et al. (2001) indicated elevated suspended sediment loads (SSLs) immediately following timber harvesting. UK Forestry Commission (1993) Forests and Water Guidelines recommended that riparian buffer zones adjacent to streams were left unplanted. This study

Global demand for bioenergy increases interest in biomass‐derived fuels, as ethanol from sugarcane straw. However, straw is the main carbon source to soil and its removal reduces C input, affecting active fractions (dissolved organic carbon, DOC) and C storage. To quantify the effects of straw removal on DOC and C stocks, we built lysimeter system using soil (Rhodic Kandiudox) from sugarcane field

Soil texture is the most important soil physical property that determines water holding capacity, nutrient availability, and crop growth. Spatial distribution of soil texture at a higher spatial resolution at regional and national level is essential for crop planning and management. In the present study, we mapped the soil textural classes over 16.2 M ha area of Andhra Pradesh state, India at 250 m

Tropical peatlands are unique and globally important ecosystems for carbon storage, that are generally considered nutrient poor. However, different nutrient and heavy metal concentrations in these complex ecosystems and their interactions with carbon emissions are largely unknown. The objective of this research was to explore the concentrations of macro‐ and micro‐nutrients and other heavy metals in

Integrated crop‐livestock‐forest is a promising strategy to improve soil quality. It comprises four different integrated farming systems: crop‐livestock, crop‐forest, forest‐livestock and crop‐livestock‐forest. This work systematically reviewed studies about integrated crop‐livestock‐forest systems and soil quality. A total of 92 papers were retrieved from the Web of Science ‐ Clarivate Analytics platform

Real‐time monitoring of crop nitrogen and soil nutrient status can provide an important basis for the rational application of nitrogen during fertilization. Two field experiments were conducted in Henan Province, China, using three main wheat cultivars and four nitrogen levels, across two consecutive growing seasons. Canopy spectral reflectance, plant nitrogen and soil nitrogen were synchronously measured

On average, sugar beet yield in the UK is reduced by 10% due to water limitation. The root system of a plant is responsible for water uptake and hence an extensive root system is crucial to mitigate drought stress. There might be varietal differences when it comes to plant root system architecture but so far none have been reported in sugar beet. This study shows the results of two years of field experiments

Sustained tillage and continual applications of phytopharmaceutical and fertilizers using heavy machineries frequently give rise to soil erosion, loss of soil organic matter (SOM), and contamination phenomena in Mediterranean vineyards.

The soil in the sugarcane growing area of far north Queensland is often sodic (exchangeable sodium percentage ‐ ESP > 6 %). Gypsum therefore needs to be applied to reduce potential for land degradation. To accurately map ESP, a digital soil map (DSM) approach can be used. In this paper, we compare and contrast various aspects of DSM for mapping topsoil (0 – 0.3 m) ESP, including: a suitable model (i

Soil compaction is a major problem in arable farming mainly caused by the intensive traffic of heavy machinery. It affects negatively soil and crop development. Even though the first wheeling is considered the most damaging, repeated traffic deteriorates further the soil and subsoil even up to irreversible conditions. Intelligent infield traffic planning in the form of optimized route planning is one

Raising a sandy soil's ability to retain more water is an important strategy to manage sandy soils. Combined application of biochar and slurry was hypothesized to be an appropriate strategy for improving soil hydro‐physical properties. A two‐season field trial was conducted by cultivating peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.) on a sandy soil under permanent overhead sprinkler irrigation. Rice straw biochar

Soil carbon (C) saturation implies an upper limit to a soil’s capacity to store C depending on the contents of silt + clay and poorly crystalline Fe and Al oxides. We hypothesized that the poorly‐crystalline Fe and Al oxides in silt + clay fraction increased the C saturation, and thus reduced the capacity of the soil to sorb additional C input. To test the hypothesis we studied the sorption of dissolved

Urban soils are a crucial component of urban ecosystems, especially in public green spaces, because of the ecosystem services they provide (e.g. public recreation, urban cooling or water infiltration). In this study, we describe the chemical, physical and hydrostructural characteristics of 180 forest and lawn surface soil samples, taken along an urban–rural gradient in the Paris region. This was done

Biochar amendments offer promising potential to improve soil fertility, soil organic carbon (SOC), and crop yields; however, a limited research has explored these benefits of biochar in the arid and semi‐arid regions. This two‐year field study investigated the effects of Acacia tree biomass‐derived biochar, applied at 0 and 10 t ha‐1 rates with farmyard manure (FYM) or poultry manure (PM) and mineral

