Soil & Tillage Research最新文献

{"title":"Soil structural transformation under multiple freeze–thaw cycles with comprehensive morphological and topological analysis: The hypothesis of periodicity","authors":"Kirill D. Tolstygin ,&nbsp;Dmitry A. Kulygin ,&nbsp;Konstantin A. Romanenko ,&nbsp;Marina V. Karsanina ,&nbsp;Aleksey M. Cherkasov ,&nbsp;Aleksey Khlyupin ,&nbsp;Kirill M. Gerke","doi":"10.1016/j.still.2025.106980","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.still.2025.106980","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Freezing–thawing cycles significantly affect the dynamics of soil pore space structure, both directly and through indirect processes. Previous studies have reported varying observations and interpretations regarding the qualitative and quantitative changes in soil structure induced by these cycles. In this study, we conducted freeze–thaw experiments on three different disturbed soil samples. The samples were imaged with an X-ray scanner in their original state and after 1, 5, 10, and 20 freeze–thaw cycles. To process the obtained data, we employed two novel but essential methods: (1) a custom-built image registration technique to establish identical 3D regions of interest within the scans, and (2) a set of soil structural descriptors with high information content, incorporating both morphological and topological information — correlation functions, pore-network statistics, Euler numbers, and connectivity. Registration and careful consideration of individual grains within the soil structure enabled robust segmentation of grayscale images into solids and pores. Unlike most previous studies, we did not observe a steady or nearly monotonic change in structural metrics. Instead, we detected a type of chaotic behavior of these metrics between the freeze–thaw cycles. Using vector descriptors, we demonstrated that the experimental data can be interpreted as hypothetical oscillatory changes within soil structure. This finding leads us to hypothesize that disturbed soils — and possibly natural soils after multiple cycles — undergo periodic structural dynamics. The novel idea behind this hypothesis is simple: as at some point the same temperature impact will not produce the same effect, the structure disturbance will stagnate. From the original state, soils exhibited the strongest structural degradation due to freeze–thaw cycles, whereas in subsequent cycles the dynamics involved both dispersing and aggregating processes, as observed in the X-ray tomography images. We conclude by discussing the necessary future research to confirm or refute this hypothesis and emphasize why soil structure in such experiments should be described using a novel class of vector metrics with high information content, which also subsume most classical soil structural metrics.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49503,"journal":{"name":"Soil & Tillage Research","volume":"258 ","pages":"Article 106980"},"PeriodicalIF":6.8,"publicationDate":"2025-12-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145685906","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":"Contributions of solid agents and pore structure to aggregate water and mechanical stability across a wide range of soil types","authors":"Xinliang Wu ,&nbsp;Chenyu Wang ,&nbsp;Zichun Lu ,&nbsp;Hassan Ali","doi":"10.1016/j.still.2025.107001","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.still.2025.107001","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Aggregate stability is crucial for soil processes and functions, and it is influenced by a wide range of intrinsic soil properties, which can be categorized into two groups: solid agents and pores. Due to the complexity of soil system, the relative importance of these two phases as well as their interactions in aggregate stability remains insufficiently understood, especially across different soil types. This study compiled data on aggregate water and mechanical stability, pore structure characteristics measured by X-ray micro-computed tomography and mercury intrusion porosimetry, and aggregating agents (including clay mineralogy, metal oxides, exchangeable cations, and organic matter) from a series of soil types. Redundancy analysis, variance partitioning analysis, and pathway analysis were applied to evaluate the contributions of pore structure and solid agents to both aggregate water and mechanical stability. Among the pore and agent parameters, fraction of regular pores and vermiculite separately possessed the largest explanatory