With increasing societal demands for food security and environmental sustainability on land, the question arises to what extent do synergies and trade‐offs exist between soil functions and how can they be measured across Europe. To address this challenge, we followed the functional land management approach and assessed five soil functions – primary productivity, water regulation and purification, climate

Tropical and subtropical ecosystems are widely affected by the expansion of agriculture over pristine lands. Despite research efforts, knowledge on the impact of land‐use change on soil is limited by intrinsic variability, inconsistent results and inadequate replication. This study aimed to better understand the consequences of land‐use change focusing on long‐term effects in soil biotic and abiotic

Northern peatlands play an important role in the regulation of atmospheric greenhouse gas balance, functioning as a net carbon sink with low rates of organic decomposition. However, perturbations such as drainage, increase peat oxidation, which may lead to enhanced gaseous release of carbon. For this reason, the number of restoration projects that aim to rewet blanket bogs have increased in the last

Sulphate‐reducing bacteria (SRB) represent a key biological component of the global sulphur (S) cycle and are common in soils, where they reduce SO42− to H2S during the anaerobic degradation of soil organic matter. The factors that regulate their distribution in soil, however, remain poorly understood. We sought to determine the ecological patterns of SRB richness within a nationwide 16S metabarcoding

There is increasing recognition that soils fulfil many functions for society. Each soil can deliver a range of functions, but some soils are more effective at some functions than others due to their intrinsic properties. In this study we mapped four different soil functions on agricultural lands across the European Union. For each soil function, indicators were developed to evaluate their performance

Numerous lines of evidence have been presented in the literature that show the patterns of pedodiversity and biodiversity are very similar. One of the most corroborated patterns lies in the fits of the relationships between biodiversity and soil diversity to power laws according to the increase in study area. Several authors have analysed the presence of fractal and multifractal features in pedodiversity

In the three last decades, continental Ecuador biosphere reserves (CEBRs) have undergone important land cover transformations because of human‐managed systems such as agriculture, livestock, forestry, and urbanization. Thus, the native landscape structure has been altered, exhibiting a mosaic of patches with varying sizes and shapes. The resulting landscape could shape some patterns over time, reflecting

The concept of ecosystem services (ES) creates understanding of the value of ecosystems for human well‐being. With regard to soils, it provides a framework for assessments of soil contributions and soil management impacts. However, a lack of standardization impedes comparisons between assessment studies and the building of synthesis information. The Common International Classification of Ecosystem

Despite recent technological advances in molecular ecology, DNA extraction from soil remains a crucial step when quantifying and characterizing soil microbial communities. Potential biases could hamper fundamental understanding of the dynamic relationships between soil properties and microorganisms under different agricultural practices. In this study, we compared four different DNA extraction methods

Nitrogen (N) fertilization is the major contributor to nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions from agricultural soil, especially in post‐harvest seasons. This study was done to investigate whether ryegrass serving as cover crop affects soil N2O emissions and denitrifier community size. A microcosm experiment was conducted with soil planted with perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne L.) and bare soil, each with

Quantifying changes in soil biochemical properties is important in understanding the response to soil management practices. Our objectives were to evaluate the single and combined effects of three different crop rotations (maize (Zea mays)‐soybean (Glycine max) (2 years), maize‐soybean‐oat (Avena sativa) (3 years), maize‐soybean‐oat‐winter wheat (Triticum aestivum) (4 years)), and two winter cover‐type

The sensitivity of peatland carbon (C) fluxes to changes in climate and hydrology are uncertain due to the complex interactions between plants and peat properties. In this study we examine how peat cores taken from under three plant functional types (PFT) (bryophyte, graminoid and ericoid) differ in their biotic and abiotic properties and how this indirectly modulates the response of C fluxes to environmental

