Soil & Tillage Research最新文献

{"title":"Vertical and horizontal decreases in soil particle size distribution range along deep soil profiles (∼20 m) in Chinese loess deposits","authors":"Zixuan Zhou ,&nbsp;Yunqiang Wang ,&nbsp;Lijun Qi ,&nbsp;Shushi Peng","doi":"10.1016/j.still.2025.106987","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.still.2025.106987","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Soil particle size distribution (PSD), a fundamental and vital soil physical property, influences the physical, chemical and biological processes in terrestrial ecosystems. However, the vertical and horizontal variations of soil PSD have not been fully elucidated in deep soil profiles due to observational constraints, with most knowledge gained from surface soils. Therefore, we obtained a total of 1320 soil samples from 22 soil profiles with a maximum depth of 21 m on a hillslope of the Chinese Loess Plateau, and applied fractal theory (single fractal and multifractal dimensions) to describe soil PSD. We found mean values of <em>D</em> (the single fractal dimension), <em>D</em>_<em>0</em> (the capacity dimension, representing the PSD's range), <em>D</em>_<em>1</em> (the information entropy dimension, representing the PSD's concentration), <em>D</em>_<em>2</em> (the correlation dimension, representing the PSD's uniformity), <em>D</em>_<em>1</em><em>/D</em>_<em>0</em>, <em>Δα</em> (representing the distribution’s heterogeneity of the whole fractal structure) and <em>Δf</em> (representing the asymmetry characteristic of the singularity spectra) in loess deposits were 2.20 ± 0.06, 0.94 ± 0.02, 0.85 ± 0.01, 0.80 ± 0.02, 0.90 ± 0.02, 2.31 ± 0.45, and 0.57 ± 0.07 (mean ± standard deviation), respectively. Mean values of <em>D</em>, <em>D</em>_<em>0</em>, <em>D</em>_<em>1</em>, <em>D</em>_<em>2</em>, <em>Δα</em> and <em>Δf</em> decreased with soil depth, while <em>D</em>_<em>1</em><em>/D</em>_<em>0</em> increased with depth, suggesting the overall homogeneity of PSD increased within 0–21 m soil profiles in the Loess Plateau. Additionally, <em>D</em>_<em>0</em> decreased significantly along deep soil profiles in both vertical and horizontal directions, indicating that the PSD occupied a relatively narrower range in deeper soil layers compared with the surface. In summary, our study confirms that the spatial heterogeneity of the PSD decreased with soil depth in loess deposits, mainly manifested in a reduced multifractal dimension <em>D</em>_<em>0</em> (i.e., the PSD's range decreased), which improves the fundamental knowledge for predicting deep soil properties in Earth's Critical Zone.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49503,"journal":{"name":"Soil & Tillage Research","volume":"258 ","pages":"Article 106987"},"PeriodicalIF":6.8,"publicationDate":"2026-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145685395","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Occasional tillage in no-till systems: A global meta-analysis on its frequency, causes, and agronomic implications","authors":"Yanfei Yan ,&nbsp;Haoyu Li ,&nbsp;Min Zhang ,&nbsp;Xiwei Liu ,&nbsp;Yaokuo Wang ,&nbsp;Lingxin Zhang ,&nbsp;Zhijian Ma ,&nbsp;Yuxian Jiang ,&nbsp;Min Yang ,&nbsp;Ruiguo Cai","doi":"10.1016/j.still.2025.107022","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.still.2025.107022","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>No-tillage (NT) is a crucial component of conservation tillage and an efficient approach for implementing sustainable agriculture. However, prolonged NT (≥5 years) may have negative impacts, such as soil compaction, weed control issues, and increased incidence of soil- and plant-vectored infections, which ultimately reduce crop yields, especially when NT is adopted alone and not together with the other pillars of conservation agriculture. In cases where such problems occur, occasional tillage (OT) has been proposed as a potential solution to alleviate these problems, but it is unclear how often NT systems should be tilled to optimize yields. Thus, we conducted a meta-analysis to assess how OT affects crop yields and soil properties, as well as identifying the key factors that determine yield performance and the operational time required for OT in long-term NT systems. We investigated the effects of OT versus NT on crop yields and soil properties based on 94 articles and 1079 paired comparisons from around the world. The results showed that OT significantly increased crop yields (overall effect value for all crops) by 3.2 % compared with NT. The key factors that influenced crop yields under OT included tillage practices, crop types, mean annual