Soil & Tillage Research最新文献

{"title":"Cover cropping and minimum tillage improved microbial functional resilience to compaction stress in an acidic soil","authors":"Apsara Amarasinghe ,&nbsp;Chengrong Chen ,&nbsp;Lukas Van Zwieten ,&nbsp;Michael T. Rose ,&nbsp;Mehran Rezaei Rashti","doi":"10.1016/j.still.2025.107031","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.still.2025.107031","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Sustainable agriculture requires maintaining soil health, yet conventional management (CM) practices may not protect soils from stresses such as compaction. This study compared microbial resilience to compaction in two soils collected from sugarcane farms under improved management (IM: minimum tillage, cover cropping and stubble retention) and CM (conventional tillage, no cover crop and stubble retention) practices. Samples were placed in 96-well deep-well plates and compacted using a bespoke device to achieve bulk densities of 0.9 (control), 1.1 (low), and 1.2 g cm⁻³ (moderate). Microbial resistance was assessed 14 days after compaction, and resilience 14 days after stress relief. Under low and moderate compaction, IM soils showed 49.5 % and 45.7 % higher CO₂ emission resistance indices (i.e., the ability of soil to maintain microbial respiration under compaction stress) than CM, indicating greater stability. Microbial biomass carbon and nitrogen were 56.2 % and 47.9 % higher in IM soils under low compaction, compared to CM. Soil microbial metabolic quotient (<em>q</em>CO₂) was similar across compaction levels within each system, but was 19.5 %–36.3 % lower in IM soils than CM at equivalent compaction, indicating lower microbial stress under IM. Fourteen days after stress relief, <em>q</em>CO₂ in moderately compacted CM soil increased by 41.1 % and 25.0 % compared to control and low compaction. In contrast, IM soil under moderate compaction had 40.6 % lower <em>q</em>CO₂ than CM. The CM showed no effects of compaction on hot water extractable organic carbon content, while compaction of IM showed a 13 % decline compared to its control. Hot water extractable total nitrogen did not vary with compaction within the management systems but was 12 %–15 % higher in IM than CM under the same compaction during the resistance phase. Total mineral nitrogen was unaffected by compaction treatments under each system but was 11 %–13 % higher in IM than CM during resistance phase. These findings highlight the potential of improved management practices to sustain soil health and resilience under compaction stress.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49503,"journal":{"name":"Soil & Tillage Research","volume":"258 ","pages":"Article 107031"},"PeriodicalIF":6.8,"publicationDate":"2025-12-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145784838","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":"Iron fractionation-directed mechanisms of soil organic carbon: A geochemically-grounded hypothesis and validation","authors":"Fei Xie ,&nbsp;Yuanqing Tang ,&nbsp;Jin-E. Wei ,&nbsp;Yangzheng Liu ,&nbsp;Weifang Chen ,&nbsp;Chengmei Liao ,&nbsp;Changwei Lü","doi":"10.1016/j.still.2025.107029","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.still.2025.107029","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The stabilization of soil organic carbon (SOC) by reactive iron (Fe) minerals is a critical yet poorly quantified process in the global carbon cycle. To elucidate the specific mechanisms of Fe-mediated OC (organic carbon) fractionation, we employed a sequential chemical extraction protocol on &lt; 53 μm soil fractions to isolate distinct Fe phases. This method was rigorously validated using X-ray diffraction (XRD) to correlate the extracted Fe species with specific mineral phases. A key methodological advancement was the developmen of a novel approach to quantify OC co-extracted with each Fe phase, enabling the first direct assessment of MAOC (mineral-associated organic carbon) partitioning to specific mineral hosts. Operationally, citrate-bicarbonate-dithionite (CBD) extraction targeted reactive Fe (Fe_HR) minerals (e.g., lepidocrocite, goethite, maghemite), while 12 M HCl dissolved poorly reactive Fe (Fe_PR) phases (e.g., ankerite, magnetite, illite, montmorillonite). The residual silicate-bound Fe (Fe_U), such as grossular, riebeckite, mica, and orthoclase remained in the final residue. Our results revealed a quantitative partitioning of MAOC: Fe_U-OC dominated (47.9 %), indicative of long-term geological inheritance via physical occlusion within silicate matrices. Fe_PR-OC (36.3 %) was stabilized predominantly by micropore confinement in low-activity minerals and cation bridging, effectively shielding OC from redox-driven dissolution. In contrast, Fe_HR-OC constituted the smallest fraction (15.8 %) but was the most dynamic, with its concentration strongly correlated with precipitation-induced Fe (oxyhydr)oxide transformation and vegetation diversity, leading to the formation of mineral-organic complexes. Mechanistically, we identified three distinct stabilization pathways: (1) reactive Fe/Al-(hydr)oxides bound OC mainly through chemical complexation or co-precipitation at high-surface-area mineral surfaces; (2) low-activity Fe/Al-(hydr)oxides associated with OC via physical adsorption; and (3) Fe_U-OC through physical encapsulation within silicate mineral frameworks and lattice-defects. These findings provide a mechanistic and quantitative framework for predicting the persistence of Fe-OC associations under changing environmental conditions.