Abstract. Simulation models are potentially useful tools to test our understanding of the processes involved in the turnover of soil organic carbon (SOC) and to evaluate the role of management practices in maintaining stocks of SOC. We describe here a simple model of SOC turnover at the soil profile scale that accounts for two key processes determining SOC persistence (i.e. microbial energy limitation

Abstract. In southern China, Hainan Island faces land degradation risks due to poor soil physical properties, such as a high proportion of microaggregates (< 0.25 mm), low soil organic matter (SOM) content, and frequent uneven rainfall. The cohesive force between soil particles, which is influenced by plant root properties and root-derived SOM, is essential for improving soil aggregate stability and

Abstract. The Ecological Survey of Northern Rhodesia (now Zambia), undertaken in the 1930s under the leadership of Colin G. Trapnell, was a seminal exercise to relate soil, vegetation, and agricultural practices through intensive field observation. In this article, we examine early activities of the survey in the Upper Valley region around the Kafue Flats and the neighbouring plateau, where Trapnell

Abstract. Addressing the complex challenges of soil and food security at international and local scales requires moving beyond the boundaries of individual disciplines and knowledge systems. The value of transdisciplinary research approaches is increasingly recognised, including those that value and incorporate Indigenous knowledge systems and holders. Using a case study at Pōhatu, Aotearoa New Zealand

Abstract. It is unequivocal that human activities have increased emissions of greenhouse gases, that this is causing warming, and that these changes will be irreversible for centuries to millennia. Whilst previous studies have broadly examined the contribution of agriculture or land use change to anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions, the contribution of soil itself remains unclear, with quantifying

Abstract. Monitoring soil structure is of paramount importance due to its key role in the critical zone as the foundation of terrestrial life. Variations in the arrangement of soil components significantly influence its hydro-mechanical properties and therefore its impact on the surrounding ecosystem. In this context, soil compaction resulting from inappropriate agricultural practices not only affects

Abstract. Seasonal freeze–thaw processes alter soil formation and lead to changes in soil structure of alpine ecosystems. Soil aggregates are basic soil structural units and play a crucial role in soil organic carbon (SOC) protection and microbial habitation. However, the impact of seasonal freeze–thaw processes on pore structure and their impact on SOC fractions have been overlooked. This study characterized

Abstract. The transfer of radiocaesium (137Cs) from soil to crops is the main long-term radiation risk after nuclear accidents. The prevailing concept is that 137Cs sorption in soil, and hence its bioavailability, is controlled by soil clay content (0–2 µm). This study tested this assumption using 24 soils collected worldwide. The Radiocaesium Interception Potential (RIP), i.e., 137Cs adsorption, was

Abstract. Plant processes regulating the quantity and quality of soil organic carbon inputs such as photosynthesis, above- and belowground plant growth, and root exudation are integral to our understanding of soil carbon dynamics. However, based on a bibliometric analysis including almost 50 000 scientific papers, we found that plant physiology has been severely underrepresented in global soil organic

Abstract. Raising the water table is an effective way to abate greenhouse gas emissions from cultivated peat soils. We experimented a gradual water table rise at a highly degraded agricultural peat soil site with plots of willow, forage and mixed vegetation (set-aside) in southern Finland. We measured the emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O) for 4 years. The mean

Abstract. Calcium (Ca) may contribute to the preservation of soil organic carbon (SOC) in more ecosystems than previously thought. Here we provide evidence that Ca is co-located with SOC compounds that are enriched in aromatic and phenolic groups, across different acidic soil-types and locations with different ecosystem properties. In turn, this co-localised fraction of Ca-SOC is removed through cation-exchange

Abstract. Urban agriculture has become an essential component of urban sustainability, but it often faces the challenge of soil contamination with heavy metal(loid)s like lead (Pb), arsenic (As), chromium (Cr), copper (Cu), manganese (Mn), nickel (Ni), and zinc (Zn). Traditional laboratory methods for detecting these contaminants, such as atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS) and inductively coupled

