Background: The research on plant salt tolerance has mainly focused on Na+, but Cl− has been relatively neglected. Previous studies have found that the xerophyte Pugionium cornutum, an important forage grass in the arid and semi‐arid regions of northwestern China, could synergistically accumulate high quintiles of Na+ and Cl− in its shoots under NaCl treatments. However, the separate effects of these

Background: The açaí palm (Euterpe oleracea Mart.) is a species native to the Amazon region, where the largest stock of these palms is located in the state of Pará, Brazil. This species occurs predominantly spontaneously in the plateau and plains areas of the Amazonian estuary. Water deficit is the main limiting factor of plants, negatively regulating the growth, metabolism and productivity of crops

Background: In search for more sustainable crop production, the subsoil has recently come into focus as considerable reservoir of nutrients and water.

Background and aims: Plant‐derived, ester‐bound substituted fatty acids have been used for decades as biomarkers to identify input of plant materials in sediments and soils. However, the long‐term decomposition patterns of these biomarker compounds under natural conditions are not well understood, although this is a basic prerequisite for quantitative biomarker applications.

Background: Although cover crops provide many agronomic and environmental benefits, they may also increase nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions after termination. The N2O emissions from decomposing biomass of cover crops largely depends on the type of cover and maturity level at termination.

Background: Intensive winter wheat–summer maize (Triticum aestivum L.–Zea mays L.) double‐cropping systems in the North China Plain often show high nitrogen (N) losses and water use causing harmful threats to the environment.

Background: Little is known about the relationship between plant availability of P in different sludges and their derived ashes, its development over time and its interaction with soil pH.

Background: Chemical methods allowing a single soil extraction followed by multi‐elemental simultaneous measurement by ICP‐OES are increasingly used to predict plant uptake; however, calibration results against crop response are scarce and contradictory.

Phosphorus (P) tracing in natural environments is challenging, lacking stable P isotopes Oxygen isotope ratios in phosphate (δ18OP) represent a novel tool for tracing the biological cycling of P from the global scale down to hotspots at the micro‐scale and within particular soil compartments such as aggregates or pores. Despite the small number of studies available so far, existing data indicate that

The use of Hydrus‐1D for modeling soil gas fluxes can be improved by introducing a parameter f obtained by fitting the Millington–Quirk (MQ) tortuosity model to measured gas diffusion coefficients. The approach was tested for data from soil horizons of two sandy forest sites located in Northeast‐Germany. f‐values ranged between 0.41 and 0.54, indicating a more tortuous pore systems than predicted by

Background: Being one of the important nutrients required by plants during photosynthesis, nitrogen (N) exerts a significant control on primary productivity and carbon dioxide sequestration. Therefore, it is essential to quantify the rates of N cycling processes, such as gross N mineralization and nitrification, to understand the flow and availability of N in different ecosystems. Lack of such data

Background: Hygroscopic salts are often applied as foliar fertilizers and calcium (Ca) salts have been used as model for cuticular permeability studies, with focus on their Point of Deliquescence (POD).

Background: In flooded rice fields, root zone temperatures (RZT) are buffered by the ponded water layer. With global warming, a higher frequency of hot days and hot nights, and the introduction of water‐saving irrigation technologies, RZT are likely to vary more widely, particularly between night and day.

Background: Biological soil crusts (biocrusts) are commonly found in arid ecosystems and are known to have increased carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) concentrations compared to non‐crusted soil. Similar biocrusts were recently identified in Florida, USA sandy soil agroecosystems where they could impact soil biogeochemical cycling, particularly of C and N, in the crop rooting zone.

Background: Water and nitrogen (N) are essential resources influencing plant growth and yield. To improve their efficiencies in crop production is challenging because the physiological mechanisms of water and N coupling and their interactive effect on crop water use efficiency (WUE) are not well understood yet.

The legacy of charcoal making, an old and widespread forest exploitation activity, is a plethora of charcoal hearth (CH) soils that occur all around the world with peculiar features, the main of which is a top, thick, black, charcoal‐rich horizon. Being substantially due to human activity, these soils are anthropogenic or “human‐altered and human‐transported” soils. However, the two most widely used

Background: There is considerable uncertainty about the actual size of the global soil organic carbon (SOC) pool and its spatial distribution due to insufficient and heterogeneous data coverage.

