Generally, with increasing elevation, there is a corresponding decrease in annual mean air and soil temperatures, resulting in an overall decrease in ecosystem carbon dioxide (CO2) exchange. However, there is a lack of knowledge on the variations in CO2 exchange along elevation gradients in tundra ecosystems. Aiming to quantify CO2 exchange along elevation gradients in tundra ecosystems, we measured

Understanding the mechanisms that control soil organic carbon (SOC) persistence is central to soil management and climate change mitigation. In the present study, we utilised a chronosequence of Vertisols which have undergone land use change from native vegetation to cropping for up to 82 y in subtropical Australia. We examined whether the marked changes in SOC concentrations were associated with changes

Combatting desertification through vegetation restoration holds significant potential for soil carbon sequestration. However, understanding the effects of different restoration types on soil organic carbon component and the role of carbohydrate-active enzymes (CAZymes) remains limited. This study assessed soils from four distinct vegetation types, namely grassland desert (GD), desert steppe (DS), typical

The structure of soil pores plays a crucial role in determining the distribution and retention of particulate organic matter (POM) within soil aggregates, yet the specific effects of different straw return practices on POM stabilization through soil pore structure remain poorly understood. This study aimed to quantify and visualize soil macroaggregates POM distribution and pore structure using advanced

Soil sodicity, salinity, clay dispersion, and clay soil cracking are significant issues for modern agriculture, especially in arid and semi-arid regions of the world. Sodium adsorption ratio (SAR) has traditionally been used to estimate potential changes in infiltration rates or hydraulic conductivity when sodium cations dominate irrigation water quality. Recent research indicates that the cation ratio

Microbial communities within biocrusts fulfill important ecological functions, particularly in dryland environments. Identifying the optimal conditions for transporting and storing biocrusts is essential to preserve and accurately analyze their microbial communities. However, the effectiveness of these preservation methods remains poorly understood. In this study, we collected dry biocrusts at different

This study investigates the stratigraphy and carbon storage of the Verlorener Bach and Loosbach valley fills, of the Alpine Foothills in Bavaria, using a combination of electromagnetic induction (EMI), electrical resistivity tomography (ERT), direct push electrical conductivity sensing (DP-EC) and drilling cores. We identified three distinct stratigraphic units, with Unit I consisting of gravel deposits

The soil sorptivity, S, and saturated hydraulic conductivity, Ks, are fundamental soil hydraulic properties that can be estimated from the cumulative infiltration curve measured with a disc infiltrometer. The Haverkamp infiltration model is widely used to estimate S and Ks. This model includes as inputs the constants β and γ and the difference between the initial, θi, and final, θs, volumetric water

Earthworms’ activities not only increase soil nitrogen (N) uptake by crops but also lead to N losses to environment. However, it remains unclear whether earthworms’ impact on the fate of fertilizer N differs based on the type of fertilizer application. Therefore, the present pot experiment examined the transformation and fate of two types of 15N-labeled fertilizer (synthetic fertilizer urea and organic

Traditional aggregate stability methodologies, such as wet sieving, rainfall simulation, and chemical dispersion, measure aggregate size, rather than stability. Sonication methods allow for energy-based measurements of aggregate stability, but most methods involve sieving to obtain gravimetric measurements of particle size fractions, which increases labor and variability compared to volumetric measurements

Machine learning (ML) applications in soil science have significantly increased over the past two decades, reflecting a growing trend towards data-driven research addressing soil security. This extensive application has mainly focused on enhancing predictions of soil properties, particularly soil organic carbon, and improving the accuracy of digital soil mapping (DSM). Despite these advancements, the

Investigation of the thermostability and solubility of ammonium-bearing clay minerals is essential for assessing the inorganic nitrogen preservation by minerals and revealing the fate of inorganic nitrogen in soil. In this study, natural ammonium illite and laboratory-prepared ammonium montmorillonite were systematically characterized to explore their mineralogical characteristics, thermostability

Draining peatlands for agriculture transforms them into significant carbon (C) sources. Restoring drained peatlands is increasingly recognized as a climate action strategy to reduce terrestrial greenhouse gas emissions. Restoration efforts often require accurate inputs, like peat thickness (PT), for C-stock estimation and monitoring; however, these are often lacking or available at suboptimal accuracy

Understanding the formation and stabilization of soil organic carbon (SOC) is essential for predicting SOC dynamics. Traditionally, it was believed that SOC accumulates primarily through the selective retention of recalcitrant plant lignin components. However, an emerging hypothesis suggests that microbial necromass adsorbed onto mineral-associated soil fractions play a more significant role in promoting