Abstract. Around half of the Earth's soil organic carbon (SOC) is presently stored in the Northern Hemisphere permafrost region. In polar permafrost regions, low temperatures particularly inhibit both the production and biodegradation of organic matter. Under such conditions, abiotic factors such as mesoclimate, pedogenic substrate or altitude are thought to be more important for soil development than

Abstract. Partitioning soil organic carbon (SOC) in fractions with different biogeochemical stability is useful to better understand and predict SOC dynamics and provide information related to soil health. Multiple SOC partition schemes exist, but few of them can be implemented on large sample sets and therefore be considered relevant options for soil monitoring. The well-established particulate organic

Abstract. Soil CO2 flux (Fs) is a carbon cycling metric crucial for assessing ecosystem carbon budgets and global warming. However, global Fs datasets often suffer from low temporal-spatial resolution, as well as from spatial bias. Fs observations are severely deficient in tundra and dryland ecosystems due to financial and logistical constraints of current methods for Fs quantification. In this study

Abstract. Nitrogen (N) fertilization has received worldwide attention due to its benefits with regard to soil fertility and productivity, but excess N application also causes an array of ecosystem degenerations, such as greenhouse gas emissions. Generally, soil microorganisms are considered to be involved in upholding a variety of soil functions. However, the linkages between soil cropland properties

Abstract. This study explores the relationship between soil magnetic susceptibility (𝜅) and cation exchange capacity (𝐶𝐸𝐶) across diverse European soils, aiming to enhance pedotransfer functions (PTFs) for soil 𝐶𝐸𝐶 using near-surface electromagnetic geophysics. We hypothesize that soil 𝜅, can improve the prediction of 𝐶𝐸𝐶 by reflecting the soil’s mineralogical composition, particularly in

Abstract. Biological soil crusts (biocrusts hereafter) cover a substantial proportion of the dryland ecosystem and play crucial roles in ecological processes such as biogeochemical cycles, water distribution, and soil erosion. Consequently, studying the spatial distribution of biocrusts holds great significance for drylands, especially on a global scale, but it remains limited. This study aimed to

Abstract. Accurately quantifying errors in soil moisture measurements from in situ sensors at fixed locations is essential for reliable state and parameter estimation in probabilistic soil hydrological modeling. This quantification becomes particularly challenging when the number of sensors per field or measurement zone (MZ) is limited. When direct calculation of errors from sensor data in a certain

Abstract. Cover crops are acclaimed for enhancing the environmental sustainability of agricultural practices by aiding in carbon (C) sequestration and reducing losses of soil mineral nitrogen (SMN) after harvest. Yet, their influence on nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions—a potent greenhouse gas—presents a complex challenge, with findings varying across different studies. This research aimed to elucidate

Abstract. This integrated pedo-geoarchaeological study focuses on three abandoned pre-Hispanic terrace agricultural systems near Laramate in the southern Andes of Peru (14.5° S), aiming to unravel the pedological and land-use history of the region, which served as a significant agricultural hub during pre-Hispanic times. The key objectives of the investigation involved contextualizing the former agricultural

Abstract. In urban and industrialized areas, soil contamination and degradation caused by the deposition of industrial dusts may pose significant health and environmental risks. This problem relates to the vertical mobility and bioavailability of Potentially Toxic Elements (PTE). This study investigates the fate of PTE brought by industrial dusts in urban soils located in the Dunkerque agglomeration

Abstract. Rewetting drained peatlands can reduce CO2 emissions but prevents traditional agriculture. Crop production under rewetted conditions may continue with flood-tolerant crops in paludiculture, but its effects on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions compared to rewetting without further management are largely unknown This study was conducted between 2021 and 2022 on a fen peatland in central Denmark

