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Quantifying soil gas emissions is costly, since it requires specific methodologies and equipment. The objective of this study was to evaluate modeling by nonlinear regression and artificial neural networks (ANN) to estimate CO2 emissions caused by soil managements. CO2 emissions were evaluated in two different soil management systems: no-tillage and minimum tillage. Readings of CO2 flow were carried out by an automated closed system chamber; soil temperature, water content, density, and total organic carbon were also determined. The regression model and the ANN models were adjusted based on the correlation of the variables measured in the areas where the soil was managed with no-tillage and minimum tillage with data of CO2 emission. Artificial neural networks are more accurate to determine correlations between CO2 emissions and soil temperature, water content, density, and organic carbon content than linear regression. RESUMO A quantificação das emissões destes gases do solo é onerosa, uma vez que requer metodologias e equipamentos específicos. O objetivo deste foi avaliar a modelagem utilizando regressão não linear e redes neurais artificiais para estimar a emissão de CO2 em função do manejo do solo, e de suas propriedades físicas e químicas. A emissão de CO2 foi avaliada em dois diferentes manejos do solo, o plantio direto e o cultivo mínimo. As leituras de fluxo CO2 foram realizadas por meio de uma câmara de sistema fechado automático, determinou-se ainda a temperatura e teor de água do solo, densidade do solo e carbono orgânico total. O modelo de regressão e os modelos de redes neurais artificiais foram ajustados a partir da correlação entre as variáveis medidas nas áreas em que o solo foi manejado com plantio direto e cultivo mínimo, com os dados de emissão de CO2. As redes neurais artificiais são mais precisas na determinação das relações entre a emissão de CO2 e a temperatura, teor de água no solo, densidade do solo e carbono orgânico, quando comparado com os resultados de regressão linear.

Paraná State has approximately 74 % of its territory destined for agricultural activities. Several agricultural management practices modify soil quality and biodiversity, including earthworm populations that can contribute to soil health. This study aimed to review the studies carried out in the state of Paraná, Brazil, focusing on earthworm populations (abundance, biomass, richness, proportion of native and exotic species) in different land-use systems. In total, 51 publications were compiled, including peer-reviewed papers, book chapters, dissertations and theses. We used studies that analyzed chemical and physical soil properties (n = 14) to perform a principal component analysis to explore the relationships between these properties and earthworm populations. In total, 90 earthworm species are known from Paraná, of which more than half (n = 46) may be new species that still must be formally described. Of the total, 24 are exotic and 66 are native species, though only 62 (16 %) of the 399 counties have earthworm records. Of the land-use categories sampled, the lowest abundance and biomass were recorded in annual crops under conventional tillage, and the highest populations were found in agroforestry systems. Higher earthworm abundance and species richness were related to higher chemical fertility (soil P and base contents), while biomass was related to higher silt and sand contents.

Soil quality, nitrogen, and organic matter content are increasingly being researched due to their impact on the environment. We assessed the effects of different soil management practices on the distribution and accumulation of soil organic carbon (SOC) in a durum wheat–faba bean rotation system cultivated in a Mediterranean-type area of Southern Italy, over six years. The effects of three levels of soil disturbance—conventional tillage (CT), minimum tillage (RT), and no tillage—(NT) on the SOC and nitrogen (N) content at soil depths of 0–15, 15–30, 30–60, and 60–90 cm were compared in a long-term experiment starting in the 2009–2010 growing season. The three soil management systems showed significant differences (p < 0.05) in the surface layer (0–15 cm depth) in SOC content and total nitrogen, with the largest accumulation occurring in the conservation system (NT). In the deep layers (30–60 and 60–90 cm), however, no significant differences were found between the three tillage systems. The ascending order of the tendency to accumulate SOC and N in the soil in the 0–15 cm layer was NT > CT > RT. In addition, the C/N ratio showed a more equilibrated rate in the NT system. The conservation tillage (NT) gave the best results in terms of the physical characteristics of the soil, showing a higher stability index compared to CT and RT. Conservation tillage is therefore recommended for wheat cultivation in the dry areas of Southern Italy, due to its benefits in terms of both crop yield improvements and environmental protection.

There is a growing interest in the Mediterranean regions to switch to conservation agriculture (CA) to address climate change and soil deterioration issues. The novelty of this study lies in the quality of the supply chain, from the raw material (durum wheat grain) to the ready-to-sell product (spaghetti), under long-term CA, and using two varieties over two years of study. This study aims to investigate the impact of two soil management systems (SM) (CA after 10/11 (since 2009–2010) years switching vs. conventional tillage (CT)) on grain quality, dough texture profile, and pasta quality of two Tunisian durum wheat varieties (Karim and Monastir) in a 2-year-long experiment (2019 and 2020). The results showed that the SM had a significant impact on the grain quality in both years in terms of protein content and wet gluten, which were, respectively, lower under CA (11.92% vs. 11.15% for protein content) and (18.75% vs. 17.68% for wet gluten) in the wet year. These parameters increased in the dry year but they were higher under CA (15.70% vs. 14.42 ± 0.94% for protein content) and (26.00% vs. 23.20% for wet gluten). These results have, in turn, affected the dough quality (springiness, chewiness, and cohesiveness) and pasta cooking time and decreased the pasta cooking loss and water absorption index. In terms of the variety (V) factor, “Karim” variety in the dry year had a higher protein content and better dough quality than “Monastir” variety, and it reduced the pasta cooking time. In addition, the pasta yellow index (b*) from grains grown under CA was always higher than those in the CT system (23.99 vs. 19.72% and 25.24 vs. 22.19% in 2019 and 2020, respectively). The interaction between SM and V was significant in both years only for the dough hardness and pasta b* parameters. In conclusion, long-term CA may be a crucial solution in the dry season to promote food quality and achieve sustainable agriculture goals.

Publication from the Healthy Soils project outlining soils research through the Scottish Government Rural and Environment Science and Analytical Services (RESAS) funded Strategic Research Programme. The Soil Sentinel will be published very 4 months throughout the project duration, 2022-2027.