Background: The occurrence of calcium (Ca)‐related disorders is common in tomato production and may be due to factors such as excess nitrogen (N) fertilization. Thus, Ca sprays are often applied as preventive measure to avoid the occurrence of blossom‐end rot. In addition, evidence indicates that Si can act beneficially on tomatoes and relieve Ca deficiency.

Background and aim: The diffusion of inorganic nitrogen (N) in soils is strongly affected by their physical characteristics and hydraulic gradients, which enable them to store and transport nutrients over time and space. The objective of this research was to use the microdialysis technique to continuously monitor the diffusive fluxes of inorganic N from the physical N store towards root surfaces in

Background and aims: The effects of climate factors and rock fragment content (RFC) on soil nitrous oxide (N2O) emission and mineral N leaching can be important in reducing N losses in different agroecosystems. This study aimed to analyze and quantify the intertwined effects of precipitation intensity, temperature, RFC, and land use on these two kinds of soil N losses.

The numerous feedback loops between roots, microorganisms, soil chemical and physical properties, and environmental variables result in spatial parameter patterns which are highly dynamic in time. In order to improve our understanding of the related rhizosphere processes and their relevance at the soil–plant system scale, experimental platforms are required. Those platforms should enable (1) to relate

The editorial office would like to draw reader's attention to an error occurring in the publication by Dreyer et al. · Ammonium‐driven nitrification plays a key role in increasing Mn availability in calcareous soils · pp. 389–396 · Volume 183 · Number 3 · June 2020 that we like to apologize for. 1. Figure 2 : The correct figure caption is: “Impact of stabilized and non‐stabilized N fertilizer on Mn

Background: The low fertility of sandy soils in South‐Western Australia is challenging for the establishment of temperate perennial pastures.

Background: The inadequate application of nitrogen (N) to crops has increased the reactive N in the atmosphere and in the surface and ground waters. Stabilized N‐fertilizers with nitrification (NI) and urease (UI) inhibitors have been proposed to reduce these environmental problems without affecting or even increasing crop productivity.

To quantify carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) losses in soils of West African urban and peri‐urban agriculture (UPA) we measured fluxes of CO2‐C, N2O‐N, and NH3‐N from irrigated fields in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, and Tamale, Ghana, under different fertilization and (waste‐)water regimes. Compared with the unamended control, application of fertilizers increased average cumulative CO2‐C emissions during

Background: Stimulatory efficacy of spent mushroom compost (SMC) cannot be overemphasized.

Background: Nitrogen deposition can cause an ecosystem‐level shift in available N (nitrogen) to P (phosphorus) availability. However, most plant N nutrition is from edaphic sources rather than deposition and in seasonally dry grassland systems, root litter is the predominant nutrient source.

We tested the performance of a newly developed CO2 probe, K33SOIL [based on the sensor module K33 (Senseair, Sweden)], under harsh temperature and humidity conditions in a laboratory experiment. The K33SOIL, competed well (RMSE = 0.032% CO2) with the often used GMP343 (Vaisala, Finland) in precision and accuracy. A field experiment showed that the K33SOIL is also suitable for in situ applications.

Background: Cover cropping appears as a useful land management practice with numerous benefits for ecosystem functions.

Background and Aims: Agronomic biofortification of food crops with iodine may improve the dietary intake of this trace element, which is essential for human development and health. So far, little is known about the suitability of this technique in pome fruits. The objectives of this study were (1) to investigate uptake and translocation of exogenously applied iodine in apple trees, (2) to identify

Crop rotation adoption in no‐tillage systems (NTS) has been recommended to increase the biological activity and soil aggregation, suppress soil and plant pathogens, and increase the productivity aiming at the sustainability of agricultural areas. In this context, this study aimed to assess the effect of crop rotation on the arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) community and soil aggregation in a soil

Background: Since recently, the traditional rice–wheat rotation systems in Nepal are subject to drastic changes. Progressing urbanisation and shifting consumer preferences drive a replacement of wheat by high‐value vegetables during the cold dry season, particularly in the peri‐urban fringes, while emerging water shortages prevent permanent soil flooding during the monsoon season, leading to partial

Background and aims: Most physiological and biochemical studies on salt stress are NaCl‐based. However, other ions (e.g., K+, Ca2+, Mg2+, and SO 4 2 - ) also contribute to salt stress in special circumstances. In this study, salt stress induced by various salts was investigated for a better understanding of salinity.