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49503,"journal":{"name":"Soil & Tillage Research","volume":"258 ","pages":"Article 107029"},"PeriodicalIF":6.8,"publicationDate":"2025-12-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145784837","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":"Benchmarking soil potassium extraction methods and establishing critical thresholds for wheat production in Inceptisols","authors":"Shubhadip Dasgupta ,&nbsp;Rajat Pandit ,&nbsp;Sudip Sengupta ,&nbsp;Arup Dey ,&nbsp;Kallol Bhattacharyya ,&nbsp;Sanjay Srivastava ,&nbsp;Owais Bashir ,&nbsp;Kiran Lata ,&nbsp;Somsubhra Chakraborty ,&nbsp;Nicola Senesi ,&nbsp;Abdessalam Ouallali ,&nbsp;Mohamed Beroho ,&nbsp;Shuraik Kader","doi":"10.1016/j.still.2025.107017","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.still.2025.107017","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Accurate assessment of plant-available potassium (K) in soils is crucial for optimizing crop nutrition and enhancing the efficiency of fertilizer use. This study systematically benchmarked ten widely used soil K extractants, Calcium Chloride (CaCl₂), Ammonium Acetate (NH₄OAc), Ammonium Bicarbonate-Diethylenetriaminepentaacetic Acid (AB-DTPA), Morgan's extractant (Morgan), Calcium acetate lactate extractant (Ca-AL), Kelowna extractant (Kelowna), Olsen extractant (Olsen), Modified Kelowna extractant (Kelowna-2), Nitric Acid (HNO₃), and Sodium Tetraphenylborate (NaTPB) to identify the most effective method for quantifying available K and defining critical thresholds for wheat production in Inceptisols. Pot trials were conducted on soils from twenty Inceptisol series in the Gangetic alluvial plains of Eastern India using five K fertilizer rates that simulates the wide K variability in real field situations. Among the tested methods, NaTPB emerged as the most reliable extractant, showing the strongest correlation (R² = 0.83, P &lt; 0.05) with Bray’s percent yield (BPY) and a critical K threshold of 1110.3 kg ha⁻¹. CaCl₂ also demonstrated high accuracy (R² = 0.82). Multivariate analysis revealed that NaTPB-extractable K was significantly influenced by soil clay content and electrical conductivity, which together explained 76.9 % of its variability. Furthermore, NaTPB effectively captured K from multiple pools, including water-soluble, exchangeable, and non-exchangeable pools, providing a more comprehensive index of plant-available K. A critical K concentration of 0.35 % in wheat grain was identified as the threshold for optimal yield, offering a practical benchmark for site-specific K management. By integrating chemical extraction, crop response modeling, and soil property analysis, this research presents a novel and scientifically robust framework for assessing K fertility. With the successful implementation in Eastern India, the findings have benchmarked broader applicability to Inceptisols in other agroecological regions, providing a scalable diagnostic approach for sustainable nutrient management. This study makes a significant contribution to precision agriculture and global efforts to optimize fertilizer recommendations through the development of improved soil testing methodologies.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49503,"journal":{"name":"Soil & Tillage Research","volume":"258 ","pages":"Article 107017"},"PeriodicalIF":6.8,"publicationDate":"2025-12-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145784847","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":"The improved integral suspension pressure method for particle size analysis agrees well with the standard hydrometer method","authors":"Sára Poláchová,&nbsp;Martin Kovář,&nbsp;Lukáš Jačka","doi":"10.1016/j.still.2025.107021","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.still.2025.107021","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Particle size distribution (PSD) is a fundamental property of soil, influencing its physical and chemical properties. Consequently, PSD is commonly used to estimate other critical but harder-to-measure soil properties, such as hydraulic conductivity and soil water retention characteristics. Traditionally, PSD is determined using standard sedimentation methods, such as the pipette or hydrometer method. These conventional methods are, however, currently being replaced by innovative automated techniques, including approaches that measure pressure changes in suspensions. This study compares the standard hydrometer method (HM) with the improved integral suspension pressure method (ISP+), both of which operate on the same physical