Soils and landscapes can show complex, non-linear evolution, especially under changing climate or land use. Soil-landscape evolution models (SLEMs) are increasingly equipped to simulate the development of soils and landscapes over long timescales under these changing drivers, but provide large data output that can be difficult to interpret and communicate. New tools are required to analyse and communicate large model output. In this work, I show how spatial and temporal trends in previously published model results can be summarized and conceptualized with evolutionary pathways, which are possible trajectories of the development of soil patterns. Simulated differences in rainfall and land use control progressive or regressive soil development and convergence or divergence of the soil pattern. These changes are illustrated with real-world examples of soil development and soil complexity. The use of evolutionary pathways for analysing the results of SLEMs is not limited to the examples in this paper, but they can be used on a wide variety of soil properties, soil pattern statistics and models. With that, evolutionary pathways provide a promising tool to analyse and communicate soil model output, not only for studying past changes in soils, but also for evaluating future spatial and temporal effects of soil management practices in the context of sustainability.

Subsurface soil compaction and nutritional stress are among the main factors that limit the yield of crops. Using forest residues, such as wood ash, is a viable option in the chemical recovery of soils and can promote vigorous root development in soils with subsurface compaction. The objective of this study was to indicate the most adequate dose of wood ash for efficient management of this residue applied in rotational crops cultivated in soils with subsurface compaction. Safflower plants (Carthamus tinctorius), a rotational crop with a deep taproot system, were grown in clay soil fertilized with different doses of ash and with induced levels of compaction in the subsurface layer. The experiment was conducted in a randomized block design, under a 4 × 5 factorial scheme, composed of four doses of wood ash (8.0, 16.0, 24.0, and 32.0 g dm-3) and five levels of soil bulk density (1.0, 1.2, 1.4, 1.6, and 1.8 kg dm-3), with four replicates. Crop growth variables (plant height, number of leaves, stem diameter, and SPAD chlorophyll index) were evaluated at 15, 45, and 75 days after emergence. The results indicated that soil compaction was the most limiting factor to the vegetative development of safflower, regardless of the ash dose. The interaction between the wood ash dose and bulk density, when present, showed that the best growth response occurred for ash dose of 25 g dm-3 for a soil bulk density of 1.2 kg dm-3. RESUMO A compactação subsuperficial do solo e o estresse nutricional estão entre os principais fatores que limitam a produtividade dos cultivos agrícolas. A utilização de resíduos de origem florestal, como a cinza de madeira, é uma opção viável na recuperação química de solos, podendo proporcionar desenvolvimento radicular vigoroso em solos com compactação subsuperficial. Nesta pesquisa, objetivou-se indicar a dose de cinza vegetal mais adequada com vistas ao manejo eficiente desse resíduo aplicado em culturas rotacionais cultivadas em solos com compactação subsuperficial. Plantas de cártamo (Carthamus tinctorius), uma cultura de rotação com sistema radicular pivotante profundo, foram cultivadas em solo argiloso adubado com diferentes doses de cinza e com níveis de compactação induzida na camada subsuperficial. O experimento foi conduzido em delineamento experimental em blocos casualizados, sob esquema fatorial 4 × 5, composto por quatro doses de cinza vegetal (8,0; 16,0; 24,0 e 32,0 g dm-3) e cinco níveis de densidade do solo (1,0; 1,2; 1,4; 1,6 e 1,8 kg dm-3), com quatro repetições. As variáveis de crescimento da cultura (altura de plantas, número de folhas, diâmetro do caule e índice de clorofila SPAD) foram avaliadas aos 15, 45 e 75 dias após a emergência. Os resultados indicaram que a compactação foi o fator mais limitante ao desenvolvimento vegetativo do cártamo, independentemente da dose de cinza. A interação entre os fatores dose de cinza de madeira e densidade do solo, quando presente, mostrou que a melhor resposta de crescimento ocorreu para a dose de cinza na ordem de 25 g dm-3 para uma densidade de 1,2 kg dm-3.

Environmental monitoring of small, rural watersheds was one of the components of the Natural Resources Management and Rural Poverty Alleviation Program (RS-Rural) in southern Brazil. The purpose of the monitoring was to assess the impact of promoting soil conservation and environment management practices adopted by farmers and funded by the Program. In four small monitored watersheds, in a total of 95 plots representing distinct land use and soil management, surface soil was collected to characterize ground-zero of the Program by determining several soil physical, chemical and microbiological properties. Principal component analysis (PCA) shows soil physical, chemical and biological properties were decisive in defining the agricultural soils in the rural watersheds with family farming. The sensitivity to chemical properties provides an opportunity to improve soil quality if soil management focuses on altering those properties. Soil management practiced by tobacco farmers leads to rapid, intense degradation of some natural soil properties, especially those related to the dynamics of soil organic matter, compared with more conservationist uses (forest, regrowth, and grassland). Thus, soil management must be reoriented to avoid the progress of degradation and recover soil physical and biological quality. Cover crops and by land-abandonment to allow natural vegetation are important management strategies for the degraded soils used for tobacco production, increasing soil organic matter, nutrients and microbial activity and thus allowing further crop production. In conclusion, watersheds with tobacco cropping have soils with lower quality than when under no-tillage grain production, requiring changes in land use and soil management.

1.Biological pest control is known to depend on landscape heterogeneity. However, such relationship shows irregular pattern and seems influenced by local farming practices and natural enemies that overwinter within crop fields. The objective of this study was to assess the contribution of emerging natural enemies in spring to biological control, and their response to the interaction between landscape heterogeneity and farming intensity. 2.We monitored the overwintering insect community using emergence traps and measured the local potential pest predation using prey cards in 30 cereal fields, in spring in France. Study fields were selected along a landscape heterogeneity gradient and farming practices were recorded. 3.None of the ten emerging taxa influenced predation of lepidopteran eggs or weed seeds. On the ground, aphid predation was positively correlated with emerging carabid beetles. In foliage, aphid predation was negatively correlated with emerging parasitoids. Overall, the community of natural enemies that overwinter within crop fields seemed to benefit from lower crop diversity and higher edge density in combination with higher farming intensities. This suggest that they represent a subset of species adapted to. This study highlights a large broad taxonomic panel of emerging natural enemies and their potential local pest predation. peerReviewed