power in aggregate water stability (R²=56.3 % and 48.0 %, p &lt; 0.01), so did for textural porosity and exchangeable magnesium in aggregate mechanical stability (R²=40.2 % and 38.7 %, p &lt; 0.01). These results suggested the stronger effects of pore structure than agents on aggregate stability. Variance partitioning analysis and pathway analysis results further revealed that clay minerals, exchangeable cations and organic matter regulated aggregate water and mechanical stability through distinct mechanisms, primarily via pore structure. Water stability relied largely on the morphology of structural pores, and mechanical stability relied on the volume of textural pores and the size of macropores. These findings facilitate an in-depth understanding of the different mechanisms of aggregate water and mechanical stability from the perspectives of pores and solid agents.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49503,"journal":{"name":"Soil & Tillage Research","volume":"258 ","pages":"Article 107001"},"PeriodicalIF":6.8,"publicationDate":"2025-12-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145685909","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":"Optimizing rice-crayfish systems with direct seeding: Impacts on greenhouse gas emissions and economic performance","authors":"Yilin Liu ,&nbsp;Shaopeng Wang ,&nbsp;Yinghua Yin ,&nbsp;Limei Zhai ,&nbsp;FuLin Zhang ,&nbsp;Ying Xia ,&nbsp;Xianpeng Fan ,&nbsp;M. Haïssam Jijakli ,&nbsp;Hongbin Liu","doi":"10.1016/j.still.2025.107004","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.still.2025.107004","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The rapid expansion of rice-crayfish (RC) systems has raised concerns about increased methane (CH₄) emissions due to prolonged field flooding, especially in long-term practices. While direct seeding (DS) is widely used to reduce CH₄ in rice cultivation, its efficacy and economic viability in RC systems remain unclear. This study aimed to compare DS versus transplanting (TP) in RC systems cultivated for 5 (RC5) and 15 (RC15) years. Results showed that under TP, CH₄ emissions were 22.0 % higher in RC15 than in RC5. Implementing DS reduced CH₄ emissions by 49.9 % in RC5 and 30.1 % in RC15—mainly during the initial drainage stage—reducing the global warming potential (GWP) by 44.5 % and 27.3 %, despite increased nitrous oxide emissions. Mechanistically, DS suppressed methanogenesis by increasing soil redox potential, as indicated by a 14.1–50.9 % reduction in <em>mcrA</em> gene abundance, while increasing the abundance of ammonia-oxidizing bacteria genes. The reduced effectiveness in RC15 reflected altered emission drivers, as significant CH₄-WFPS correlations observed in RC5 (R² = 0.96) were absent in RC15 (R² = 0.09), limiting water management benefits. Although DS reduced rice yields in RC5 (12.1–10.0 t ha⁻¹), yields remained stable in RC15 (11.8 vs 12.3 t ha⁻¹). Economically, DS improved net ecosystem economic benefits by 3.5 % in RC5 and 12.8 % in RC15 systems, driven by lower crop establishment costs and reduced GWP-associated environmental costs. This study demonstrates that DS is a viable strategy for balancing environmental sustainability with economic profitability in RC systems, though optimal management is modulated by system age.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49503,"journal":{"name":"Soil & Tillage Research","volume":"258 ","pages":"Article 107004"},"PeriodicalIF":6.8,"publicationDate":"2025-12-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145685908","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":"2025-12-06","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":"Development characteristic of permanent gully morphology at the small watershed scale and its relations with driving factors along the Mollisols Belt of Northeast China","authors":"Xiaohui Lian ,&nbsp;Ningning Xiao ,&nbsp;Mingming Guo ,&nbsp;Xingyi Zhang ,&nbsp;Xin Liu ,&nbsp;Jinzhong Xu ,&nbsp;Shengmin Zhang ,&nbsp;Xing Han","doi":"10.1016/j.still.2025.106999","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.still.2025.106999","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Gully erosion poses a significant threat to land, ecology environment and food security. However, current studies have predominantly focused on identifying the gully development and driving factors by selecting typical watersheds from broad regions, overlooking the spatial heterogeneity of gully erosion and the roles of driving factors. Therefore, to address this issue, this