principle. Measurements were performed on fourteen soil types of varying texture, with identical sample pretreatment. For each type, four PSD analyses were carried out by the HM and four by the ISP+, yielding 112 analyses in total. The two methods showed strong agreement for clay fraction (R² = 0.987; RMSE = 1.62 %) as well as the sand (R² = 0.996; RMSE = 1.65 %) and silt fraction (R² = 0.987; RMSE = 2.11 %). The strong correspondence in clay is particularly important, as it is corrected by oven-drying in ISP+ and represents a direct rather than an indirect estimate as in the case of silt. According to paired t-tests, there is no statistically significant difference between the methods. Although pretreatment and handling are similar to HM, ISP+ provides more detailed PSD data and can support more efficient laboratory workflows than standardized methods, representing a reliable alternative for routine soil texture determination.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49503,"journal":{"name":"Soil & Tillage Research","volume":"258 ","pages":"Article 107021"},"PeriodicalIF":6.8,"publicationDate":"2025-12-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145784846","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":"Rainfall simulations on granite-derived red soils: How jute geotextile mulching regulates erosion dynamics and sediment sorting","authors":"Shimin Ni ,&nbsp;Yang Zhou ,&nbsp;Chongfa Cai ,&nbsp;Junguang Wang ,&nbsp;Ziqiang Zou","doi":"10.1016/j.still.2025.107023","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.still.2025.107023","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Water-induced soil erosion severely endangers the sustainability of granite-derived red soil regions in southern China, where jute geotextiles hold promise for erosion control—yet their mechanisms in regulating erosion dynamics and sediment sorting remain poorly understood. This study investigated the erosion mitigation performance and underlying mechanisms of jute geotextile mulching through rainfall simulations, employing a 2 m × 1.2 m soil plot with four soil horizons (eluvium-A, illuvium-B, transitional-BC, parent material-C), two rainfall intensities (60 and 90 mm h⁻¹), two slope gradients (5.56 % and 16.67 %), and three mulching treatments (bare control-CK, low-coverage-6.54 % and high-coverage-13.08 % jute geotextiles). Runoff, soil loss, flow hydrodynamics, and sediment sorting characteristics were analyzed to quantify treatment effects. High-coverage geotextiles could significantly reduce runoff coefficients by an average of 22.75 % and sediment loss by 50.01 % relative to CK. Hydrodynamically, jute geotextile could reduce mean flow velocity by 36.30 % and stream power by 22.75 %, facilitating a laminar-dominated flow regime (<em>Re</em> &lt; 800) and suppressing transitions to supercritical flow. Sediment particle-size distribution (PSD) analysis revealed that clay-silt fractions (&lt; 0.05 mm) were preferentially transported (enrichment ratio &gt; 1), while sand-gravel fractions (&gt; 0.05 mm) were retained in place (enrichment ratio &lt; 1). This selectivity was amplified by high-coverage geotextiles, enabling an increase of clay enrichment ratio by 0.27–0.51 and a reduction of sediment mean weight diameter (<em>MWD</em>) by 0.09–0.17 mm, thereby promoting fine-particle enrichment and delaying sediment coarsening. Additionally, as rainfall progressed, a potential sediment transport mechanism was observed, namely the shift of sediment transport mode from initial suspension-saltation (fine-particle-domination) to later saltation-rolling (coarse-particle-domination). Importantly, this transition was delayed by jute geotextiles via intercepting coarse particles and sustaining fine-particle production. In conclusion, jute geotextiles can effectively mitigate sheet erosion in granite-derived red soils by regulating runoff energy and enhancing sediment sorting. Further research should prioritize optimization of geotextile grid density and synergies between geotextile mulching and local quartz gravels to balance erosion control efficacy, ecological benefits, and economic feasibility.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49503,"journal":{"name":"Soil & Tillage Research","volume":"258 ","pages":"Article 107023"},"PeriodicalIF":6.8,"publicationDate":"2025-12-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145784845","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":"2025-12-15","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":"Side soil covering and high-frequency low-volume irrigation improve cotton seedling emergence by altering soil physical properties and salinity","authors":"Fukui Gao ,&nbsp;Qisheng Han ,&nbsp;Jingsheng Sun ,&nbsp;Qingyao Zhao ,&nbsp;Guang Yang ,&nbsp;Xianbo Zhang ,&nbsp;Djifa Fidele Kpalari ,&nbsp;Huifeng Ning ,&nbsp;Hao Liu","doi":"10.1016/j.still.2025.107025","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.still.2025.107025","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The southern Xinjiang region is currently facing a situation of