The Loess Plateau of China (LPC) is one of the most severely eroded areas in the arid and semi-arid regions of northern China. Improving soil aggregate stability and hierarchy in Calcaric Regosol is vital for mitigating soil erosion. However, Calcaric Regosol exhibits weak aggregate hierarchy, and there is limited correlation between its aggregate stability and soil organic matter (SOM). Arbuscular

Soil respiration (Rs), a critical component of the global carbon (C) cycle, is sensitive to changes in nitrogen (N) deposition. However, the temporal dynamics of the effects of long-term (≥ five years) N addition and its cessation on Rs in forests remain uncertain. We conducted a continuous field experiment, which included three years of N cessation after seven years of N addition at different rates

The fresh carbon (C) induced priming effect (PE) on soil organic C (SOC) decomposition is critical for global C cycling. Climate warming could raise absorptive roots production and turnover, and then increase the input of absorptive roots litter (ABRL). Therefore, it is urgent to understand the PE induced by ABRL under warming. We conducted a 210-day experiment by adding ABRL of Cunninghamia lanceolata

In 2023, the European Commission released a legislative proposal for a Directive on Soil Monitoring and Resilience which aims to define a legal framework to achieve healthy soils across the European Union (EU) by 2050. A key component of the initial Directive is the mandate for Member States to establish basic geographic soil governance units, referred to as soil districts, and appoint a district-specific

The long-term persistence of biochar in soil is often predicted by extrapolating mineralization data from short-term laboratory incubations. Single first-order, double first-order, triple first-order and power models have been employed for this purpose, all of which have an inherent assumption that biochar is biodegradable. However, recent insights challenge this assumption by suggesting that a large

Soil cracking induced by extreme drought represents a widespread natural phenomenon occurring across the earth surface, capable of triggering multiple weakening mechanisms within surface soils, potentially leading to the instability and failure of slopes and agricultural infrastructures. This study proposes an innovative geophysical monitoring framework for detecting field soil cracking by combining

Agricultural practices that promote the formation of soil organic matter (SOM) are considered important climate change mitigation strategies by increasing resilience to climate shocks and promoting soil carbon sequestration. Efforts to increase root production and depth distribution through planting deep rooted crops and selective crop breeding have been identified as a promising strategy to achieve

Long-term excessive fertilization and irrigation under greenhouse cultivation systems cause nitrogen leaching, while the residual content varies at different soil depths with cultivation durations. However, it remains unclear whether it changes the composition and assemblage of the soil bacterial community, especially at deeper layers (as deep as 4 m), after long-term intensified cultivation. This

Soil amendments enhance phytoremediation utilizing trees, have attracted considerable attention because of their low cost, great benefits and huge potential. It’s demonstrated that amendments facilitate the metal immobilization via adjusting soil pH and metal availability, while the underlying mechanism on amendments improving phytoremediation efficiency remains unclear. In our previous studies, the

Soil biodiversity and the structure of soil animal communities are important foundations for forest ecosystem functions. Forest gap formation is an important forest management practice used to transform monocultures into mixed forests. However, whether and how gap size and age affect soil biodiversity and modify nematode communities remains limited. We manipulated gap size (100, 200, and 400 m2) in

Extracellular enzymes play a key role in mediating organic matter decomposition in soils and the mobility of enzymes is largely controlled by their interaction with soil surfaces. The introduction of pyrogenic products, including biochar produced for the purpose of carbon sequestration or soil health management, may alter the ecological functioning of soil. In this work, we studied the adsorption of

The influence of parent material mineralogy on nutrient release rates in wood production forests remains poorly understood, despite its importance for sustainable forest management. This study investigated how parent material mineralogy impacts soil nutrient abundance and release rates. We studied three forests in Vermont and New Hampshire across a Ca and Mg richness gradient within the soil parent

The concept of soil health recognizes soil as a living and dynamic natural system, a notion that aptly fits in the realm of biology. However, soil health tests and scoring tools are often dominated by indicators other than soil biology, such as soil fertility and chemistry. Biological indicators of soil health remain understudied and underrepresented in soil health assessments. To address this gap

The addition of natural or synthetic zeolites induces changes in a soil’s chemical, physical, and biological characteristics. Zeolites possess intricate internal frameworks that allow them to modify soil structure and texture, thereby impacting soil hydrological properties. This potential offers opportunities to control soil and groundwater pollution as well as optimize irrigation management practices

Maize (Zea mays L.) fertilizer nitrogen (N) recovery efficiency (FNRE) shows regional differences in China, and is more strongly affected by soil properties than by climate. However, how soil factors regulate maize FNRE is poorly understood. Herein, 15N tracer pot experiments combined with absolute microbial quantification sequencing were conducted using eight soils covering the main maize cropping