study aimed to investigate gully erosion and its driving factors by selecting representative small watersheds (0.48–2.93 km²) along the Mollisols Belt of Northeast China. Gully morphology, topography, soil, climate and human activity (population and land use) data were obtained by unmanned aerial vehicle, field survey and spatial analysis. The results showed that gully linear density (GLD), gully areal density (GAD) and gully number density (ND) all exhibited a trend of initial sharp decrease followed by stabilization from south to north along the Mollisols Belt. The average gully length (L), width (W), depth (D), area (A) and volume (V) in the Mollisols Belt are 130.76 m, 6.42 m, 2.27 m, 1247.19 m², 7158.12 m³, respectively. The gully L, W, D, A, and V are centrally distributed in the range of 0–300 m, 0.5–2.5 m, 1–5 m, 0–500 m², 0–5000 m³, accounting for 68.5 %, 75.8 %, 68.3 %, 78.5 %, 83.3 %, respectively. The frequency distribution of five parameters showed great changes along Mollisols Belt. The gully volume can be estimated by V-L power function (V=a·L^b, a=14.63–98.81, b=0.86–1.34). Gully erosion intensity reflected by GLD and GAD across all watersheds initially increased and then decreased with slope gradient and topographic wetness index (TWI), demonstrating distinct threshold behaviors, while gully erosion was more intense on sunny and semi-sunny slopes. GLD and GAD at small watershed scale were significantly and positively correlated with rainfall erosivity, mean annual precipitation, and mean annual temperature, population density, proportion of farm track area and watershed slope, while they exhibited the significantly negative correlations with MWD, soil bulk density, and soil shear strength and TWI. The topography, soil, climate and human activity factors collectively explain 83.51 % of the total variance in gully erosion, with the relative contribution of 17.8 %, 26.4 %, 27.4 %, 28.4 % respectively. These results can deepen the understanding of the characteristics and laws of gully erosion along the Mollisols Belt and provide scientific basis for the precise prevention and control of gully erosion.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49503,"journal":{"name":"Soil & Tillage Research","volume":"258 ","pages":"Article 106999"},"PeriodicalIF":6.8,"publicationDate":"2025-12-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145685397","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":"Analysis of rapeseed embryo root penetration resistance under different soil compaction levels based on the discrete element method","authors":"Yu Sun ,&nbsp;Qingsong Zhang ,&nbsp;Qingxi Liao ,&nbsp;Jiashun Cai ,&nbsp;Huan Yan","doi":"10.1016/j.still.2025.106953","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.still.2025.106953","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Soil penetration resistance critically constrains early root elongation, limiting water and nutrient acquisition and ultimately crop performance. Discrete Element Method (DEM) simulations can deepen our understanding of soil–tool and seedling emergence mechanics; however, precise quantification of the dynamic penetration resistance experienced by growing rapeseed embryo roots remains scarce. Here, we used DEM to examine how soil compaction affects penetration resistance of rapeseed embryo root. We integrated probe-penetration tests with image-based root morphology to build a 3D DEM model that simulates dynamic root growth. After high-accuracy calibration (R² &gt; 0.95), soil bonding parameters (kₙ = 1.4 ×10⁶–8.0 ×10⁸ N·m⁻³) reproduced bulk densities spanning 737.57–1063.41 kg·m⁻³ . Results show that a 44.2 % increase in bulk density raises penetration resistance by 443 % (2.15–11.68 N) and markedly suppresses root growth rate (56.1 % reduction), cumulative length (62.5 % shorter), and diameter (53.6 % thinner). We identify a “tip-breakthrough” mechanism: the root-cap zone (8 % of total length) contributes 28.7–41.2 % of total resistance and governs soil penetration. Dynamic simulations reveal force-chain transmission and bond-failure patterns; under high compaction, bond-failure onset is delayed (displacement 0–1.7 mm) and the number of broken bonds decreases (29.7 % fewer). A predictive model indicates that under extreme compaction (L4 = 1127.50 kg·m⁻³), roots face up to 15.92 N of resistance, total length shortens to &lt; 20 mm, and growth rate drops to &lt; 0.3 mm·h⁻¹ . This DEM-based quantitative framework captures root–soil mechanical interactions and provides a basis for optimizing tillage to mitigate compaction-induced yield loss.