A lysimeter experiment using undisturbed monoliths from a stony silt loam soil was carried out to quantify the effects different pasture types on N losses from urine applied to soil on different dates. Three pasture types were tested: (a) perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne)/white clover (Trifolium repens) (PRG/WC), (b) perennial ryegrass/white clover/plantain (Plantago lanceolata) (PRG/WC/P) and (c)

Depletion of soil nutrient is a major impediment for food production in sub‐Saharan Africa, but little is known about nutrient dynamics at the farm level. Therefore, the objective of this study was to evaluate nutrient management on a range of contrasting farms by estimating balances of N, P and K. Representative farmers of three wealth classes (rich, medium and poor) were selected from two different

Maize (Zea mays L.) is one of the most susceptible crops to zinc (Zn) deficiency. However, in much of the world, soil Zn tests are poorly calibrated, and thus determining a critical soil test, level for Zn is challenging. The objectives of this study were to: (i) produce a field calibration of the Zn Mehlich‐3 (M3‐Zn) method for predicting maize grain yield response to Zn fertilizer application, (ii)

Soil CO2 emission (FCO2) in agricultural areas results from the interaction of different factors such as climate and soil conditions. Our objective was to investigate the spatiotemporal variation of FCO2, temperature (Tsoil), moisture (Msoil) and air‐filled pore space (AFPS), as well as their interactions, during the sugarcane field reform. The study was conducted on a 90 × 90 m sampling grid with

The Zoige alpine peatlands cover approximately 4605 km2 of the Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau and are considered to constitute the largest plateau peatland on the Eurasian continent. However, the Zoige alpine peatlands are undergoing major degradation because of human activities and climate change, which would cause uncertainty in the budget of greenhouse gases (CH4 and CO2) and carbon (C) storage in global

Degradation of soil in the United Kingdom (UK) is compromising the ecosystem services that flow from this natural capital asset, including water flow regulation. Soil compacted by grazing livestock, for example, results in an increase in overland flow following rainfall and is thought to be one of the key factors contributing to increased severity of UK winter flooding in recent years. Practical farm‐scale

The Dry Chaco region is a vast plain that extends throughout north‐western Argentina. This region concentrates about 13% of the total Argentine cattle national stock. Beef cattle systems in the north‐west of Argentina are highly varied including extensive pastoral systems, silvopastoral systems and intensive grazing systems. Little is known about the impact of these systems on microbial biodiversity

With the move towards conservation agriculture, we have seen an increase in weeds such as Salsola kali L., well known as Russian thistle, which are wind spread over fallow land. The emergence of this weed species seemed erratic, perhaps connected to climate conditions and management techniques. In order to shed some light on this issue, we carried out a field experiment over 3 years to monitor Russian

There are few reliable datasets to inspire confidence in policymakers that soil organic carbon (SOC) can be measured on farms. We worked with farmers in the Tamar Valley region of southwest England to select sampling sites under similar conditions (soil type, aspect and slope) and management types. Topsoils (2‐15 cm) were sampled in autumn 2015 and percentage soil organic matter (%SOM) was determined

Environmental changes are threatening current and future food security. In this context, it is imperative to design agricultural systems that are resilient to increasing frequent climate shocks, losses in biodiversity and soil fertility and to increasing demand from our societies because of population growth and consumption patterns. The emergence of sustainability science reminds us that soil management

An increasing area of oilseed rape cultivation in Europe is used to produce biodiesel. However, a large amount of straw residue is often left in the field in autumn. Straw mineralization provides both carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) sources for emission of soil nitrous oxide (N2O), which is an important greenhouse gas with a high warming potential. Some studies have focused on soil N2O emissions immediately

Biochar application to soil may impact soil nitrogen (N) dynamics, but the effects on N uptake and utilization by crop remain largely unknown, especially the effects of the rate of biochar application. To investigate the effects of biochar on soil 15N retention rate and 15N utilization efficiency (15NUE) by maize, a six‐month 15N isotope tracer technique combined with in situ pot experiment was conducted

Syntropic agroforestry systems (SYS) are a type of agroforestry in which very large amounts of organic matter (50–100 t ha−1 year−1) are added to the soil annually from pruning. However, information on the physical, chemical and biological effects of this management on soil is lacking. We characterized a SYS in terms of topsoil permeability (Mini‐Disk infiltrometer), soil organic matter (ignition method)

Biochar addition can expand soil organic carbon (SOC) stock and has potential ability in mitigating climate change. Also, some incubation experiments have showed that biochar can increase soil inorganic carbon (SIC) contents. However, there is no direct evidence for this from the field experiment. In order to make up the sparseness of available data resulting from the long‐term effect of biochar amendment