Background: Nepal's traditional rice–wheat rotation systems are subject to continuing changes. Changing consumer demand currently drives a replacement of wheat by high‐value vegetables during the dry season, while emerging water shortages lead to a substitution of rice by maize in the wet season. Hence, associated changes in soil aeration status and shifting conditions of soil nutrient supply to match

Background: The fertilizer value of phosphorus (P) in waste products relies heavily on its availability to the subsequent crop.

Drought is one of the main limiting factors resulting in the reduction of yield and quality of tea production. Our previous studies indicated that K+ retention was a key factor associated with alleviating drought‐induced damage in tea plants. However, the underlying mechanisms are still unclear. In the present study, drought tolerant tea plant (variety Zhongcha108) exhibited higher plasma membrane

Cultivated organic soils make a significant contribution to phosphorus (P) leaching losses from agricultural land, despite occupying a small proportion of cultivated area. However, less is known about P mobilisation processes and the P forms present in peat soils compared with mineral soils. In this study, P forms and their distribution with depth were investigated in two cultivated Histosol profiles

For many tree species nutritional threshold values are not available. Because the derivation of such values by fertilization experiments would be very time consuming and cost intensive a relatively easy method is proposed. By interpreting cumulative concentration distributions the thresholds for the range of normal nutrition as well as the threshold for deficiency can be deduced. As shown for the species

Environmental concerns and rapidly decreasing phosphorus (P) resources caused a renewed interest in improving soil P tests for a more efficient P fertilization. This led to the development of better P fertilizer recommendation systems for major arable crops and grass. Nevertheless, these P fertilizer recommendation systems seem to fail for intensive vegetable crops, with often a very short growing

Background: Manganese deficiency often becomes a yield limiting factor, particularly on calcareous soils, even though the total soil manganese content is usually sufficient. Although it is known that acidifying N fertilizers can improve Mn availability, the reason of this effect is still unknown.

Soil nitrogen (N) supply for wheat N uptake can be manipulated through legume and fertilizer N inputs to achieve yield potential in low‐rainfall sandy soil environments. Field experiments over 2 years (2015–2016) were conducted at 2 different sites in a low‐rainfall sandy soil to determine the soil N supply capacity relative to wheat N uptake at key growth stages, after a combination of crop residue

Background: Phosphatases in soil are of great importance for plant P acquisition. It is hypothesized that root hairs increase rhizosphere phosphatase activity as they release enzymes into soil and stimulate microbial activity.

Loess proportions in slope deposits have rarely been quantified, due to the lack of quantification methods. In this study, we used laser granulometry to analyze grain‐size distributions in slope deposits of a Buntsandstein landscape in central Germany. The consistent loess contents obtained from two independent models corroborate the validity of the calculated loess proportions and the applicability

Background: The phosphate concentration of the soil solution is generally low, allowing sufficient plant nutrition only for a few days. Therefore, supply from various fractions of bound phosphate is essential to meet plant demand. It is known that plants have developed strategies to acquire phosphorus (P) from phosphates adsorbed on clay minerals or oxides, from organically bound phosphates, and from

Crop yield simulation using the Denitrification–Decomposition (DNDC) model can help to understand key bottlenecks for improved nitrogen (N) use efficiency and estimate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in West African urban vegetable production. The DNDC model was successfully calibrated using high‐resolution weather records, information on management practices and soils, and measured biomass accumulation

Both plant species and CO2 concentration can potentially affect rhizodeposition and consequently soil microbial activity and community composition. However, the effect differs based on plant developmental stage. We focused on the effect of three plant species (forbs, grasses, and N2‐fixers) at an early stage of development on root C deposition and fate, soil organic matter (SOM) mineralization and