Abstract. No-till (NT) cropping systems have been proposed as a strategy to combat soil degradation by storing soil organic carbon (SOC) and total nitrogen (TN). We quantified the impacts of NT cropping systems on the changes in SOC and TN stocks and in particulate and mineral-associated organic matter fractions (POM and MAOM), to 100 cm depth, from three 13-year-old experiments in a tropical red Oxisol

Abstract. Adding mineral fertilizers and mineral nutrient is a common practice in conventional farming and fundamental to maintain optimal yield and crop quality, whereby nitrogen is the most applied fertilizer often used excessively, leading to adverse environmental impacts. To assist farmers in optimal fertilization and crop management, non-invasive geophysical methods can provide knowledge about

Abstract. Forest soils, as crucial sinks for atmospheric methane in terrestrial ecosystems, are significantly impacted by changes in ecosystem dynamics due to deforestation and agricultural practices. This study investigated the methane oxidation potential of rubber plantation soils in Thailand, focusing on the effect of fertilization. The methane oxidation activity of the top soils (0–10 cm) in the

Abstract. One challenge in soil mapping is the transfer of new techniques and methods into operational practice, integrating them with traditional field surveys, reducing costs, and increasing the quality of the soil maps. The latter is paramount, as they form the basis for many thematic maps. As part of a novel approach to soil mapping, we integrate various technologies and pedometric methodologies

Abstract. Mineral-organic associations are crucial carbon and nutrient reservoirs in soils. However, soil cultivation disrupts these associations, leading to carbon loss and reduced soil fertility. Although, identifying the specific type(s) of mineral-organic associations susceptible to destruction or transformation upon cropping remains challenging, it is essential for devising strategies to preserve

Abstract. Machine learning (ML) models have become key ingredients for digital soil mapping. To improve the interpretability of their predictions, diagnostic tools such as the widely used local attribution approach known as SHapley Additive exPlanations (SHAP) have been developed. However, the analysis of ML model predictions is only one part of the problem, and there is an interest in obtaining deeper

Abstract. Microbial fuel cell (MFC) is an efficient in-situ approach to combat pollutants and generate electricity. This study constructed a soil MFC (SMFC) to reduce Cr(VI) in paddy soil and investigate its influence on microbial community and microbial resistance characteristics. Fe3O4 nanoparticle as the cathodic catalyst effectively boosted power generation (0.97 V, 102.0 mW/m2), whose porous structure

Abstract. Healthy soils provide multiple functions that importantly contribute to human wellbeing, including primary production, climate and water regulation, and supporting biodiversity. These functions can partially be combined and some functions also clearly trade-off: this motivates soil multifunctionality research. Society needs scientists to help assess which soils are best for which soil functions

Abstract. Ground-based soil moisture measurements at the field scale are highly beneficial for different hydrological applications, including the validation of space-borne soil moisture products, landscape water budgeting, or multi-criteria calibration of rainfall–runoff models from field to catchment scale. Cosmic-ray neutron sensing (CRNS) allows for the non-invasive monitoring of field-scale soil

Abstract. Soil erosion is a serious problem worldwide, as it jeopardizes soil fertility and thus food security. At the same time, agriculture itself is one of the biggest drivers of soil erosion, and vineyards in particular are vulnerable due to often steep slopes, fragile soils, and management practices. Therefore, the search for alternative management practices becomes vital. Since soil erosion is

Abstract. Future global change is likely to give rise to novel combinations of the factors which enhance or inhibit soil erosion by water. Thus there is a need for erosion models, necessarily process-focused, which are able to reliably represent rates and extents of soil erosion under unprecedented circumstances. The process-focused cellular automaton erosion model RillGrow is, given initial soil surface

Abstract. Gully erosion can be combatted in severely affected regions like sub-Saharan Africa using various low-cost interventions that are accessible to affected farmers. For successful implementation, however, biophysical evidence of intervention effectiveness needs to be validated against the interests and priorities of local communities. Working with farmers in a watershed in southern Ethiopia