temperature (MAT), experimental duration (ED), mean annual precipitation (MAP), and soil type. Specifically, the yield response to OT varied significantly among subgroups. Notably higher relative increases were observed for Phaeozems (WRB classification; 26.4 %), subsoiler use (&gt;30 cm depth; 7.1 %), wheat (<em>Triticum aestivum</em> L.; 6.3 %), biannual cropping (5.5 %), and under specific climatic conditions (MAT 8–16℃: 6.8 %; MAP &gt;1200 mm: 3.6 %). Critically, a single OT operation was most effective when implemented early in the NT phase (&lt;6 years), coinciding with the initial onset of soil compaction. Compared with NT, OT led to reductions in the soil bulk density, soil organic carbon, and total nitrogen, and improved the soil water content, soil porosity, available phosphorus and potassium. These changes in the soil properties partly explain the crop yield increases under OT. In summary, this meta-analysis demonstrates that OT is an effective strategy for mitigating the adverse effects of long-term NT under specific conditions to promote sustainable agricultural development. However, adopting OT requires a careful assessment of local conditions and system-specific constraints to ensure its efficacy and sustainability.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49503,"journal":{"name":"Soil & Tillage Research","volume":"258 ","pages":"Article 107022"},"PeriodicalIF":6.8,"publicationDate":"2026-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145784850","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Regenerative agriculture effects on biomass, drought resilience and 14C-photosynthate allocation in wheat drilled into ley compared to disc or ploughed arable soil","authors":"Nichola Austen ,&nbsp;Elizabeth Short ,&nbsp;Stefanie Tille ,&nbsp;Irene Johnson ,&nbsp;Richard Summers ,&nbsp;Duncan D. Cameron ,&nbsp;Jonathan R. Leake","doi":"10.1016/j.still.2025.107016","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.still.2025.107016","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Regenerative agriculture practices including leys and no-tillage facilitate biological reassembly of soil aggregates, increasing water, carbon and nutrient storage, but how this effects crop biomass, photosynthate partitioning, and drought resilience is unclear. To address this, we took monoliths growing semi-dwarf and taller wheat genotypes from 3-year plots that were ploughed or disc cultivated, or direct-drilled into a grass-clover ley and applied 35 kg N ha⁻¹. Half the monoliths received a spring drought, then all were watered and the wheat ¹⁴CO₂ pulse-labelled at stem elongation. The ley soil had lower bulk density, stored more water, and the taller wheat genotype maintained 8-fold higher proportion of water-stable macroaggregates despite unexpectedly having the smaller root biomass. Yields on the ley soil (3.74 t ha⁻¹) were 77 % −123 % higher than on ploughed and disc cultivated soils, and unaffected by genotype or drought, despite its &gt; 70 % reduction in root biomass. Of the ¹⁴C initially retained in wheat, 72 % was in shoots, with root allocation decreasing by 75–90 % in droughted ley soil, and at harvest soil retained &lt; 1 % of the ¹⁴C, with significantly lower values for taller wheat, and ley. We conclude that soil health regeneration in the ley enhanced wheat yields, but reduced photosynthate allocation to root biomass under drought. Although taller wheat maintained better macroaggregation in ley soil, this was not explained by root biomass or photosynthate allocation and unexpectedly failed to increase soil ¹⁴C sequestration. We find no evidence that ley regeneration of macroaggregation enhances soil C sequestration under wheat, despite higher yields.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49503,"journal":{"name":"Soil & Tillage Research","volume":"258 ","pages":"Article 107016"},"PeriodicalIF":6.8,"publicationDate":"2026-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145925525","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Thickness variation of black soil on sloping farmland in northeast China from 1963 to 2023","authors":"Chang Liu ,&nbsp;Gang Liu ,&nbsp;Chenxi Dan ,&nbsp;Enshuai Shen ,&nbsp;Ya Liu ,&nbsp;Qiong Zhang ,&nbsp;Han Luo ,&nbsp;Chutian Zhang ,&nbsp;Zhen Guo ,&nbsp;Kaishan Song","doi":"10.1016/j.still.2025.107005","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.still.2025.107005","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The black soil thickness (BST) serves as a critical indicator for assessing soil quality in northeast China. Nevertheless, the spatial distribution and variability of BST in sloping