The substitution of native vegetation in agricultural systems can cause several changes in the chemical and physical soil attributes, and in the dynamics of soil organic carbon. This study aimed to evaluate changes in soil physical attributes and carbon stock in soil organic matter fractions in irrigated sugarcane crops, as a function of land use and straw management practices over time, in the North of Minas Gerais State, Brazil. Four sugarcane fields with different ages and management systems were studied: Cane 6, Cane 7, Cane 8, and Cane 10. The data obtained were compared with a native vegetation area located near the sugarcane fields, and used as reference for unmanaged soil. In each system, soil samples were collected in the 0-10, 10-20, and 20-30 cm depth layers, to determine the physical attributes, the total organic carbon, and the physical fractions of the soil organic matter. We found that the sugarcane management with the maintenance of a part of the straw on the soil surface contributes to the preservation of the soil structure and the most stable fractions of organic carbon over time. However, in the regions with high annual mean temperature and in the irrigated systems, the soil tillage for the renewal of the sugarcane fields significantly decreases the total soil organic carbon. A substituição de áreas de vegetação nativa em áreas agrícolas pode causar diversas alterações nos atributos químicos e físicos e na dinâmica do carbono orgânico do solo. Este estudo teve como objetivo avaliar mudanças nos atributos físicos e no estoque de carbono nas frações de matéria orgânica do solo em canaviais irrigados, em função do uso da terra e das práticas de manejo da palhada, no Norte do Estado de Minas Gerais. Foram estudados quatro canaviais com diferentes idades e sistemas de manejo: Cana 6, Cana 7, Cana 8 e Cana 10. Os dados obtidos foram comparados com os do solo de área de vegetação nativa, próxima aos canaviais, como referência de solo não manejado. Em cada uma das áreas foram coletadas amostras de solo nas camadas de 0-10, 10-20, and 20-30 cm de profundidade, para a determinação dos atributos físicos, carbono orgânico total e fracionamento físico da matéria orgânica do solo. De acordo com os resultados obtidos, o manejo dos canaviais com a manutenção de parte da palha na superfície do solo contribui para a preservação da estrutura do solo e das frações mais estáveis do carbono orgânico ao longo do tempo. Porém, em regiões de alta temperatura média anual e em sistemas irrigados, o preparo do solo para a renovação dos canaviais diminui significativamente o carbono orgânico total do solo.

Alterations of soil characteristics frequently accompany adaptations of pristine areas to different land uses, and these shifts have an impact on the overall ecosystem. Soil carbon stores and atmospheric CO2 emissions are directly affected by those adaptations in farming management and land usage. To comprehend the mechanisms involved in the carbon pool, this study was conducted in a subtropical region by considering six contiguous land uses; pasture, rice land, kiwi orchard, tea land, woodland, and uncultivated land. A CO2 trap was used to quantify CO2 emissions for six weeks, and the obtained data were used to analyze CO2 respiration. In comparison to other land uses, the pasture and woodland showed the best results in soil microbial respiration (SMR), significantly higher than other land uses, with values of 2561.2 and 2334.8 mg CO2-C kg−1 soil, respectively. Tea land and uncultivated land demonstrated considerably increased microbial metabolic quotients (MMQ) compared to other land uses. Whereas with an increase in soil depth, the MMQ significantly increased in tea and uncultivated lands, other land uses did not show significant changes with depth. Compared to other land uses, pasture, and forest areas boosted soil organic carbon (SOC) and microbial biomass carbon (MBC) both in the top and subsoil. It is reasonable to assume that the amount of SOC and MBC in the soil significantly dropped when the land was converted from pasture and woodland to other land uses.

Ilustraciones, tablas, gráficas Evaluar las funciones ecosistémicas del suelo y los impactos asociados en su uso y manejo es fundamental para el control y monitoreo de la degradación o restauración de este recurso. Actualmente las herramientas desarrolladas para medir la calidad del suelo son complejas, costosas y de difícil acceso para los agricultores, además de que tienen un enfoque limitado porque solo son válidas a escala regional. El objetivo de este estudio es generar un indicador simplificado que permita identificar los impactos ambientales asociados al uso y manejo del suelo. A partir de evaluaciones de la calidad físico química, morfológica y biológica (comunidades de macroinvertebrados) realizadas en China, Francia, Brasil, Perú y, Colombia más una base de datos global de macrofauna; se verificó la posibilidad de diseñar una formula universal y con base en el resultado se construyó una fórmula general que tuviera las variables más representativas de los diferentes aspectos de calidad del suelo. El cálculo del indicador se realizó a través de análisis multivariados y para cada uno de los juegos de datos (siendo estos de tres tipos: fisicoquímico, morfológico y macrofauna) en 9 localidades geográficas. Además, se realizó la aplicación cruzada de las fórmulas de los indicadores obtenidos en cada sitio con cada uno de los otros sitios, para verificar la universalidad de dichos indicadores. Los resultados de los parámetros biológicos del suelo mostraron un índice de correlación superior al 95% entre los valores calculados en cada sitio y valores calculados con fórmulas de los otros sitios. Este resultado muestra que el indicador global de macrofauna del suelo generado a continuación con los datos de los 3694 sitios de la base de datos Macrofauna puede ser aplicado en cualquier parte del mundo. Sin embargo, el intento de construir una fórmula general que involucrara variables fisicoquímicas y morfológicas, no fue posible dada las características específicas de los suelos y la variabilidad que este presenta por condiciones que van desde su génesis hasta el ambiente edafoclimático. Esto quiere decir que a partir de las fórmulas aquí propuestas se podrían generar indicadores limitados a escalas regionales, o a ciertos tipos de suelos homogéneos. (Texto tomado de la fuente) Assessing the ecosystem functions of the soil and the impacts associated with its use and management is essential for the control and monitoring of the degradation or restoration of this resource. Currently the tools developed to measure soil quality are complex, expensive and difficult to access for farmers, in addition to having a limited focus because they are only valid at a regional scale. The objective of this study is to generate a simplified indicator that allows identifying the environmental impacts associated with the use and management of soil in agricultural production systems. From evaluations of the physical, chemical, morphological and biological quality (macroinvertebrate communities) carried out in China, France, Brazil, Peru and Colombia, plus a global database of macrofauna. The possibility of designing a universal formula was verified and based on the result, a general formula was built that had the most representative variables of regarding the different aspects of soil quality. The calculation of the indicator was carried out through multivariate analysis and was mae for each of the data sets (these being of three types: physicochemical, morphological and macrofauna) in 9 geographical locations. In addition to this, the cross-application of the formulas of the indicators obtained in each site with each of the other sites was carried out, to verify the universality of said indicators. The results of the biological parameters of the soil showed a correlation index greater than 95% between the values calculated in each site and the values calculated with formulas from the other sites. This result shows that the global soil macrofauna indicator generated below with data from the 3694 sites in the Macrofauna database can be applied anywhere in the world. Meanwhile, the attempt to build a general formula involving physicochemical and morphological variables was not possible given the specific characteristics of the soils and the variability that they present due to conditions ranging from their genesis to the edaphoclimatic environment. This means that, based on the formulas proposed here, indicators limited to regional scales, or to certain types of homogeneous soils, can be generated. Maestría Magíster en Ingeniería - Ingeniería Ambiental Se analizaron 9 juegos de datos de investigaciones realizadas en China, Francia, Brasil, Perú y Colombia con protocolos parecidos. Suman un total de 1,121 puntos de muestreo donde se midieron variables físicas, químicas, morfológicas y biológicas con los mismos métodos. Para el estudio de las variables biológicas, se complementó este análisis con datos recopilados almacenados en la base de datos de macrofauna del suelo en 3,694 sitios distribuidos en 41 países (Lavelle et al., 2022). A partir del procesamiento de la información se usaron los valores obtenidos para crear una formula única de indicador global de calidad del suelo. En cada juego de datos, se analizaron varios tipos de uso del suelo, buscando comparar al medio natural de referencia local (bosque natural o sistema herbáceo) diferentes tipos representando un gradiente de intensificación del uso del suelo. Se diseñaron indicadores globales a partir de estos 9 sitios (más los 3694 de la base de datos para la macrofauna) y se aplicaron a tres sistemas de producción agrícola ubicados en el corregimiento de Robles, perteneciente a la zona sur plana del municipio de Jamundí, Valle del Cauca. Suelos y aguas Ingeniería.Sede Palmira