Grassed waterways are used to mitigate the offsite transport of sediment generated by soil erosion. This study used a novel trait‐based ranking approach as a method to screen potential candidate grass monocultures and mixes based on their theoretical performance in reducing (1) detachment via rainsplash, (2) detachment via scouring due to concentrated flow and (3) sediment transport and deposition

Nitrogen (N) addition and precipitation increment have greatly influenced soil phosphorus (P) dynamics with much emphasis on total and available P, yet little is known about their interactive effects on soil mineral‐bound inorganic P (Pi) fractions under different historical land uses of grasslands and old fields. Thus, we compared plant‐readily available P, less available Pi (sum of NH4F‐extractable

Electromagnetic induction (EMI) measurements (σb*) are widely used for the survey of several soil attributes, among which basic properties such as salinity (σe), water content (θw), clay (wc), organic matter (wom) and bulk density (ρb) stand out. In the usual practice, purely empirical models relating one of these properties to σb* are calibrated in selected sites. However, this calibration is site

Sorption–desorption hysteresis (SDH) may control distributions of chemicals across diverse environmental phases, including soils and sediments. Formation of metastable states caused by pore deformation or inelastic swelling of a sorbent and their persistence during desorption have been considered in the literature as one reason for “true” SDH. Such metastable states may lead to the lack of closure

Although plant canopies are widely recognised to protect the soil and help mitigate soil erosion, recent research has shown that the majority of soil scour prevention can be attributed to the roots. Since roots are more difficult and time‐consuming to measure than shoots, research in this area has largely been limited to understanding the influence of large roots and/or whole root systems, and there

The character of parent material, organic matter, and climatic conditions are the crucial factors of pedogenesis. They are directly influencing the intensity of weathering, transformation processes, elements release, and geochemical cycles. The mineral transformation in a profile of the recent soil developed on loess (Haplic Luvisols, Siltic, Epidystric, Ochric) was studied. The land area Litovelské

Phytoliths can act as efficient carriers of information about palaeovegetation and palaeoclimatic conditions, but the representativeness of soil phytoliths from palaeoecological sediments has not been fully understood. In this study, phytolith assemblages in topsoils and associated plant communities at 55 sites in Northeast China were compared. The results indicate that samples from herbaceous and

Anion exchange between ubiquitous low‐molecular‐weight organic acids (LMWOA), such as oxalate, and surface‐retained inorganic anions, such as F−, SO42− and OH−, can play a critical role in Al bioavailability and transport in acidic alpine tundra soil. A series of batch equilibration and composite soil column leaching studies were conducted to examine anion exchange reactions between F−, oxalate and

Nitrous oxide (N2O) is a potent greenhouse gas that is released from agricultural ecosystems where nitrogen fertilizers are poorly used and contributes to global climate warming. Large nitrogen fertilizer inputs in summer maize fields on the North China Plain (NCP) lead to large N2O emissions. N2O emissions can be mitigated using 3,4‐dimethylpyrazole phosphate (DMPP), but the efficiency and microbial

Soil structure is highly interconnected to all of its properties and functions. The structure for most soils is very complex and hierarchical in nature. Considering the fact that a truly multiscale digital 3D soil structure model for a single genetic horizon, even with the resolution not finer than 1 μm, will contain an enormous amount (approx. up to 1015 voxels or even more) of data, it is an appealing

High expectations to harness agricultural soils as sinks for atmospheric carbon (C) necessitate methods for verifying changes in soil organic C (SOC) stocks and improving the accuracy of regional SOC stock estimates specific to various land‐use and management types. In this study we used a sample set included in the Finnish national soil monitoring network (n = 125) to determine the SOC stock and its

A debate has occurred concerning the laws of scale and the fractal nature of geographical space. Biodiversity and pedodiversity studies show the emergence of fractal structures such as taxa‐area relationships. Biodiversity and pedodiversity are natural resources, although some consider pedotaxa to be artificial. The studies carried out to date emphasize that many pedodiversity and biodiversity spatial

Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) relaxation time (T2) distributions are well known to be linked to the pore size distribution and show promise as a method of estimating soil texture. As traditional laboratory methods used for soil texture estimates in soil science are generally time consuming, in this study, we explore an alternative approach based on NMR T2 distributions to estimate the soil texture

Agricultural management practices have multiple impacts on farming systems, including crop yield, soil fertility parameters such as soil organic carbon (SOC), and environmental quality. Agricultural decision support tools (DSTs) are key in sustainable farm strategies to optimize yield and minimize environmental losses because both the current agroecosystem properties as well as the effectiveness of

Two theories about the nature of phosphate in soil are current. One holds that soil phosphate is mostly present as particles of iron, aluminium and calcium phosphates: the precipitate‐particulate theory. The other holds that phosphate is mostly adsorbed and penetrates heterogeneous, variable‐charge particles: the adsorption‐penetration theory. This is the only theory that is consistent with and can

Agricultural practices can have significant effects on the physical and biological properties of soil. The aim of this study was to understand how the physical structure of a compromised soil, arising from long‐term bare‐fallow management, was modified by adopting different field management practices. We hypothesised that changing agricultural practice from bare‐fallow to arable or grassland would

We explored the suitability of multifractal detrended fluctuation analysis (MFDFA) to characterize the temporal dynamics of soil water content (SWC), we analyzed the origin of the multifractality of time series of the dynamic of SWC and we investigated how this dynamic was affected by different soil treatments and depths ―through the characterization of long‐range correlations. Temporal data of SWC

The aim of this study was to determine the effects of biochar addition on agrochemical leaching in tropical soils of Belize. Biochars were produced from mixed softwood, rice husk and miscanthus straw, each pyrolysed at 700°C. Loam, sandy silt loam and clay loam tropical soils were amended with 0, 1, 2.5 and 5% (w/w) biochar to determine atrazine, diuron, enrofloxacine, oxytetracycline and tetracycline

Changes in climate patterns are dramatically influencing some agricultural areas. Arid, semi‐arid and coastal agricultural areas are especially vulnerable to climate change impacts on soil salinity. Inventorying and monitoring climate change impacts on salinity are crucial to evaluate the extent of the problem, to recognize trends and to formulate irrigation and crop management strategies that will

Modeling of flow and transport in unsaturated soils requires information on two fundamental hydraulic properties: soil water retention curve and relative hydraulic conductivity. A soil's relative hydraulic conductivity is frequently predicted from soil water retention curve. The most widely used combination is the van Genucthen model for soil water retention curve and the Mualem model for relative

X‐ray computed tomography (CT) is commonly used in soil science to quantify distributions of pores, water and solids within soil samples. Particularly promising for liquid visualization is dual‐energy scanning of samples with added dopant solutions. The approach uses solutions of heavy elements as a proxy for the soil water and utilizes the abrupt increase of the mass attenuation coefficient of heavy

The potential for soils to produce nitrous oxide (N2O) is impacted by past moisture conditions; however, the extent of this impact is not fully understood. We conducted the first review of this, using two literature searches and a meta‐analysis. We found 36 studies out of a possible 735 that described experiments where soil moisture conditions had been controlled, such that the impact of antecedent

Desiccation cracking is a common phenomenon of soil, which potentially affects irrigation and crop growth in farmland. Understanding cracking behaviour aids in developing an effective means of crack prevention or utilization. In the present paper, we report on a phenomenological investigation aimed at exploring the effects of irrigation methods on the cracking behaviour of soil during wetting–drying

Soils are indispensable for the provision of several functions. Agricultural intensification and its focus on increasing primary productivity (PP) poses a threat to soil quality, due to increases in nutrient loads, greenhouse gas emissions and declining biodiversity. The EU Horizon 2020 Landmark project has developed multi‐criteria decision models to assess five soil functions: PP, nutrient cycling