farmland remain inadequately understood. Especially, after many years of cultivation and erosion, this spatial variability increased. The aim of this research is to examine the variations in the BST on sloping farmland over the past semi-century. Three slopes in 150–200 m length with shapes of straight, convex, and concave in Bin County, Heilongjiang Province, were selected. The ¹³⁷Cs nuclide tracing technology and ground-penetrating radar technology were utilized to analyze the distribution characteristics of soil erosion-deposition and BST on the three slopes, respectively. Furthermore, the distribution characteristics of BST on the three slopes over the past semi-century were reconstructed by using the historical soil erosion-deposition rates. The findings revealed that the soil erosion rate, arranged in descending order, are as follows: concave slope, convex slope, straight slope. The average BST in 2023 is as follows: convex slope &gt; straight slope &gt; concave slope, whereas in 1963 is as follows: concave slope &gt; convex slope &gt; straight slope. The reconstructed BST indicates notable variations in thickness across different shapes of slopes. In the past semi-century, the average soil erosion rate on three slopes were 0.17 cm a⁻¹. However, the processes of erosion and deposition occurring on concave and convex slopes resulted solely in alterations to the local slope gradient, without influencing the overall classification of the slope type. Consequently, this study provided a precise depiction of the spatial variation characteristics and thinning rate of the black soil in past years, that can furnish a scientific foundation for forecasting soil erosion and safeguarding black soil resources.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49503,"journal":{"name":"Soil & Tillage Research","volume":"258 ","pages":"Article 107005"},"PeriodicalIF":6.8,"publicationDate":"2026-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145685907","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Soil stoichiometric C/N and nitrogen availability jointly shape fungal and bacterial necromass carbon accumulation across ecosystems","authors":"Baorong Wang ,&nbsp;Deng Ao ,&nbsp;Chao Liang ,&nbsp;Kate Buckeridge ,&nbsp;Chunhui Liu ,&nbsp;Yang Yang ,&nbsp;Yao Li ,&nbsp;Huijun Li ,&nbsp;Zhongming Wen ,&nbsp;Shaoshan An","doi":"10.1016/j.still.2025.107042","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.still.2025.107042","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Microbial necromass constitutes a major and stable component of soil organic carbon (SOC) in terrestrial ecosystems. However, despite plant-derived inputs largely regulate substrate quality and soil organic matter (SOM) carbon to nitrogen (C/N) ratios and shape the composition of living microbial communities, fundamental differences in resource acquisition, death pathways, and residue chemistry between fungi and bacteria decouple living biomass from necromass accumulation. Whether fungal and bacterial necromass are subject to same SOM C/N constraints across ecosystems remains an open question. Here, we combined 1600 global SOM and microbial necromass records from global ecosystems (C/N: 3.8–58) through meta-analysis and 768 field measurement samples from Loess Plateau, spanning croplands, biocrusts, grasslands, shrublands, and forests (C/N: 6–72), representing diverse SOM qualities. We found both fungal and bacterial necromass C increased with rising SOM C/N ratios, and the consistency of this pattern from the Loess Plateau to the global scale underscores a universal role of SOM C/N control in shaping microbial necromass C. Fungal necromass C increased with increasing SOM C/N ratios, reflecting fungi advantage in processing complex organic matter under relatively N-poor conditions. Its accumulation was strongly associated with SOC, total N, and particulate organic C, reinforcing its contribution to SOC accumulation. Conversely, bacterial necromass C responded primarily to dissolved N and microbial biomass C, pointing to distinct, resource-dependent pathways of microbial necromass accumulation across microbial groups. Despite increases in microbial necromass C content and SOM C/N ratios, necromass accumulation coefficient declined, suggesting that N limitation accelerates microbial necromass recycling for biomass production and constrains net storage. Overall, by revealing the dual mechanism of necromass production driven by plant-mediated SOM complexity and necromass reutilization regulated by N availability, this work provides critical insights into the stoichiometric C/N controls shaping microbial necromass dynamics, offering a foundation for strategies to optimize nutrient management and enhance SOC sequestration in future ecosystems.