On poorly drained grassland farms in Ireland, stone aggregates remain the only in-field drain envelope material used by contractors. A variety of aggregate sizes and lithologies are currently in use, but their performance in clay-textured mineral soils is unknown. In practice, this may result in ad-hoc system performance and a varied lifespan due to sediment ingress. The aim of this study was to evaluate the hydraulic and filter performance of a range of aggregate gradations in clay-textured mineral soils. Nine aggregates (three replicates of each) were examined in laboratory units containing clay-textured soil, with a perforated drainpipe surrounded by an aggregate envelope ranging in size from 0.7 to 62 mm and a constant 0.4 m head of water above the soil surface. To determine the hydraulic performance of the envelope, the discharge rate of water through the drainage pipe outlet was measured over 38 days. To determine the filter performance, sediment loss, sediment settlement in the drainpipe, and ingress of sediment into the envelope were measured. The results indicated that only aggregates in the 0.7 to 19 mm size range performed adequately from both the hydraulic and filter perspectives and were deemed suitable for use with a clay-textured soil. Discharge appeared to be inversely related to aggregate size, with larger discharges being measured in the smaller aggregate sizes and smaller discharges measured in the larger aggregate sizes (exception: Aggregate 2). For all aggregates examined, discharge was greatest at the start of the experiment before reducing over time. When the cost of the aggregate material is also considered, aggregates in the lower size range are 18 to 50% more expensive than aggregates in the higher size range. Aggregates with particle sizes ranging from 0.7 to 19 mm are recommended for in-situ field testing in clay-textured soils. The authors acknowledge the assistance of the quarries who provided the materials for this project, and the Walsh Scholarship Programme (grant number: RMIS-0047) for providing the financial assistance that made the research possible. peer-reviewed

Pesticide residues historically represent a severe threat to public health and the environment. Several species worldwide are still in danger from pesticide residues, despite efforts to mitigate the adverse health effects of these pollutants. As agricultural output has increased and scientific understanding has advanced, new methods have emerged for degrading pesticide traces. The remarkable effectiveness of ozone as a broad-spectrum disinfectant and its potential to destroy pesticide residues have led to its widespread use as a residue-free method for improving soil quality, disinfecting food, and treating water, among other benefits. Ozone is cheap to manufacture, making it an affordable option for treating harmful pesticide residues. Its capacity to degrade pesticides without negatively impacting the environment has increased its adoption as a tool for cleaning up after pesticide use. This review extensively provides an overview of ozonation for pesticide residues removal in different settings and applications. Ozone treatment of pesticide residues in the soil, water and food is effective in removing pesticides residues. We highlight recent advances in methods of removing pesticide residues. We discuss several challenges related to the ozone treatment of pesticide residues. Whether used alone or in conjunction with other processes, ozone is highly effective at removing pesticide residues from the environment. Therefore, we recommend this holistic and environmentally friendly strategy to reduce pesticide residues.

The influence of unconventional alkaline additives (ground seashells and bauxite residue) on the copper (Cu) sorption and retention capacity of acidic soil was investigated. The soil collected near the mining and metallurgical complex in Bor (Serbia) was treated with different doses of additives, and the Cu sorption and desorption were assessed in batch conditions. The waste-derived materials proved to be efficient and sustainable alternatives to conventional alkalizers, increasing the maximum sorption capacity for Cu in correspondence with the soil pH increase. Nevertheless, added Cu was largely mobilized by weak acid extraction, demonstrating the importance of maintaining optimal soil pH for Cu leaching prevention.