The remediation of metal(loid) polluted soil using plants (i.e. phytoremediation) often requires the application of amendments, as well as chemical fertilizer. However, such fertilizers can have negative effects when applied alone and can thus be applied together with other organic amendments to diminish this negative effect. Finally, plants to be used in phytoremediation should be selected based on

This research attempted to investigate a part of the United Nations sustainable development goal 15, dealing with preventing land degradation and halting the loss of microorganisms’ diversity. Since soil deterioration and biodiversity loss in the Mediterranean area are occurring because of intensive management, we evaluated some biochemical and microbiological parameters and bacterial biodiversity

This study aimed to quantify the dynamics of soil CO2 fluxes in two silvopastoral systems based on Leucaena leucocephala, one associated with Panicum maximum (L + P) and another with Cynodon plectostachyus (L + C). We measured CO2 fluxes fortnightly during the dry and rainy seasons in the morning and the afternoon, with an infrared gas analyzer. Simultaneously, we measured soil temperature, soil moisture

Soil organic matter (SOM) is considered an important indicator of soil quality, which can be impacted by crop production practices such as tillage. In this study, two long‐term tillage regimes (conventional tillage [CT] and no tillage [NT], conducted for 36 years) were compared in continuous sorghum production in a sub‐tropical environment in southeast Texas. The positive effects of long‐term NT practice

Many soil types in the federal state of Schleswig‐Holstein (North Germany) are naturally compacted in the subsoil due to pedo‐ or geogenic processes (42% of the area) but, due to anthropogenic impacts, the percentage of subsoil compaction has increased further. To determine the overall subsoil compaction status of seven representative soil types in Schleswig‐Holstein (≤60 cm depth), air capacity (AC)

Biochar has been shown to be potentially beneficial for enhancing yields and soil properties, and diminishing nitrogen (N) losses. However, it remains unclear how biochar regulates soil carbon (C) and N to mitigate N losses induced by straw mixing with N fertilizer in dryland soils. Therefore, we investigated the effects of straw mixing (S1), S1 with biochar (SB) and no straw inputs (S0), and routine

Nitrogen management is the key to improve crop yield. Polymer materials are widely used as water‐retaining agents in agriculture, but little is known about how polymer materials affect the transformation and utilization of soil nitrogen. This study focused on the effects of three polymer materials (humic acid extracted from cottonseed meal, H; modified polymer prepared by using polyacrylamide as main

Intensive dairy farming is implicated with the phosphorus (P) enrichment and eutrophication of fresh water bodies. In Northern Ireland (NI), although P surpluses on dairy farms are high, representative soil P data for both dairy and non‐dairy ruminant sector grassland are needed to help assess the extent to which dairying per se is contributing to poor water quality. Data from a recently completed

The aftermath of surface mining is a wasteland deprived of vegetation, soil structure and biodiversity. The unearthed overburden material is nutrient deprived and can only support the growth of invasive weeds such as Lantana camera which often cause allelopathy. The aim of the study is to prepare biochar from these noxious weeds and use it as an amendment for the mine spoil reclamation. Lantana biochar

Decreased frequency but greater intensity of rainfall in semi‐arid India severely affects growth and the yield of rainfed annual food crops, where there is no other source of water, leading to moisture stress during protracted dry spells. As Indian farmers growing rainfed crops are small landholders, their better option is in situ rainwater harvesting. This ensures moisture storage and increases soil

Soil is a non‐renewable resource considering its extremely slow pace of regeneration (Amundson et al., 2015). Soil management practice directly affects the world’s soil resources, with huge implications for food security, human health, biodiversity, climate change, and environmental quality (FAO, 2015; Bahram et al., 2018; Bampa et al., 2019). Due to anthropogenic activities and natural events, a third

Dust emission from wind erosion is a widespread phenomenon in arid and semi‐arid areas having considerable implications for ecosystems and human well‐being. However, few studies have examined the efficiency of biochar amended to soil on wind erosion control. Aimed at studying the effect of biochar on resistance of soils against wind erosion, a wind tunnel experiment was conducted. We tested (a) soils

Soils have been shown to be a major sink for plastic that is released to the environment. Several agricultural practices have been identified that can result in large plastic flows onto soils, among them the use of plastic‐polluted compost and digestate. However, the magnitude of this flow is currently still unclear. The aim of this work was to quantify the flows of plastic with compost and digestate

This paper explores the role of women empowerment and labour on enabling farmers to cross two hurdles: adopt and intensify soil fertility management (SFM), coming after six decades of SFM research that disseminated several technologies. Despite the assertion that productivity gains cannot be realized unless drivers of soil degradation are addressed, SFM usage is low. We collected data from a systematically