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49503,"journal":{"name":"Soil & Tillage Research","volume":"258 ","pages":"Article 107042"},"PeriodicalIF":6.8,"publicationDate":"2026-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145840667","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Integrating soil spectral libraries with laboratory hyperspectral imaging for profile organic carbon prediction in paddy soils","authors":"Shuo Li ,&nbsp;Yuwei Zhou ,&nbsp;Abdul Mounem Mouazen ,&nbsp;Songchao Chen ,&nbsp;Raphael A. Viscarra Rossel ,&nbsp;Asim Biswas ,&nbsp;Wenjun Ji ,&nbsp;Zhou Shi ,&nbsp;Shanqin Wang","doi":"10.1016/j.still.2025.107028","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.still.2025.107028","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>To promote soil organic carbon (SOC) storage and to meet growing food demand with limited land, it is essential to understand the spatial characteristics of SOC across the entire profile of paddy soils. The establishment of soil spectral libraries (SSLs) at various geographical scales has made near-infrared (NIR: 700–1100 nm) and shortwave-infrared (SWIR: 1100–2500 nm) hyperspectral imaging (HSI) more feasible for the rapid and cost-effective estimation of SOC. This study aimed to integrate SSLs with HSI for fine-scale mapping of elemental concentrations with a high spatial resolution of 1 mm per pixel (image size: 980 × 160 pixels) with a spectral range of 900–1700 nm. We apply SOC-reflectance calibrations from Global Soil Spectral Library (GSSL) to an independent local field site for the entire profile in paddy soils to a depth of 1-m, combined with spectral similarity with continuum removal (SS-CR) analysis, three spectral matching methods (<em>e.g.</em>, Euclidean distances [ED], Mahalanobis distances [MD], and Spectral angle mapper [SAM]) and two modeling algorithms (<em>e.g.</em>, random forest [RF] and Cubist). Additionally, we compared the performance of different Global and Local models in characterizing the distribution of SOC across the entire profile. Results indicated that although the Cubist-Local model provided good prediction accuracy (<em>R</em>² ≥ 0.77, RMSE ≤ 0.77 %, RPIQ ≥ 1.90), its ability to fine-scale mapping of the profile SOC was limited. In contrast, the RF-Local model based on the ED spectral matching method (ED-RF-Local) not only achieved the best performance (<em>R</em>² = 0.80, RMSE = 0.78 %, RPIQ = 1.86), but also successfully mapped SOC across the entire soil profile. This model used two-fifths of the samples compared to the Global model. The findings of this study provide a valuable reference for SOC prediction and mapping at the field scale and across the entire soil profile using HSI techniques and GSSL, emphasizing the potential for predictions in paddy soils with high vertical resolution.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49503,"journal":{"name":"Soil & Tillage Research","volume":"258 ","pages":"Article 107028"},"PeriodicalIF":6.8,"publicationDate":"2026-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145884530","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"High-resolution mapping of soil mechanical properties by integrating geophysical sensors and terrain attributes","authors":"Ameesh Khatkar,&nbsp;Triven Koganti,&nbsp;Amélie Beucher,&nbsp;Alvaro Calleja-Huerta,&nbsp;Lars Juhl Munkholm,&nbsp;Mathieu Lamandé","doi":"10.1016/j.still.2025.107019","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.still.2025.107019","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Soil mechanical properties are essential for evaluating its strength and stability when subjected to stress from farm machinery. Conventional methods for measuring these properties are often slow, labour-intensive, and destructive. This study presents a novel approach that utilizes on-the-go proximal soil sensors (PSS), specifically electromagnetic induction (EMI) and gamma-ray spectroscopy (GRS), alongside terrain attributes, to evaluate their effectiveness in estimating three key soil mechanical properties: (1) precompression stress (σ_pc), (2) compression index (C_C), and (3) strain at 100 kPa (Ɛ_100kPa). For this, a geophysical survey and soil sampling were conducted across three arable fields, yielding 129 bulk soil samples and 516 intact soil cores (100 cm³) collected from 69 sampling points at two depths (0.15 and 0.40 m). Uniaxial confined compression tests (UCCT) were conducted to measure these mechanical properties, with multiple linear regression (MLR) applied for their estimation and cross-validation with the leave-one-out method (LOOCV). Both site-specific and unified datasets were analyzed, revealing higher prediction accuracy at 0.15 m compared to 0.40 m depth. Among the examined soil mechanical properties, C_C was estimated most accurately, followed by σ_pc and Ɛ_100kPa. Estimates of σ_pc derived from on-the-go PSS combined with terrain attributes substantially outperformed those obtained from the existing pedotransfer function. Furthermore, digital maps of these properties were successfully generated to visualize their spatial variability at the field scale. This study shows that on-the-go PSS provide a rapid, field-scale and non-destructive framework for estimating soil mechanical properties, supporting improved soil compaction assessment and monitoring.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49503,"journal":{"name":"Soil & Tillage Research","volume":"258 ","pages":"Article 107019"},"PeriodicalIF":6.8,"publicationDate":"2026-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145902300","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"While legume-based rotation influences the chemical composition of mineral-associated organic matter, tillage has little effect on its persistence","authors":"Paulina B. Ramírez ,&nbsp;Surendra Singh ,&nbsp;Stephen Machado ,&nbsp;Roser Matamala ,&nbsp;Shikha Singh ,&nbsp;Francisco Calderón","doi":"10.1016/j.still.2025.107014","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.still.2025.107014","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Legume-based rotations are key to enhancing soil carbon (C) storage in stable forms such as mineral-associated organic matter (MAOM), improving soil health, and helping maintain long-term C stock. This study investigates how plant inputs and tillage practices influence the distribution, composition, and persistence of MAOM in wheat cropping systems when legumes are incorporated into the rotation. Soil samples were collected from Walla Walla silty loam of northeast Oregon, including conventional tillage (CT) and no-till (NT) treatments in a long-term dryland winter wheat (<em>Triticum aestivum L</em>.) and spring pea (<em>Pisum sativum L</em>.) rotation experiment, with an adjacent grass pasture (GP) plot serving as the baseline. Bulk soil, particulate organic matter (POM), and MAOM fractions were scanned using mid-infrared (Mid-IR) spectroscopy and analyzed for total C and nitrogen (N) as well as radiocarbon age, aggregate stability, and mineralizable C. In WP systems, NT promoted greater C accumulation and stabilization in MAOM than CT, reaching levels similar to those under native GP conditions. Furthermore, our findings indicate that decades of continuous legume-based rotation were insufficient to restore total bulk C content to levels observed in the undisturbed reference site (GP) in the 0–30 cm layer, with increases limited to the surface layer. The Mid-IR data provided insights into how cultivation may alter the chemical composition of MAOM. An increase in amide bands was observed in GP, while legume-based rotation systems favored an abundance of aliphatic (C-H) components in the MAOM fraction. In cultivated soils, C in MAOM exhibited longer residence times under arable conditions than in grassland, while POM remained an actively cycled pool across all treatments. Despite variations in the chemical composition of MAOM across treatments, mineralizable C emissions from MAOM fractions remained statistically unchanged during the 96-hour incubation period. Our findings suggest that soil physical protection, enhanced by reduced tillage, is the primary factor influencing MAOM cycling.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49503,"journal":{"name":"Soil & Tillage Research","volume":"258 ","pages":"Article 107014"},"PeriodicalIF":6.8,"publicationDate":"2026-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145732410","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Long-term green manure incorporation increases soil carbon sequestration and improves aggregate stability by changing organic carbon components","authors":"Yulu Chen ,&nbsp;Li Huang ,&nbsp;Shaomin Huang ,&nbsp;Tengfei Guo ,&nbsp;Shuiqing Zhang ,&nbsp;Doudou Guo ,&nbsp;Xiao Song ,&nbsp;Shijie Ding ,&nbsp;Muhammad Mehran ,&nbsp;Yongqiang Yang ,&nbsp;Ke Yue ,&nbsp;Sumiao Su ,&nbsp;Mingjian Geng ,&nbsp;Huimin Zhang","doi":"10.1016/j.still.2025.107024","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.still.2025.107024","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Dissolved organic carbon (DOC), the most labile fraction of soil organic