high per capita water resources but low per land water resources. With the expansion of agricultural irrigation areas and extensive water use, the actual water consumption has far exceeded the red line of total water use, and the existing water resources can no longer meet the needs of normal winter and spring irrigation. The aim of this study is to learn from the water-saving planting technology of dry sowing and wet emergence (DSWE) to promote the sustainable development of agriculture and optimize soil covering methods and irrigation management measures in Northern Xinjiang. A field experiment was conducted from 2021 to 2024. The local non-growing season drip spring irrigation mode (CK1, spring irrigation quota 90 mm) and conventional spring irrigation mode (CK2, spring irrigation quota 180 mm) were used as controls. For the DSWE planting technology, two soil covering forms of top sealing soil (TSS) and side sealing soil (SSS) were set up, and four irrigation quotas (G1: 30 mm, G2: 37.5 mm, G3: 45 mm, G4: 52.5 mm) were applied under each soil covering form. The results indicated that the TSS form was more effective in providing stable soil moisture and temperature conditions, whereas the SSS form significantly increased the cotton emergence rate and shortened emergence time by minimizing sowing depth and physical barriers. Crucially, the SSS form effectively mitigated the negative impacts caused by the increased sowing depth inherent in DSWE technology. By optimizing the SSS approach with precise, low-volume irrigation, we achieved cotton emergence performance comparable to conventional irrigation methods, while realizing water savings of over 40 % and up to 70 % compared with standard practices. This research provides a practical and highly efficient strategy for applying DSWE technology in water-scarce, saline environments, offering significant potential for mitigating agricultural water-use conflicts and promoting sustainable development in arid regions.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49503,"journal":{"name":"Soil & Tillage Research","volume":"258 ","pages":"Article 107025"},"PeriodicalIF":6.8,"publicationDate":"2025-12-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145784849","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":"Influence of management practices on soil organic matter composition evaluated by complementary analytical techniques: XANES and mass spectrometry","authors":"Peter K. Leinweber ,&nbsp;Riffat Rahim ,&nbsp;Edyta Hewelke ,&nbsp;Tom Regier ,&nbsp;Jerzy Weber","doi":"10.1016/j.still.2025.107009","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.still.2025.107009","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The impact of soil management practices on carbon (C) sequestration in soil organic matter (SOM) is insufficiently known. We studied relevant treatments, including manure application, legumes incorporation, their combination, conventional and no-tillage systems, as well as tillage with and without catch crops, at three long-term experimental sites in Poland. Bulk soil and humin fractions were analyzed by X-ray absorption near edge structure (XANES) spectroscopy and thermochemolysis-gas chromategraphy/mass spectrometry (TC-GC/MS). XANES and TC-GC/MS revealed treatment-specific molecular enrichments. Legume cropping enhanced total organic carbon (TOC) and enriched aromatic and aliphatic C structures, particularly at Skierniewice, contributing significantly to SOM stabilization. At Chylice, no-tillage preserved a higher aromatic C content, indicating a contribution of relatively stable compounds to SOM enrichment. At Swojec, the application of catch crops resulted in a balanced C profile with aliphatic C enrichments. Humin consistently exhibited greater aromatic and carboxylic C intensities compared to bulk soil, emphasizing its role as a relatively stable C reservoir. The findings demonstrate that for comparable climatic and soil conditions, no-till management is more efficient in enriching relatively recalcitrant aromatic SOM than the addition of organic matter through manure and legumes. No-till is therefore recommended as a first, immediately effective measure for SOM enrichment under Central European conditions.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49503,"journal":{"name":"Soil & Tillage Research","volume":"258 ","pages":"Article 107009"},"PeriodicalIF":6.8,"publicationDate":"2025-12-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145730779","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 strength after 21 years of conventional and organic cropping practices in the Mid-Atlantic region, USA","authors":"Harry H. Schomberg ,&nbsp;Kipling S. Balkcom ,&nbsp;Michel A. Cavigelli ,&nbsp;Kathryn E. White","doi":"10.1016/j.still.2025.107020","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.still.2025.107020","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Soil compaction negatively impacts soil physical properties and crop yields and is influenced by organic matter inputs and tillage management. We evaluated cone