Abstract. Spatially explicit prediction of soil organic carbon (SOC) serves as a crucial foundation for effective land management strategies aimed at mitigating soil degradation and assessing carbon sequestration potential. Here, using more than 1000 in situ observations, we trained two machine learning models (a random forest model and a k-means coupled with multiple linear regression model) and one

Abstract. To effectively guide agricultural management planning strategies and policy, it is important to simulate water quantity and quality patterns and to quantify the impact of land use and climate change on soil functions, soil health, and hydrological and other underlying processes. Environmental models that depict alterations in surface and groundwater quality and quantity at the catchment scale

Abstract. The knowledge of the status and influential factors of soil nutrients including soil organic matter (SOM), nitrogen (N), potassium (K) and phosphorus (P), and acidification is the basis for sustainable management of tea plantations and thus the sustainability of tea industry. However, a study addressing this topic at a national level is lack. Thereby, we assessed the status, spatial variations

Abstract. Plaggic anthrosols demonstrate the significant and widespread influence of agriculture on the landscape of northern Europe and testify to increased land-use intensity over the last millennium. However, a lack of established chronologic methods to interrogate these soils has hindered research on their formation history, so the timing and process of plaggic anthrosol development remain poorly

Abstract. Understanding phenolic pollutants interaction with soil colloids has been a focus of extensive research, primarily under controlled conditions. This study addresses the need to explore these processes in a more natural, complex soil environment. We aim to enlighten the underlying mechanisms of hydroquinone (a representative phenolic pollutant) oxidation in ambient, MnO2-rich sandy soil within

Abstract. Phytoremediation can be a cost-effective method of restoring contaminated soils using plants and associated microorganisms. Most studies follow the impacts of phytoremediation solely across the treatment period and have not explored long-term ecological effects. In 1995, a phytoremediation study was initiated near Fairbanks, Alaska, to determine how the introduction of annual grasses and/or

Abstract. The implementation of agroecological practices often leads to additional soil organic carbon storage, and we have sought to assess the biogeochemical stability of this additional carbon. To achieve this, we implemented a multi-method approach using particle size and density fractionation, Rock-Eval® (RE) thermal analyses and long-term incubation (484 d), which we applied to topsoil samples

Abstract. Soil moisture, an essential parameter for hydroclimatic studies, exhibits significant spatial and temporal variability, making it challenging to map at fine spatiotemporal resolutions. Although current remote sensing products provide global soil moisture estimate at a fine temporal resolution, they are mostly at a coarse spatial resolution. In recent years, deep learning (DL) has been applied

Abstract. Breeding climate-robust crops is one of the needed pathways for adaptation to the changing climate. To speed up the breeding process, it is important to understand how plants react to extreme weather events such as drought or waterlogging in their production environment, i.e. under field conditions in real soils. Whereas a number of techniques exist for above-ground field phenotyping, simultaneous

Abstract. Permafrost thawing of northern peatlands can cause local collapse of peat plateaus into much wetter thermokarst bogs and fens, dominated by Sphagnum mosses and graminoids, respectively. However, permafrost thaw can also improve landscape drainage and thus lead to regional drying of peatlands. How gradual drying of these thawing permafrost peatlands affects the subsequent microbial production

Abstract. Microbial respiration, growth, and turnover are driving processes in the formation and decomposition of soil organic matter. In contrast to respiration and growth, microbial turnover and death currently lack distinct methods to be determined. Here we propose a new approach to determine microbial death rates and to improve measurements of microbial growth. By combining sequential DNA extraction

Abstract. Companies increasingly view soil degradation in their supply chains as a commercial risk. They have applied sustainability standards to manage environmental risks stemming from suppliers' farming operations. To examine the application of supply chain sustainability standards in soil protection, we conducted a study using global data on existing sustainability standards and their use in the

Abstract. Mineral P is an increasingly scarce resource and therefore the mobilisation of legacy soil P must be optimised to maintain soil fertility. We have used isotopic exchangeability to probe the lability of native soil P in four contrasting soils following acidification and the addition of carboxylate anions (citrate and oxalate) in soil suspension. Acidification tended to cause immobilisation