carbon (SOC), plays a vital role in ecosystem functioning and soil productivity. However, the influence of long-term green manure application on DOC composition and its role in soil aggregate formation and carbon stabilization remains unclear. This study investigated changes in DOC composition and their effects on aggregate stability and carbon sequestration in two rice-green manure rotation trials long-5 years in Jingzhou (JZ) and 36 years in Qiyang (QY), China. Treatments included rice-winter fallow (WF), rice-Chinese milk vetch (MV), rice-oilseed rape (RP), and rice-ryegrass (RG). At the JZ test site, 5-year MV incorporation slightly improved aggregate stability, measured by mean weight diameter (MWD) and geometric mean diameter (GMD), but without significant changes. In contrast, at QY, 36-year MV and RG incorporation significantly enhanced both MWD and GMD. Green manure addition increased SOC and DOC contents and enhanced the molecular complexity of DOC, reflected by higher molecular weight, aromaticity, and humification degree. DOC was primarily derived from plant residues and microbial metabolites, with green manure application enhancing microbial contributions. Fluorescence spectroscopy identified three DOC components: bioavailable, humic-like, and protein-like. While DOC composition at JZ remained largely unchanged after 5 years of MV incorporation, 36 years of MV and RG incorporation at QY facilitated the transformation of protein-like into humic-like components. SOC, humic-like DOC, and the humification index (HIX), were the key drivers of aggregate stability, showing direct positive effects on aggregate MWD. Humic-like DOC indirectly promoted SOC accumulation through increased DOC aromaticity and enhanced humification. Our findings highlight the central role of humic-like DOC in enhancing SOC sequestration and soil aggregate stabilization, underscoring the long-term benefits of green manure in sustainable agriculture.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49503,"journal":{"name":"Soil & Tillage Research","volume":"258 ","pages":"Article 107024"},"PeriodicalIF":6.8,"publicationDate":"2026-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145823027","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Crop planting promotes the stabilization of straw-derived carbon in fertilized soil by regulating soil stoichiometry","authors":"Tengxiao Zhu ,&nbsp;Xiuwen Mei ,&nbsp;Yuping Li ,&nbsp;Shuangyi Li ,&nbsp;Tingting An ,&nbsp;Jingkuan Wang","doi":"10.1016/j.still.2025.107008","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.still.2025.107008","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Straw returning to cropland is a sustainable management practices to enhance soil organic carbon (SOC) sequestration. The dynamics of straw C transformation in soils have been widely studied, however, it is less clear how crop planting regulates the incorporation of added straw C into SOC pools via soil - microbial nutrients status. We designed two sub- treatments, including single application of ¹³C-labeled straw (S) and its combination with crop planting (SR) in each fertilization treatment, and then conducted a field micro- experiment for 510 days. Regardless of fertilization, the SR treatments increased the content of straw derived mineral associated organic C (¹³C-MAOC) by 53.19 % and that of straw- derived particulate organic C (¹³C-POC) by 27.45 % compared with S treatments on the 510th day. And the SR treatments averagely increased the contribution percentage of straw-derived C in total MAOC by 39.44 %, especially under NP soil. Structure equation modeling results indicated crop planting promotes the formation of straw-derived SOC by reducing soil nutrients (<em>r</em> = −0.141, <em>P</em> &lt; 0.05) and soil nutrients stoichiometry (<em>r</em> = −0.232, <em>P</em> &lt; 0.01); fertilization alleviates nutrient limitations by reducing soil nutrients stoichiometry (<em>r</em> = −0.432, <em>P</em> &lt; 0.001), microbial biomass stoichiometry (<em>r</em> = −0.701, <em>P</em> &lt; 0.001), and increasing soil nutrients (<em>r</em> = 0.584, <em>P</em> &lt; 0.001), thereby regulating the formation of straw C. Our results imply that crop planting contributes long-term incorporation of straw C to stable SOC pool via optimizing nutrients within soil-microbial system.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49503,"journal":{"name":"Soil & Tillage Research","volume":"258 ","pages":"Article 107008"},"PeriodicalIF":6.8,"publicationDate":"2026-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145731635","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}