This study focused on the physical, chemical and microbiological characteristics of soils from different grasslands in the Budapest area. Our aim was to assess the influence of anthropogenic activities on these soils by comparing three types of site: urban, green‐urban and non‐urban. From these sites, a total of 72 topsoil samples were collected and analysed. The results indicated that many properties

Soil microbial disorder caused by continuous cropping of potato is a major challenge in the semi‐arid region of northwest China. Crop rotation can enhance crop productivity and increase soil microbial diversity. However, the functional significance of changes in soil microbial communities in different ridge‐mulching patterns of potato continuous cropping soil is poorly understood. In view of this,

The integration of soil value in agronomic micro‐level decision‐making and macro‐scale policy development has grown immensely in recent years. Major threats to soil resources and their impact on human well‐being require a comprehensive estimation of soil's economic worth, highlighting the need for sustainable and pragmatic conservation strategies. However, the absence of formal markets for numerous

Soils are a host to several micro‐organisms which are responsible for various biogeochemical processes prevailing in the geoenvironment. Such processes have been utilized to alter engineering properties of the coarse‐grained soils viz., sands, such as strength, liquefaction potential and permeability. One of such processes, which has been explored by several researchers, is Biogenic Calcite Precipitation

The cultivation of perennial instead of annual energy crops has received growing interest. Previous studies identified numerous beneficial effects of perennial energy crop (PEC) cultivation for the agricultural landscape such as promotion of agrobiodiversity, reduced requirements for agrochemicals and fertilizers as well as a large potential for carbon accumulation in soil. However, the mere presence

Continuous rise in the atmospheric CO2 concentration upshots the genesis of cataclysmic planetary problems such as global warming and climate change. Another critical issue which is environmentally challenging is land degradation. When productive land is poorly managed, it turns to marginal land. And further degradation of marginal land ends up to being unproductive land. On the Contrary, considerable

Persistence of subsoil compaction in construction right‐of‐way (ROW) areas is a major cropland concern following installation of underground pipelines. Soil physical disturbance and remediation practices including removal of topsoil, subsoil tillage and replacement of topsoil were investigated in a soybean–corn rotation field, which was located within a pipeline ROW. The objectives of the study were

Accidental flowback water spills can cause serious soil pollution. Nickel (Ni) is one of the common heavy metal components in the flowback water. However, the behaviour and mechanism of Ni in flowback water in dolomite‐derived laterite soil are poorly understood. In this study, laterite soils were selected from a Cambrian dolomite strata in China. Column experiments and synthetic flowback water were

Controlled‐release fertilizers based on superabsorbents containing lignohumate and conventional mineral fertilizer (NPK) were prepared. Their water absorption was supported by the presence of lignohumate (LH) and suppressed by the presence of NPK. The release of mineral nutrients was prolonged up to four weeks in the case of increased content of NPK. The addition of LH had negligible influence on the

Peatlands occupy 20% of the land area of Ireland and store over half of soil carbon stocks. Over 80% of these peatlands have been disturbed by human activity such as drainage for peat extraction, afforestation and agriculture. In this study, peat samples were collected from 12 horticultural peat extraction sites in the Irish midlands. The carbon (C), nitrogen (N), hydrogen and sulphur content were

A simulation modelling study was carried out of the effects of poor field drainage on raising losses to the environment of inorganic phosphorus during livestock grazing and slurry spreading. The study used the weather‐driven colloid transport version of the MACRO model, as previously calibrated and tested using measurements of inorganic phosphorus in drainage water at experimental field sites. Results

In general, farming systems that provide the greatest organic matter returns to the soil support the highest earthworm populations and typically the application of organic materials will increase earthworm numbers because of an abundance of food. There has been limited work on the effects of digestate applications on earthworm populations with most focus on the short‐term effects of digestate from

Cover crops can be utilized to lower soil nitrate leaching. However, depending on the species grown and cover crop termination management, this may lead to nitrogen (N) immobilization and/or depletion of soil moisture available to the following cash crop, potentially impacting on crop yields. Cover crop management is also dependent on using herbicides to terminate growth prior to planting the next

In this work, we aimed to investigate changes in compressive properties and least limiting water range (LLWR ) of the plough layer and plough pan induced by successive years of sugarcane cultivation. Undisturbed soil samples were collected in a sugarcane field at the plough layer and below tillage depth (plough pan). Uniaxial compression tests were performed for a water tension (h ) range of 30 to

Studies of phosphorus (P) behaviour in soils receiving sugar cane filter cake are important for determining doses, its contribution to P nutrition and maximizing fertilizer efficiency, especially in soils with low P availability. This study aimed to assess organic and inorganic forms of P in soils treated with sugar cane filter cake, and the relationship between these and plant available P. Soil inorganic