Slope shape as a consequence of erosional landform development plays a prominent role in soil erosion. Clarifying the distribution of soil erosion and deposition patterns on different shaped slopes is crucial for soil erosion control. The aim of this study was to decipher the effects of slope shape on soil erosion and deposition patterns under natural rainfall conditions based on high-resolution unmanned

We are far from understanding the spatial patterns of dryland soil carbon and nitrogen stocks and how they vary among different land cover types. We used data from 12,000 sites from 129 countries in global drylands to estimate soil organic carbon (SOC) and total nitrogen (STN) stocks in different land cover types, explore the factors driving their spatial distribution, and predict the trends under

Digital soil mapping (DSM) is transforming how we understand and manage soil resources, offering high-resolution spatial–temporal soil information essential for addressing environmental challenges. The integration of environmental covariates has advanced soil mapping accuracy, while the potential of neighboring soil sample data has been largely overlooked. This study introduces soil spatial neighbor

Soil organic carbon (SOC) and soil inorganic carbon (SIC) are of longstanding interest due to their relationship with other key soil properties and indications for soil health and carbon storage. At the USDA-NRCS Kellogg Soil Survey Laboratory (KSSL), total carbon (SOC + SIC) is determined via dry combustion analysis, while calcium carbonate (CaCO3) equivalent is determined via manocalcimetry. For

Drainage is a crucial soil hydrological process that governs the partitioning of rainfall into runoff, groundwater recharge, soil water storage and evapotranspiration. Despite its significance, the drainage process is poorly understood due to the difficulty in direct measurements and insufficient understanding of its underlying physical mechanisms. To address these challenges, we present an innovative

Understanding and predicting the aging process of exogenous selenium (Se) in soil is crucial for Se biofortification. However, the long-term aging of selenite in various soils has rarely been reported, and the key factors influencing this aging process remain unclear. Our study involved nineteen typical Chinese soils with varying physiochemical properties, all spiked with potassium selenite (1.0 mg

As an essential nutrient element for biological growth and metabolism, sulfur is closely interlinked with the carbon and nitrogen cycles, and it is one of the limiting elements for grassland productivity. Here we investigated the spatial distribution of sulfur contents and 34S stable isotope along the North China Transect (NCT), with the aim to explore the shaping role of the aridity index (AI) gradient

The role of soil organic carbon (SOC) is crucial not only for numerous soil functions and processes but also for addressing various environmental crises and challenges we face. Consequently, the demand for information on the spatiotemporal variability of SOC is increasing, posing new methodological challenges, such as the need for information on SOC and SOC changes with quantified uncertainty across

Biocrusts are an important component of dryland ecosystems as they perform crucial ecological functions like stabilizing soils, mediating the hydrological cycle, and improving nutrient availability. The high mechanical stability of biocrusts is understood to be linked to exopolymeric substances (EPS), which in turn, are responsible for the adsorption of various ions and chemical compounds. This study

Livestock grazing may affect small mammalian herbivore-soil microbe interactions and their association with the structure and functions of the ecosystem. However, the role of factors such as vegetation and soil nutrients in regulating these impacts is not clear. Here we conducted a 9-year experiment in temperate steppe to study how Brandt’s vole (Lasiopodomys brandtii) affects the soil microbial community

The sub-lethal ecotoxicity of field-contaminated soils toward small soil fauna, such as enchytraeids, remains understudied but holds paramount importance in soil pollution assessment. This study employed Enchytraeus crypticus to evaluate metal-contaminated soils from a mining area across various levels of biological organization, including individual level responses (survival, growth, reproduction

Farmland soil shows strong heterogeneity due to crop rotations and fertilizer inputs, and characterization of soil heterogeneity will benefit understanding soil management. In this study, the technique of laser induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) was used to investigate the heterogeneity of paddy soil in-situ at mesoscale (20 μm ∼ 2 mm) under long term input of controlled release nitrogen. Principal

Effects of human activities and climate change on temporal stability of terrestrial ecosystems remains controversial. This study explored the spatiotemporal patterns and driving mechanisms of the temporal stability of soil organic carbon (SOC), total nitrogen (TN), total phosphorus (TP), their ratios (C:N, C:P, N:P), and pH at 0–10 cm, 10–20 cm, and 20–30 cm in the Tibetan grasslands during 2000–2020

Replant diseases (RDs), intraspecificnegativeplant–soilfeedback, often stem from nutrient deficiency, allelopathy, or pathogen accumulation. However, the RDs of certain crops are long-lasting and their causes remain unknown. We examined Panax quinquefolius RD in a space-for-time soil sequence representing crop rotation restoration over 1, 10, and 20 years using multiomics and bioassays. Compared with

Soil temperature and soil moisture are key drivers of various soil ecological processes, which implies a significant importance of datasets including their variations in space, depth and time (4D). Current gridded products typically have a low resolution, either spatially or temporally. Here, we aim at modelling and explaining high-resolution soil temperature and soil moisture patterns in 4D for a