The vertical and horizontal movement of water extractable organic carbon (WEOC) has a significant influence on soil organic carbon (SOC) storage and water quality. However, how the amount, components and chemical qualities of WEOC change at horizontal and vertical levels, as well as desorption in the cascade model in subtropical red soils, are not fully understood. We sampled soils from four types

This study explores how chemical and microbial properties of litters can be affected by coastal environments across the Mediterranean basin. A litterbag experiment including Pinus halepensis Mill. and Pistacia lentiscus L., collected from both inland and coastal areas was set up in France, Greece and Algeria. Control litterbags were left in their sampling sites and a transfer of litterbags from inland

There is a lack of field methods for measuring plant and soil processes controlling soil organic matter (SOM) turnover over diurnal, seasonal and longer timescales with which to develop datasets for modelling. We describe an automated field system for measuring plant and soil carbon fluxes over such timescales using stable isotope methods, and we assess its performance. The system comprises 24 large

Sorption of phosphate by soils is an important determinant of fertiliser efficiency. Its extent and rate differ between soils. This paper considers both how these differences can be described and how they can be explained. Published data on the rate of reaction of soil with phosphate are assembled. There are 88 soil samples from five continents, as reported in six publications. In almost all cases

Soil microaggregates contain particles of different sizes, which may affect their potential to store organic carbon (OC). A variety of methods can be used to isolate microaggregates from the larger soil structures, among which wet sieving approaches are widely employed. We developed a novel dry crushing method that isolates microaggregates along failure planes due to mechanical stresses rather than

Soil aggregates can be considered massive microbial incubators. Thus, the study of the bacteria and fungi colonizing different soil aggregate fractions helps to elucidate the factors influencing the associations between microhabitats in soil aggregates and microbial functioning. The main objective of this study was to evaluate the total bacterial and total fungal abundances and soil quality‐related

Simple measures of appropriate levels of soil organic matter are needed for soil evaluation, management and monitoring, based on readily measurable soil properties. We test an index of soil organic matter based on the soil organic carbon (SOC) to clay ratio, defined by thresholds of SOC/clay ratio for specified levels of soil structural quality. The thresholds were originally delineated for a small

Digital soil mapping (DSM) is an effective mapping technique that supports the increased need for quantitative soil data. In DSM, soil properties are correlated with environmental characteristics using statistical models such as regression. However, many of these relationships are explicitly described in mechanistic simulation models. Therefore, the mechanistic relationships can, in theory, replace

In (Cardenas et al., 2016), the following error was published on page 359. ‘L.M. Cardenas, A.L. Collins, J.A.J. Dungait and J. Hawkins Roth and fluxes amsted Research, Okehampton, Devon EX20 2SB, UK’ The affiliation was incorrect and should have read: ‘L.M. Cardenas, A.L. Collins, J.A.J. Dungait and J. Hawkins Rothamsted Research, Okehampton, Devon EX20 2SB, UK’ The authors apologise for this error

Soil quality (SQ) is the ability of soil to provide ecosystem functions and services. Implementation of a certain agricultural system can affect SQ and therefore play an essential role in achieving sustainable agriculture. The aim of this study was to explore how agricultural systems (conventional vs. organic), grazing regime (non‐grazed vs. grazed) and the different proportions of temporary grass‐clover

To achieve appropriate yield levels, inherent nitrogen (N) supply and biological N fixation are often complemented by fertilization. To avoid economic losses and negative environmental impacts due to over‐application of N fertilizer, estimation of the inherent N supply is critical. We aimed to identify the roles of soil texture and organic matter in N mineralization and yield levels attained in cereal

Over the last decades, several authors have suggested that multifractal measures, that is, self‐similar measures defined on fractal or non‐fractal objects, could be useful to describe soil properties, to model soil processes, and to deal with their extreme microscale heterogeneity. In this context, a key question relates to the extent to which multifractal measures can indeed fulfill all the expectations