This study investigates 11 agricultural management practices (AMPs) and their effects on seven visual soil quality indicators and soil aggregate stability. The survey carried out across eight pedoclimatic zones in Europe and China was based on visual soil assessments (New Zealand VSA method) performed on soils subject to different soil management practices and nearby similar soils, under similar farming features, without the distinctive soil management practice (control). Fisher's exact test was used to test if the management treatment was independent of the score of each visual soil quality indicator and to test if the management treatment produced a higher frequency of the score ‘good’. The results showed a statistically significant (α

Wind erosion from agricultural land is an underrated and understudied environmental challenge in Europe. Its societal and policy relevance will likely increase in the near future due to climate change and associated increases in the frequency, severity and patterns of atmospheric events such as droughts. We review the research on this issue and find it to be fragmented, siloed and dominated by natural sciences, leaving important research gaps. The most important gaps that circumscribe a research agenda for the future include specific effects of future climate change on wind erosion, the relevance of wind erosion for public health and ecosystem functioning, farmers' behaviour affecting erosion risk and feedback between land management and environmental change, and appropriate policy approaches to address wind erosion risks. Social science contributions are thus required to make wind erosion research relevant for addressing the related societally most pressing questions. We provide a social–environmental systems perspective to highlight the potential of inter‐ and transdisciplinary research into wind erosion in times of climate change and the increasingly recognized need to transform agriculture towards more sustainability and climate resilience.

International audience; Highlights:• Digestibility of weeds in olive groves and vineyards is comparable to forage species.• CWM of LDMC negatively correlates with weeds forage quality.• Disturbing agricultural practices like tillage increased the digestibility of weeds.• No relationship was found between weeds biomass and leaf traits nor pedoclimatic drivers.• Weeds in olive groves and vineyards represent a promising forage resource for livestock.Abstract:Biodiversity presence in perennial agroecosystems increases the provision of ecosystem services (ES). Weeds are known to deliver supporting or regulating services but their potential to provide provisioning services is less studied. Our study aims to quantify the potential of weeds to provide forage resources for livestock in two Mediterranean perennial agroecosystems: olive groves and vineyards. We used a trait-based approach to investigate the abiotic determinants of weed quality and quantity variations at both the species and community levels. We surveyed spontaneous vegetation in 16 vineyards and 16 olive groves in the French Mediterranean region with contrasting pedoclimatic conditions and agricultural practices, during spring and fall 2021. Four leaf traits were measured: Leaf Dry Matter Content (LDMC), Specific Leaf Area (SLA), Leaf Nitrogen Content (LNC) and leaf C/N ratio (Leaf C/N) and four forage potential indicators: dry matter digestibility (DMD), crude proteins (CP), neutral detergent fiber content (NDF) and aboveground biomass (AB). We found that DMD of perennial agroecosystems weeds is high (689 ± 116 g kg−1), and can be compared to those of forage species. Using linear mixed models and path analysis, we found that, at the community scale, LDMC is negatively linked to weed forage quality and that disturbing agricultural practices like tillage, increase weed forage quality. However we did not find any effect of agricultural practices or pedoclimate on weeds leaf traits or on weeds quantity. Our results revealed the potential of weeds as highly digestible forage resources for livestock. The long-term aim is to promote the integration of livestock in perennial cropping systems in order to reduce the use of herbicides and/or tillage and to diversify agricultural production.

ilustraciones, fotografías a color El análisis espectral ha surgido como una alternativa eficiente para el estudio y caracterización de las propiedades del suelo frente a los métodos convencionales. El carbono orgánico del suelo (COS) es un indicador clave para entender el estado del suelo y poder desarrollar prácticas sostenibles del uso del suelo. Este trabajo de investigación evalúa el potencial que tiene el análisis espectral para la estimación del COS en cultivos de cítricos en el municipio de Simacota en el departamento de Santander. Para ello se ajustaron y aplicaron protocolos para la toma de muestras de suelo y para realizar las mediciones espectrales. En total se adquirieron 490 muestras de suelos en la región, a las cuales se les tomaron las firmas espectrales en el rango visible (Vis) de 400 a 900 nm y en el rango del infrarrojo cercano (NIR) de 900 a 2500 nm. Se aplicaron distintos métodos de preprocesamiento a los datos espectrales para mejorar las características espectrales y reducir el ruido, así como métodos de reducción de dimensionalidad, con lo cual se pudieron identificar las longitudes de onda más importantes para la estimación. Se implementaron modelos de aprendizaje automático para la estimación del contenido de COS en los que se incluyeron la regresión de mínimos cuadrados parciales (PLSR), el regresor Cubist y dos modelos basados en redes convolucionales, VGG y Resnet. Los mejores resultados se obtuvieron con PLSR alcanzado un coeficiente de determinación $R^2=0.63$ para el conjunto de validación. Por otra parte, se definieron 2 y 4 grupos a partir del contenido de COS y se implementaron modelos para la clasificación en los que se incluyen los bosques aleatorios (RF), máquinas de vectores de soporte (SVM), clasificador de aumento de gradiente (GB) y los modelos de redes convoluciones configurados para la clasificación. Los mejores resultados de clasificación para 4 grupos alcanzaron una exactitud de 58\% con VGG y de 84\% para la clasificación con 2 grupos con RF. (Texto tomado de la fuente) Spectral analysis has emerged as an efficient alternative for the study and characterization of soil properties compared to conventional methods. Soil organic carbon (SOC) is a key indicator to understand the state of the soil and to be able to develop sustainable land use practices. This research work evaluates the potential of spectral analysis for the estimation of COS in citrus crops in the municipality of Simacota in the department of Santander. To this end, protocols were adjusted and applied for taking soil samples and for performing spectral measurements. In total, 490 soil samples were acquired in the region, from which the spectral signatures were taken in the visible range (Vis) from 400 to 900 nm and in the near infrared range (NIR) from 900 to 2500 nm. Different pre-processing methods were applied to the spectral data to improve spectral characteristics and reduce noise, as well as dimensionality reduction methods, with which the most important wavelengths for the estimation could be identified. Machine learning models were implemented to estimate the COS content, including partial least squares regression (PLSR), the Cubist regressor, and two models based on convolutional networks, VGG and Resnet. The best results were obtained with PLSR reaching a coefficient of determination $R^2=0.63$ for the validation set. On the other hand, 2 and 4 groups were defined based on the COS content and models for classification were implemented, including Random Forests (RF), Support Vector Machines (SVM), Gradient Increase Classifier (GB) and the convolutional network models configured for classification. The best classification results for 4 groups reached an accuracy of 58\% with VGG and 84\% for classification with 2 groups with RF. Maestría Magíster en Ingeniería - Automatización Industrial Automatización Industrial