Abstract. Soil acidification poses a substantial threat to agricultural productivity by releasing salt ions, diminishing soil fertility, and increasing susceptibility to aluminum toxicity. The aim of the study was to investigate the potential improvement of acid yellow soil through the combined application of basalt powder, lime, and polyacrylamide (PAM). Herein, 0.1 g mixed basalt powder and CaO with

Abstract. It is unequivocal that human activities have increased emissions of greenhouse gases, that this is causing warming, and that these changes will be irreversible for centuries to millennia. Here, we show that our near-complete reliance on soil to produce the rapidly increasing quantities of food being demanded by humans has caused soil to release profound amounts of greenhouse gases that are

Abstract. In Iran, a significant percentage of agricultural soils are contaminated with a range of potentially toxic elements (PTEs), including Ni, which need to be remediated to prevent their entry into the food chain. Silicon (Si) is a beneficial plant element that has been shown to mitigate the effects of PTEs on crops. Biochar is a soil amendment that sequesters soil carbon and that can immobilize

Abstract. Seasonal freeze‒thaw (FT) processes alter soil formation and causes changes in soil structure in alpine ecosystems. Soil aggregates are basic soil structural units and play a crucial role in soil organic carbon (SOC) protection and microbial habitation. However, the impact of seasonal FT processes on pore structure and its impact on SOC fractions have been overlooked. This study characterized

Abstract. Integrated crop–pasture rotational systems can store larger soil organic carbon (SOC) stocks in the topsoil (0–20 cm) than continuous grain cropping. The aim of this study was to identify if the main determinant for this difference may be the avoidance of old C losses in integrated systems or the higher rate of new C incorporation associated with higher C input rates. We analyzed the temporal

Abstract. A substantial carbon (C) debt has been accrued due to long-term cropping for global food production emitting carbon dioxide from soil. However, the factors regulating the persistence of soil organic C (SOC) remain unclear, with this hindering our ability to develop effective land management strategies to sequester organic C in soil. Using a Ferralsol from semi-arid subtropical Australia,

Abstract. Monitoring soil structure is of paramount importance due to its key role in the critical zone as the foundation of terrestrial life. Variations in the arrangement of soil components significantly influence its hydro-mechanical properties, and therefore its impact on the surrounding ecosystem. In this context, soil compaction resulting from inappropriate agricultural practices not only affects

Abstract. Particulate organic carbon (POC) and mineral-associated organic carbon (MAOC), which are two primary components of the soil carbon (C) reservoir, have different physical and chemical properties as well as biochemical turnover rates. Microbial necromass entombment is a primary mechanism for MAOC formation from fast-decaying plant substrates, whereas POC is typically considered the product

Abstract. Soil functioning is intrinsically related to the structure of associated biological communities. This link is barely understood in the multispecies context of soil microbial communities, which often requires complex analytical approaches to discern structural and functional roles of microbial taxa inhabiting the soil. To investigate these ecological properties, we characterized the assembly

Abstract. Litter decomposition is an important factor affecting local and global C cycles. It is known that decomposition through soil microbial activity in ecosystems is mainly influenced by soil type and climatic conditions. However, for agroecosystems, there remains a need for a better understanding of how management practices influence litter decomposition. This study examined the effect of different

Abstract. As an increasing share of the human population is being clustered in cities, urban areas have swiftly become the epicentres of anthropogenic carbon (C) emissions. Understanding different parts of the biogenic C cycle in urban ecosystems is needed in order to assess the potential to enhance their C stocks as a cost-efficient means to balance the C emissions and mitigate climate change. Here

Abstract. Soil colloidal particles are the most active components of all, and they also vary in elemental composition and environmental behaviors with the particle size. The purposes of the present study are to clarify how particle size affects the physiochemical properties and aggregation kinetics of soil colloids, and to further reveal the underlying mechanisms. Soil colloidal particles from two