Spatially resolved estimates of change in soil organic carbon (SOC) stocks are necessary for supporting national and international policies aimed at achieving land degradation neutrality and climate change mitigation. In this work we report on the development, implementation and application of a data‐driven, statistical method for mapping SOC stocks in space and time, using Argentina as a pilot. We

Hydrothermal carbonization and dry pyrolysis transform sewage sludge (SS) into nitrogen‐ (N) and phosphorus‐ (P) rich hydrochars (Hyd) and pyrochars (Py), respectively, which may act as slow‐release fertilizers with carbon (C) sequestration potential. Whereas this has been mostly studied with short‐term experiments, this study focused on the cycling of char‐derived N, P and C after ageing during a

Below‐surface horizontal pore gas velocity profiles in response to above‐surface wind conditions were measured for 16 combinations of wind speed (1.4–5.7 ms−1) and wind gust frequency (0–1 Hz) in four porous media with different particle size (0.6–10 mm), yielding 64 combinations of wind condition and porous medium using a recently developed experimental gas tracer tracking method. Experiments were

Combining digital imaging, physical models and laboratory measurements is a step further towards a better understanding of the complex relationships between the soil pore system and soil functions. Eight natural 100‐cm3 soil cores were sampled in a cultivated Stagnic Luvisol from the topsoil and subsoil, which we assumed had contrasting pore systems. Artificial 100‐cm3 cores were produced from plastic

Plant roots release various organic materials that may modify soil structure and affect heat and mass transfer processes. The objective of this study was to determine the effects of a synthetic root exudate (SRE) on penetrometer resistance (PR), thermal conductivity (λ), hydraulic conductivity (k ) and evaporation of water in a sandy soil. Soil samples, mixed with either distilled water or the SRE

Sediment transport capacity (STC) is an important variable for characterising soil erosion on hillslopes. STC also determines the capability of sediment delivery and solute transportation. An experimental methodological strategy was developed in this study to measure the STC in eroding rills on a saturated soil slope. The STC was ensured by using a slope‐raised flume section to feed sufficient amounts

The operationally defined fraction of soil organic matter (SOM), glomalin‐related soil protein (GRSP), has been reported to be particularly stable. This is the first study to test this hypothesis. Archived soil has been used from the long‐term bare fallow trial, known as the 42‐Plots, in Versailles, France. With no input from plants for 80 years, changes in GRSP must result from either turnover of

It is commonly accepted that an estimated soil variogram can be transferred to another similar area for deriving the tolerable spacing of a sampling grid or, more generally, the sample size, given a requirement on the quality of the soil property map of the recipient area. The quality of the derived tolerable grid spacing depends on how similar the population variograms of the donor area and recipient

Several misconceptions about the design‐based approach for sampling and statistical inference, based on classical sampling theory, seem to be quite persistent. These misconceptions are the result of confusion about basic statistical concepts such as independence, expectation, and bias and variance of estimators or predictors. These concepts have a different meaning in the design‐based and model‐based

Endophytes live asymptomatically within many cool‐season grasses for at least a portion of their life cycle. Although the leaf endophyte effects on the growth and stress resistance of host grasses have been relatively well studied, less attention has been focused on how this relationship may impact soil microbial communities, especially arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF). We defined endophyte‐infected

Widespread antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) have caused critical threats to public health on a global scale. Soil, composed mainly of minerals, acts as a source of resistance determinants, playing a considerable role in the development and dissemination of ARGs. The great abundance of ARGs in the soil environment raises concern about the effect of minerals on the spread of ARGs. Herein, the horizontal

The location of microorganisms and substrates within soil pore networks plays a crucial role in organic carbon (C) processing, and its microbial utilization and turnover, and has direct consequences for C and nutrient cycling. An optimal approach to quantify responses to new C inputs from microorganisms residing in specific pores is the addition of new C to pores of target sizes in undisturbed soil