Oxygen diffusion rate (ODR) and redox potential (EH) are quantitative indices representing oxygen availability and redox status in soils, which is valuable information for better understanding causes and effects of soil aeration. Because these indices are spatially and temporally highly variable, continuous measurements and adequate numbers of repetitions are essential for accurate in situ monitoring

The soil organic carbon (SOC) pool of the Northern Hemisphere contains about half of the global SOC stored in soils. As the Arctic is exceptionally sensitive to global warming, temperature rise and prolonged summer lead to deeper thawing of permafrost‐affected soils and might contribute to increasing greenhouse gas emissions progressively. To assess the overall feedback of soil organic carbon stocks

Background: Nitrogen losses is an economic problem for wheat production and a high risk to the environment. Therefore, improved N fertilizer management is a key to increasing the N efficiency and minimizing N losses. To increase N efficiency, enhanced fertilizers such as urea combined with urease inhibitor can be used.

A deficiency or excess of selenium (Se) can cause disease in the human body, and the dietary intake of organic forms of Se is considered the preferable way to satisfy the Se demand in humans. P application decreases Se uptake and thus also Se concentrations in grains of crops, but little is known about how the P application level may affect the organic forms of Se in the grain of winter wheat. A pot

Total Zn in fertilizer is a poor predictor of Zn availability in granular fertilizers. In this study, we compared different extraction methods using Zn fertilizers for which the agronomic effectiveness had previously been determined. Sixteen fertilizers were extracted by eight different procedures using five extractant solutions: water, 1 M ammonium acetate (pH 7.0), 74 mM EDTA (pH 7.0), 5 mM DTPA

Thermal utilization of sewage sludge through mono‐incineration or gasification results in phosphorus (P) rich sewage sludge ash (SSA) that must be returned to agricultural production systems to fulfill the need for recycling of P resources contained in wastewater streams. As the plant‐availability of P contained in SSA is low, we propose feeding SSA directly into the production of superphosphate fertilizers

Phosphorus (P) fluxes from forest soils are not well understood. For temperate zone forests, there is some evidence from watershed studies that P export occurs mainly in preferential flow pathways during storm events after dry periods. Therefore, we tested the practical applicability of a sampling approach, which should allow for quantifying P concentrations and fluxes. We used zero‐tension lysimeters

Soil fertilization with trace‐metal rich organic fertilizers such as Fucus serratus seaweed may be an effective way to combat micronutrient deficiency. In this study the kinetics of zinc release from Fucus serratus seaweed was investigated in a packed soil column leaching experiment over 1,776 h. The release of zinc from control (soil only) and treatment (soil + seaweed; equivalent zinc application

Today, a large share of mineral fertilizer is substituted by biogas digestates. Biogas digestates are known to promote N2O production, compared to mineral fertilizer. In particular, the initial phase following fertilizer application is crucial for the N gas release as N2O and also N2. However, this period impact has been rarely investigated, especially not across various field sites. Thus, undisturbed

Soil air permeability is an important parameter which governs the aeration in soils that significantly promotes the root growth of field and grassland species and leads, in turn, to higher levels of evapotranspiration. The German Landfill Directive (2009) requires a rigid or a minimal shrinking capping system that ensures a high evapotranspiration rate to decrease the infiltration rate through the

Injection of slurry or digestate below maize seeds is a relatively new technique developed to improve nitrogen use efficiency. However, this practice has the major drawback of increasing nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions. The application of a nitrification inhibitor (NI) is an effective method to reduce these emissions. To evaluate the effect of the NI 3,4‐dimethypyrazole phosphate (DMPP) on N2O emissions

The contribution of N remobilization is crucial for new shoots growth and quality formation during spring tea shoots development. However, the translocation mechanism of N from source leaves to sink young shoots is not well understood. In the present study, 15N urea was applied to mature tea leaves one week before bud break to track N remobilization in a field experiment. The dynamic changes in plant

Aims: The aim of this study was to explore interactive effects between quality (types) and quantity (application rates) of biochar as well as of arbuscular mycorrhiza (AM) symbiosis on the growth of potato plants.

Background: The enhancement of zinc (Zn) concentration in cereal crops without compromising yield is a global challenge with crucial health and food security implications.