A demanda mundial por alimentos tem contribuído para a expansão de novas fronteiras agrícolas em solos arenosos. Contudo, esses solos são frágeis e necessitam ser bem manejados de forma que possam expressar seu potencial produtivo. O objetivo deste estudo foi avaliar a qualidade física de um Neossolo Regolítico sob sistema de integração lavoura-pecuária no semiárido da Paraíba. 11 tratamentos foram avaliados em delineamento inteiramente casualizado, com cinco repetições. As amostras com estrutura indeformada foram coletadas nas camadas de 0-0,1 e 0,1-0,2 m e utilizadas na determinação da porosidade total (PT), Macroporosidade (Ma), microporosidade (Mi), porosidade de aeração (Pa), Densidade do solo (Ds), condutividade hidráulica saturada (Kθ), capacidade de campo (θCC), ponto de murcha permanente (θPMP), água disponível (θAD), granulometria e o grau de floculação (GF). Os dados foram analisados por meio da análise de variância e análise de componentes principais. O solo sob Floresta apresentou qualidade física do solo superior a muito dos tratamentos avaliados, contudo, melhorias físicas substanciais foram observadas no solo sob capim Massai, Urochloa decumbens e Urochloa decumbes + milho. Conclui-se que os atributos macroporosidade, condutividade hidráulica saturada e porosidade de aeração estão sendo pelos sistemas integrados de produção agropecuária.

Under small and marginal farm conditions, allocation of land exclusively for forages is not possible. Hence, integration of forages in existing crop geometry can ensure production of grain and fodder, simultaneously under rainfed conditions. A field experiment was conducted to study the effect of different nutrient management practices on rice and fodder intercropping systems under rainfed conditions during 2015–2017. The intercropping system comprised (i) sole rice (R), (ii) rice and cowpea (5:2) (CP) and (iii) rice and ricebean (5:2) (RB) whereas the different nutrient management practices comprised (i) application of farm yard manure (FYM) at 5 t ha–1 (farmers’ practice) (N1), (ii) application of inorganic fertilizer (recommended dose of fertilizer (RDF) of rice, 60:30:30 kg ha–1 of N:P2O5:K2O) (N2) and (iii) application of both FYM at 5 t ha–1 and 50% of RDF inorganic fertilizer (N3). The results of the experiment revealed that the growth attribute such as leaf area was influenced significantly when fodder crops were taken as intercrops because rice plant was getting more nitrogen from soil due to nitrogen fixation of leguminous fodder crops. Among the nutrient management practices, significant differences in leaf area were found beween N2 and N1, and between N3 and N1 treatments. However, regarding total number of effective tillers, significant differences were found neither between nutrient management practices nor between cropping systems. The rice equivalent yield (REY) based on price (REYP) was found to be significantly lower in CP (2 615 kg ha–1; –6.4%) and RB intercropping systems (2 571 kg ha–1; –8.0%) than in R monocropping system (2 794 kg ha–1). However, the REY based on energy (REYE) of CP (2 999 kg ha–1; +7.3%) and RB (2 960 kg ha–1; +5.9%) were found to be significantly higher than that of R (2 794 kg ha–1) irrespective of nutrient management practices. Between different nutrient management practices, the N3 treatment recorded the highest REYP and REYE which was at par with the N2 treatment and significantly higher than the N1 treatment irrespective of cropping systems. The combined application of both organic and inorganic sources of nutrients helped to supply nutrients throughout the growing season, which led to improved growth parameters and rice yield. The R monocropping system resulted in more income and rain water use efficiency (RWUE) closely followed by rice and fodder intercropping systems. However, the REYE and energy use efficiency (EUE) of rice and fodder intercropping systems were higher than those of R. Also, fodder helped to meet the requirement of cattle feeding in the off-season. Hence, the intercropping system is advocated in the study zone. Further study can be done on ecosystem services and carbon sequestration potential of the intercropping system, as well as the system’s coping ability in response to short drought through observing periodic soil moisture regime in root zone.

Tomato vine decline (TVD) disease complex results in fruit yield loss, but what soil management strategies might mitigate it? In commercial fields with a history of TVD, five approaches (soil organic amendments and transplant treatments) were evaluated for their impact on fruit yield, fruit quality, and microbial abundance or diversity at four site-years. One site-year had very high TVD pressure and high variability with no yield differences, thus efforts focused on the remaining site-years. Marketable yield was not different among treatments but numerically followed a trend similar to total yield. Amending soil with poultry manure delayed maturity (i.e., increased proportion of green fruit) and had the greatest total yield increases of 17.2%, congruent with decreased abundance of root pathogens (Verticillium dahliae, Rhizopicnis vagum). Microbial DNA fingerprinting data of rhizospheres, roots and (or) stems suggested treatments did not significantly shift the total diversity fungal nor bacterial populations, but the aforementioned pathogen loads were reduced with the application of organic amendments relative to the untreated control. While drenching tomato transplants with pseudomonad culture increased their presence in roots, pathogen load was not reduced relative to the untreated control. Overall, these results show that soil organic amendments were able to improve tomato total yield in two of four site-years without reducing fruit quality (i.e., soluble solids, pH, colour), perhaps, in part, due to their ability to suppress specific root pathogens in commercial fields.