Urban water management has been increasingly relying on infiltration to limit the environmental impact of stormwater, secondary treated effluent and gray water. The infiltration systems used are generally based on non-renewable drainage materials featuring a pronounced ecological footprint (i.e., excavation and transport), such as gravel. This paper investigates the possibility of using woodchips instead

Agriculture faces the dual challenge of sustainably increasing productivity to meet the food demand of a rapidly growing population and adapting to climate change. Despite significant efforts to develop more adaptive and productive crop cultivars and to improve water and nutrient management practices, the potential of crops to tackle this challenge by optimizing soil resource utilization remains underexplored

Long-term continuouscroppingcan lead to the deterioration of soil environment and the decrease of soil productivity. However, the biological mechanism on the negative effects of long-term continuous cropping has not been extensively explored. Soil nematode food web with multiple trophic levels play critical roles in nutrient cycling and energy flowing in the agroecosystem. Quantifying the carbon flux

In arid environments, prospecting cultivable land is challenging due to harsh climatic conditions and vast, hard-to-access areas. However, the soil is often bare, with little vegetation cover, making it easy to observe from above. Hence, remote sensing can drastically reduce costs to explore these areas. For the past few years, deep learning has extended remote sensing analysis, first with Convolutional

In situ monitoring of the temporal and spatial distribution of soil moisture and thermal properties are important for studying the water and energy transport in the vadose zone. The single-probe heat-pulse method based on fiber Bragg grating technology (SPHP-FBG) has become a research focus in field monitoring because of its capability to realize quasi-distributed and real-time monitoring. However

Fungi, serving as real-time bioindicators to environmental changes and stressors, are crucial for effective forest conservation and management practices under ongoing global change. However, the large-scale assessment of soil fungi still encounters challenges in striking a balance between the extensive sampling costs and the limited accuracy of minimal sampling. In this study, we analyzed 1,606 soil

Earthworms are keystone regulators of carbon exchange between terrestrial ecosystems and the atmosphere. However, exactly how earthworms regulate the composition of microbial and plant-derived carbon in soil organic matter remains poorly understood. Here we conducted a microcosm experiment with two species of endogeic earthworms (Drawida gisti and Metaphire guillelmi) to investigate their effects on

Soil information is critical for a wide range of land resource and environmental decisions. These decisions will be compromised when the soil information quality is unsatisfactory. Thus, users of soil information need to understand and consider the uncertainty of the available soil information and be able to judge whether it is fit for purpose. The uncertainty information provided with the SoilGrids2

Thermal conductivity is one of the important properties required for understanding the frozen soils behavior. There are several models available in the literature for the prediction of thermal conductivity of frozen soils based on the proportions of unfrozen water, ice, gas, and soil particles. In this study, two ensemble learning methods-based models; namely, the Random Forest (RF) model and the Least

Soil quality is used to assess the soil’s ability to maintain ecological and environmental quality as well as agricultural productivity. A unique indicator associated with land use pressure is agricultural land value. Because land value is assessed at a property scale and regularly updated, we considered land value to be a good proxy for agricultural intensification. We therefore tested whether a relationship

Manganese (Mn) is an essential cofactor for lignin-degrading enzymes and crucial for nutrient cycling and ecosystem functions. During litter decomposition, Mn may accumulate to fulfill the microbial demand for degrading recalcitrant substances such as lignin, which is reflected in the relative increase in Mn in decomposing litter compared with its initial amount. However, a global-scale quantification

Soil aggregate stability measurement is essential to determine soil health status under various conditions. The Mean Weight Diameter (MWD) is the most applied index to express aggregate stability particularly for wet and dry sieving. However, the MWD could generally present results affected by pre-stress aggregate size distribution when remained aggregates after stress are considered for calculation

Due to climate change, human activities and natural disturbances in high-latitude permafrost and seasonally frozen areas are gradually increasing, attracting more attention from scholars. However, research primarily focuses on soil biology and chemistry in these regions, with limited exploration of their mechanical properties, especially compression properties. This study aims to evaluate the effects

Climate warming can be detrimental to biodiversity and ecosystem multifunctionality. Numerous studies have examined the effect of warming on ecosystem multifunctionality; however, little is known about how long-term warming affects ecosystem multifunctionality and its seasonal dynamics. Here, we determined the effects of long-term (10 years) in-situ soil warming on multitrophic diversity (plants, soil

In situ visible–near infrared spectroscopy holds great potential in providing information supporting field applications, decision making and management in soil science, especially combined with the information present in the archived soil spectra. However, soil moisture can drastically affect the reflectance curve and reduce prediction accuracy. The external parameter orthogonalization (EPO) can remove