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49503,"journal":{"name":"Soil & Tillage Research","volume":"258 ","pages":"Article 106953"},"PeriodicalIF":6.8,"publicationDate":"2025-12-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145685324","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":"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":"2025-12-05","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":"Decoding soil health constraints in regional agroecosystems: Machine learning reveals microbial enzymatic thresholds and drivers","authors":"Xuebin Xu ,&nbsp;Kailu Zhang ,&nbsp;Zhenke Zhu ,&nbsp;Liang Wei ,&nbsp;Shuang Wang ,&nbsp;Wenju Zhang ,&nbsp;Lujun Li ,&nbsp;Yakov Kuzyakov ,&nbsp;Jianping Chen ,&nbsp;Tida Ge","doi":"10.1016/j.still.2025.107000","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.still.2025.107000","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Soil health assessment in heterogeneous agroecosystems presents significant challenges in integrating biological mechanisms and diagnosing multifactorial constraints. This study applied interpretable machine learning approaches to establish scientifically derived thresholds for constraint typology and provide spatially explicit diagnostics in farmlands of Ningbo, China. Eight soil health index (SHI) formulations were evaluated, incorporating combinations of total (TDS) versus minimum datasets (MDS) with linear and nonlinear scoring and integration methods. A random forest model was employed to identify key drivers of SHI, with SHAP (SHapley Additive exPlanations) values used to determine critical constraint thresholds. Structural equation modeling and microbial history strategy analyses were subsequently applied to quantify interactive mechanisms affecting soil health in sites with multiple constraints. Results demonstrated that SHI derived from the TDS using nonlinear weighted integration (TD-N-WQI) exhibited superior sensitivity to soil organic carbon (SOC) content (Pearson <em>r</em> = 0.840, <em>p</em> &lt; 0.001) and effectively discriminated against different land-use types (ANOVA F = 50.5, <em>p</em> &lt; 0.001). Microbial enzyme activities emerged as the predominant regulators of soil health, with N-Acetyl-β-<span>D</span>-glucosaminidase (NAG, 28.2 %), β-glucosidase (BG, 22.0 %), and xylanase (XYL, 13.9 %) collectively accounting for 64.1 % of feature importance, substantially exceeding contributions from SOC (9.40 %) and total nitrogen (7.80 %). Critical constraint thresholds were as follows: bulk density 1.13 g/cm³, SOC 16.9 g/kg, electrical conductivity 0.160 mS/cm, pH 4.50 and 6.24, microbial biomass carbon 508 mg/kg, and enzymatic deficits (BG 90.0, NAG 40.7, XYL 15.0, β-<span>D</span>-Cellobiohydrolase 20.0, acid phosphatase 439 nmol/g/h). Spatial analysis revealed that 39.2 % (127/324) of sites exhibited multiple constraints, predominantly in coastal areas where salinity indirectly reduced SOC through enzymatic and microbial suppression (<em>β</em> = −0.150, <em>p</em> &lt; 0.05). This study establishes that high microbial enzymatic activity, driven by Y-strategist microbial communities characterized by rapid growth and efficient resource processing, constitutes the core mechanism of soil health. These insights provide a robust, ML-driven framework that identifies critical constraint thresholds to guide precision management and prioritize microbial-based restoration in heterogeneous agricultural landscapes.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49503,"journal":{"name":"Soil & Tillage Research","volume":"258 ","pages":"Article 107000"},"PeriodicalIF":6.8,"publicationDate":"2025-12-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145659105","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":"Ecological effects of nature-based solutions on degraded grassland restoration in China: A meta-analysis","authors":"Haoli Hu ,&nbsp;Zemin Ai ,&nbsp;Xiaohu Dang ,&nbsp;Yong Cao ,&nbsp;Huan Liu ,&nbsp;Qingqing Li ,&nbsp;Yuanyuan Zhang ,&nbsp;Tian Cao ,&nbsp;Lie Xiao","doi":"10.1016/j.still.2025.106998","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.still.2025.106998","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Nature-based Solutions (NbS) for the restoration of the degraded grassland ecosystems gain considerable global attention. However, the ecological restoration performance still requires further clarification. A meta-analysis focuses on the degraded grasslands in China to