This study aimed to determine how crop residue placement and composition would affect soil water content and temperature during the dry season in the central region of Espírito Santo state, Brazil. A 19-week field study was conducted from April to August 2017. A 2 x 4 factorial study with four replications was implemented using a randomized complete block design. Factors were soil management [conventional tillage (CT) and no soil disturbance (ND)] and residue amendment [maize (Zea mays L.), sunn hemp (Crotalaria juncea L.), a maize-sunn hemp mixture, and a no amendment control]. Soil water content and temperature were measured weekly at predetermined soil depth intervals. Soil water content was higher in ND plots amended with surface residues than under all other treatments in the 0 to 0.05 m depth range. All residue amendments in this range were equally effective in conserving soil water. Surface residues reduced soil temperature by up to 8.4 °C relative to the control in ND plots. Incorporating residue amendments by CT cancelled all temperature-moderating benefits provided by surface residues. These results indicate that surface residues from cereals, legumes, or cereal/legume mixtures are equally effective in conserving soil water and moderating soil temperature during the dry season. Additional research is needed to determine how improved soil environmental conditions, generated by surface residues, would affect nutrient acquisition and crop performance. RESUMO Este estudo teve como objetivo determinar como a disposição e composição dos resíduos culturais afetam o teor de água do solo e a temperatura durante a estação seca na região central do estado do Espírito Santo, Brasil. Um estudo de campo de 19 semanas foi conduzido de abril a agosto de 2017, no esquema fatorial 2 x 4 com quatro repetições, em blocos casualizados. Os fatores foram: preparo do solo [preparo convencional (CT) e sem preparo (ND)] e tipos de cobertura [milho (Zea mays L.), crotalária (Crotalaria juncea L.), mistura de crotalária com milho e sem cobertura morta (controle)]. O teor de água e a temperatura do solo foram medidos semanalmente em intervalos de profundidade pré-determinados. A umidade do solo foi maior no NT do que nos demais tratamentos na profundidade de 0-0.05 m. Todas as coberturas mortas nessa profundidade foram igualmente eficazes na conservação da umidade do solo. Os resíduos da superfície reduziram a temperatura do solo em até 8,4 °C em relação ao controle nas parcelas NT. A Incorporação dos resíduos eliminou todos os benefícios de redução de temperatura fornecidos pela manutenção dos resíduos na superfície. Estes resultados indicam que os resíduos superficiais de cereais, leguminosas ou misturas desses são igualmente eficazes na conservação da água do solo e na moderação da temperatura do solo durante a estação seca. Pesquisas adicionais são necessárias para determinar como as melhores condições ambientais do solo, geradas por resíduos de superfície, afetariam a aquisição de nutrientes e o desempenho da cultura.

The olive groves’ relevance has historically been ingrained in Mediterranean cultures. Spain stands out as a leading producer worldwide, where olive trees are extensively grown in the Andalusian region. However, despite the importance of this strategic agricultural sector, cultivation through the years has given rise to various crop management practices that have led to disruptive erosion processes. The objective is to measure land erosion in over 100-year-old olive groves considering the 3D reconstructed recent relief of olive tree mounds. A time-of-flight depth sensor, namely, Kinect v2, was employed to 3D model the target areas, i.e., trunk and exposed roots, to determine the height as a surrogate of the difference between the historical and recent relief. In three plots in southern Spain, the height of relic tree mounds was measured in olive trees at the upper and bottom parts to determine soil profile truncation. The results were compared and validated with manual measurements (ground truth values). Olive trees were grouped into high, moderate, and low slope gradient classes. The results showed, in all cases, high consistency in the correlation equations (Pearson’s coefficients over 0.95) between the estimated values in the models and the actual values measured in the olive trees. Consequently, these excellent results indicate the potential of this low-budget system for the study of historical erosion. Notably, the Kinect v2 can generate 3D reconstructions of tree mounds at microtopographic scales in outdoor situations that would be challenging for other depth cameras under variable lighting conditions, as found outdoors.

Vineyards are a high-income crop and can also have an important landscape value, especially in certain areas of Italy. Vineyards show large soil erosion rates depending on climate variability, local topography and vine management. Farming machineries can also determine compaction and affect soil hydraulic properties, runoff and erosion at different levels depending on inter-rows soil management. This work, with focus on a pilot area located in the municipality of Carpeneto, Alessandria province (Piedmont, NW Italy), concerns the adoption of satellite optical data from the Copernicus Sentinel 2 (S2) mission to describe vineyard properties. A first analysis was addressed at testing if and how S2 data can map differences in vineyards management and behaviour. It was achieved at field level with reference to some experimental plots presenting different inter-row soil management (tillage -CT-, tillage with downstream 10-m-strip grass cover -ST- and total permanent grass cover -GC-). Reference vineyards were placed on sloping areas and set with up-and-down tillage ('rittochino' in Italian language). A NDVI image time series (TS) was obtained from the level 2 S2 data for the growing season 2017-2018. TS was processed at plot level and proved to be effective in showing vegetation response to mechanical interventions during the growing season; in particular ripping in CT and shredding in GC in late spring and, during summer, mowing and topping were highlighted; minor variations in NDVI were observed after harvest in all plots. Secondly, a wider analysis was achieved including all the vineyards located in the municipality of Carpeneto. These were mapped by photo-interpretation and grouped in clusters with reference to the local NDVI TS (averaged at plot level). Clustering was obtained by K-means unsupervised classification. Results suggest that vineyards can be classified according to the intensity of inter-row's soil management. A further analysis was aimed at exploring the role of the native S2 bands in describing vineyard differences and inter-row coverage. Preliminary results suggest that single-bands data could be jointly used with vegetation indices to better describe vine growth dynamics in row-crops. Further studies on remotely sensed data could provide spatially variable inputs for applications in erosion risk management and land analysis.

In Ireland, agricultural landscapes dominated by high rainfall and poorly drained soils have high densities of in-field pipe drains surrounded by stone aggregate envelopes. Unlike other countries, there is limited availability and use of synthetic envelopes, and no data exist about their suitability and efficacy in clay-textured soils. Indeed, both aggregate and synthetic envelope- based designs have been implemented without knowledge of their suitability or efficacy. Available synthetic envelopes have two configurations: pre-wrapped loose materials and pre-wrapped geotextiles (woven, non-woven, and knitted, with the knitted being the most common in the U.S. and Canada). In total, five configurations (referred to in this paper as `treatments¿) were examined in this study with a view to ranking them from performance and cost perspectives. The treatments were: a 0.8 mm thick needle-punched, non-woven geotextile or a 2 mm thick knitted filter sock wrapped around the drainpipe, with no aggregate (Treatments 1 and 2, respectively); a 0.8 mm-thick needle-punched, non-woven geotextile wrapped around 2 ¿ 10 mm (dD10 ¿ dD90) stone aggregate (Treatment 3); a 2 mm thick knitted filter sock wrapped around a drainpipe surrounded by 2-10 mm stone aggregate (0.15 m above pipe, 0.13 m below pipe) (Treatment 4); and a 2-10 mm stone aggregate alone (0.15 m above pipe, 0.13 m below pipe) (Treatment 5). The hydraulic and filter performance of Treatments 1 to 4 were compared with Treatment 5. Treatments 3 and 4 were assessed to determine if they improved hydraulic conductivity and filter performance over Treatment 5. Using cumulative discharge and cumulative flow weighted sediment loss (total suspended solids: TSS) as indicators of performance, geotextiles performed poorly from discharge and TSS perspectives. The discharge for Treatment 1 and Treatment 2 was below the discharge observed from the stone aggregate, and cumulative TSS losses were 636% and 709% higher (Treatment 1 and 2, respectively). The discharge from Treatments 3 and 4 was 67% and 134% higher than the stone aggregate, but this produced an increase in cumulative sediment losses. Treatment 5 performed effectively, with a discharge that was higher than that observed in the geotextile treatments (Treatments 1 and 2) but lower than that observed in Treatments 3 and 4. The use of these treatments, either alone or in combination with stone aggregate, is not recommended in the clay-textured soil tested, from both performance and cost perspectives. Therefore, this study recommends that stone aggregates in the optimal size range should be used as drain envelope material in similar textured soils in Ireland. The authors acknowledge the assistance of the quarries and synthetic manufacturers who provided the materials for this project, and the Walsh Scholarship Programme (grant number: RMIS-0047) for providing the financial assistance that made the research possible. peer-reviewed