index (CI) in five long-term organic and conventional cropping systems at the Farming Systems Project in Beltsville, MD (39.0°N, 76.9°W), to understand how different management systems influence soil strength. Measurements were collected prior to planting corn in 2017 using a tractor-mounted hydraulic five-probe penetrometer for three depths (0–15, 15–30, 30–50 cm) and three positions relative to the crop row (0, 22.5, and 45 cm). The two conventional systems, No-till (NT) and Chisel Till (CT), were both 3-yr corn-rye cover crop/soybean–wheat/soybean rotations. The three organic systems were comprised of: (Org2) 2-yr hairy vetch cover crop/corn-rye cover crop/soybean; (Org3) 3-yr hairy vetch cover crop/corn-rye cover crop/soybean–wheat; and (Org6) 6-yr corn-rye cover crop/soybean–wheat–alfalfa–alfalfa–alfalfa. Org2 and Org3 exhibited the lowest CI in the 0–15 cm depth, due to fall tillage before cover crop planting and weed control in the prior crop. In contrast, surface soil compaction in Org6 was similar to that in the conventional systems, attributed to alfalfa harvest machinery traffic over the past three years and absence of any tillage. At deeper depths (15–30 cm and 30–50 cm), the NT system consistently demonstrated lower CI compared to other systems. For tilled systems, maximum CI values at 15–30 cm were near or exceeded the root-restricting threshold of 2.5 MPa. The NT system potentially provided a larger rooting volume for water and nutrient uptake than tilled systems. Machinery traffic increased compaction, particularly at 22.5 cm from the crop row, likely due to tire sidewall pressure. Overall, the study found moderate effects of contrasting management system practices on soil strength.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49503,"journal":{"name":"Soil & Tillage Research","volume":"258 ","pages":"Article 107020"},"PeriodicalIF":6.8,"publicationDate":"2025-12-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145732409","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":"Depth-discrepant impact of winter cover crops on particulate and mineral-associated organic carbon in a subtropical paddy field","authors":"Zihan Zhang,&nbsp;Dongqiao Yang,&nbsp;Mengya Lu,&nbsp;Bin Zhang,&nbsp;Xueli Ding","doi":"10.1016/j.still.2025.107015","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.still.2025.107015","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Replacing winter fallow with cover crops can improve soil organic carbon (SOC) sequestration in agroecosystems, with cover crop species potentially differing in their contributions to SOC formation and stabilization. However, how different crop species affect the accumulation of distinct SOC fractions (particulate organic C, POC; mineral-associated organic C, MAOC) and their contribution to SOC storage remain unclear, particularly in subsoils of paddy fields. Here, we investigated how POC and MAOC responded to different cover crop species (hairy vetch, <em>Vicia villosa</em> Roth., and winter wheat, <em>Triticum aestivum</em> L.) in both topsoil (0–20 cm) and subsoil (20–40 cm, 40–60 cm) in paddy soils. Our results revealed that different cover crops induced divergent responses in SOC fractions, contingently dependent upon soil depths. Both cover crops significantly stimulated POC accumulation (winter wheat: 41.3 %; hairy vetch: 46.1 %) relative to fallow in topsoil, while cover crop effects on POC gradually diminished in subsoil. Meanwhile, cover crops significantly increased contents of dissolved organic carbon and available phosphorus, particularly in deeper subsoil, which were key factors affecting SOC accumulation. POC and MAOC accumulation along soil depths differed significantly between different cover crops, suggesting a species-specific effect. Winter wheat significantly boosted MAOC in both topsoil and deeper subsoil, while hairy vetch induced a statistically nonsignificant increase in MAOC across three depths compared to fallow. These divergent responses of SOC fractions were closely related to cover crop-induced changes of microbial community composition, necromass accumulation and enzyme activity. Random forest analysis revealed that microbial necromass was the main factor defining MAOC in topsoil, whereas the Fe oxides was the main factor influencing subsoil MAOC accumulation. Overall, winter cover increased total SOC sequestration across 0–60 cm soil depths and more importantly, potential SOC stability (MAOC:POC) was enhanced in subsoil. These findings demonstrate a depth-discrepant impact of cover crops on POC and MAOC in paddy soils. Our work highlights the need to present POC and MAOC fractions into biogeochemical models to better predict responses of SOC to cover crop management practices in rice paddy ecosystems.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49503,"journal":{"name":"Soil & Tillage Research","volume":"258 ","pages":"Article 107015"},"PeriodicalIF":6.8,"publicationDate":"2025-12-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145730835","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}