systematically assess the restoration effectiveness of protection measures (PM), restoration measures (RM), and management measures (MM). The results show that all three measures significantly increase total nitrogen (TN), soil organic carbon (SOC), and microbial biomass carbon (MBC), with PM exhibiting the most pronounced improvement in TN (24.09 %), while RM exerts the strongest effects on SOC (26.89 %) and MBC (42.21 %). RM and PM significantly increase total phosphorus and potassium content in soil and significantly lower soil pH, and RM significantly increases microbial biomass nitrogen (75.96 %). MM and PM elevate soil water content, whereas MM also reduces soil bulk density. All three interventions significantly increase aboveground biomass (AGB), with RM inducing the greatest enhancement (100.97 %). MM (28.16 %) and RM (121.46 %) significantly promote belowground biomass (BGB). Only MM results in a significant increase in vegetation coverage (13.88 %). Under MM, both temperature and precipitation positively influence species diversity, and precipitation shows significant positive correlations with AGB and vegetation coverage. Under RM, temperature enhances both AGB and BGB, whereas precipitation promotes AGB, vegetation coverage, and species diversity but suppresses BGB. Under PM, temperature inhibits species diversity. Overall, RM is recommended for improving SOC, microbial biomass, and plant biomass, while MM is more suitable for enhancing soil structure and moisture conditions, and climatic drivers should be considered for targeted restoration.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49503,"journal":{"name":"Soil & Tillage Research","volume":"258 ","pages":"Article 106998"},"PeriodicalIF":6.8,"publicationDate":"2025-12-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145659106","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":"Limited stable soil carbon accrual and increased CH4 emission by green manure in a temperate rice paddy","authors":"Hyeon Ji Song ,&nbsp;So Yeong Park ,&nbsp;Pil Joo Kim","doi":"10.1016/j.still.2025.106983","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.still.2025.106983","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Cover cropping and its biomass incorporation into the soil as green manure are recommended to increase soil organic carbon (SOC) stock and soil fertility under paddy rice cropping. However, the capacity of the soil to accumulate SOC from biomass might be limited by soil carbon saturation or priming effects. To investigate the influence of green manure on SOC accumulation in long-term rice cropping, we applied varying rates of green manure over nine years under temperate mono-rice cropping. The cover crop (a mixture of barley and hairy vetch) was incorporated at 0, 25, 50, and 100 % of the cover-crop aboveground biomass (average 0, 0.9, 1.7, and 3.4 Mg C ha⁻¹ year⁻¹ on dry weight, respectively) prior to the rice cropping season. The SOC stock increased proportionally with increasing green manure addition up to 50 % of biomass (3.75 Mg ha⁻¹ y⁻¹). However, there was no further increase in SOC at greater application rate. The contribution of mineral-associated (MAOC) and particulate OC (POC) fractions to the total SOC did not vary with green manure application rate (approximately 66–73 and 27–34 % of SOC, respectively). However, the contribution of biomass-derived C to the POC, quantified by natural abundance C isotope ratios (δ¹³C), increased significantly with increasing green manure application. Conversely, the native C fraction of MAOC increased with increasing biomass addition, peaking at around 1.7 Mg C ha⁻¹ year⁻¹ , but declined beyond this point. The mineralized C loss, particularly as methane (CH₄) and its contribution to the total loss, increased significantly with increasing biomass application. In conclusion, green manure addition can stimulate the degradation of the native SOC stock, priming effect, even in stable form (MAOC), while soil C saturation limits the ability of green manure to increase the SOC stock. More recalcitrant types of organic amendment addition (e.g. biochar) should therefore be considered to increase SOC stock and mitigate CH₄ emission in rice paddy agriculture.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49503,"journal":{"name":"Soil & Tillage Research","volume":"257 ","pages":"Article 106983"},"PeriodicalIF":6.8,"publicationDate":"2025-12-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145689958","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}