Soils provide key ecosystem services and are crucial to combat climate change. Agriculture provides important ecosystem services but also causes negative environmental effects depending on agricultural management. In this regard, crop diversification is a promising sustainable land management strategy to combat soil erosion and degradation, mitigate climate change and ensure food security. Here, we assess the short-term impacts of crop diversification on several key soil physico-chemical parameters related to soil functioning as well as on crop yields in a rainfed almond (Prunus dulcis Mill.) orchard under semiarid Mediterranean conditions. Almond trees were inter-cropped with Capparis spinosa L. (caper) or Thymus hyemalis Lange (winter thyme) and compared with the almond monocrop system. The experimental design consisted of three plots in a randomized-block design, with three replicates for each crop management treatment (almond monocrop, almond inter-cropped with caper, and almond inter-cropped with winter thyme). Along with crop yields, the effects of crop diversification on a range of soil quality and health indicators including soil physical (bulk density, aggregate stability, water retention and availability) and chemical (total and particulate organic carbon and nitrogen, ammonium and nitrate content, available macro- and micro-nutrients) properties were monitored in the topsoil and subsoil (at 0-10 and 10-30 cm depth, respectively) one and three years from establishment. Results from this study indicate that both crop diversifications enhanced soil water retention capacity and water availability for plants after three years from their implementation at 0-30 cm depth. Likewise, improvements in particulate organic carbon and available N were observed in the subsoil of both crop diversifications. Crop diversification did not significantly affect the main crop yields, highlighting that crop diversification can be a promising sustainable management practice for improving soil health without compromising food security under semiarid Mediterranean conditions. Indeed, land equivalent ratios (LER) of almond trees inter-cropped with winter thyme were higher than those of their respective monocrop systems for two consecutive years, indicating that inter-cropping with aromatics can improve the productivity of rainfed woody monocrop systems under semiarid conditions. Our results emphasize the importance of selecting an appropriate secondary crop that ensures a permanent soil cover while contributes to enhance the agroecosystem productivity from the first year of establishment onwards to off-set plausible lower yields from the main crop. In this regard, preliminary assessments on soil condition and crop nutrient requirements are encouraged before designing and implementing a crop diversification in these low-input cropping systems. Likewise, long-term studies are needed to provide evidence on the stability of the production of diversified crop management, particularly in these low-input cropping systems under harsh environmental conditions.

Publication from the Healthy Soils project outlining soils research through the Scottish Government Rural and Environment Science and Analytical Services (RESAS) funded Strategic Research Programme. The Soil Sentinel will be published very 4 months throughout the project duration, 2022-2027.

Acknowledgements The authors gratefully acknowledge the financial support provided by Iran National Science Foundation (INSF). Funding for open access charge: Universidad de Granada / CBUA., Funding Funding for open access charge: Universidad de Granada / CBUA. This study received financial support provided by the Iran National Science Foundation (INSF)., Data Availability The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author, (A. C. C.), upon reasonable request., The intensification of specific land management operations (tillage, herbicide, etc.) is increasing land degradation and contributing to ecosystem pollution. Mulches can be a sustainable tool to counter these processes. This is particularly relevant for rural areas in low-income countries where agriculture is a vital sector. In this research, the environmental impact of different rates of wheat residues (no residues, 25, 50, 75, and 100%) in corn silage cultivation was evaluated using the life cycle assessment (LCA) method under conventional tillage (CT) and no-tillage (NT) systems in a semi-arid region in Karaj, Iran. Results showed that in both tillage systems, marine aquatic ecotoxicity (ME) and global warming potential (GWP) had the highest levels of pollution among the environmental impact indicators. In CT systems, the minimum (17,730.70 kg 1,4-dichlorobenzene (DB) eq.) and maximum (33,683.97 kg 1,4-DB eq.) amounts of ME were related to 0 and 100% wheat residue rates, respectively. Also, in the CT system, 0 and 100% wheat residue rates resulted in minimum (176.72 kg CO2 eq.) and maximum (324.95 kg CO2 eq.) amounts of GWP, respectively. However, in the NT system, the 100% wheat residue rate showed the minimum amounts of ME (11,442.39 kg 1,4-DB eq.) and GWP (120.21 kg CO2 eq.). Also, in the NT system, maximum amounts of ME (17,174 kg 1,4-DB eq.) and GWP (175.60 kg CO2 eq.) were observed with a zero wheat residue rate. On-farm emissions and nitrogen fertilizers were the two factors with the highest contribution to the degradation related to environmental parameters at all rates of wheat residues. Moreover, in the CT system, the number of environmental pollutants increased with the addition of a higher wheat residue rate, while in the NT system, increasing residue rates decreased the amount of environmental pollutants. In conclusion, this LCA demonstrates that the NT system with the full retention of wheat residues (100%) is a more environmentally sustainable practice for corn silage production. Therefore, it may be considered one of the most adequate management strategies in this region and similar semi-arid conditions. Further long-term research and considering more environmental impact categories are required to assess the real potential of crop residues and tillage management for sustainable corn silage production., Funding for open access charge: Universidad de Granada/CBUA, Iran National Science Foundation (INSF)

The awareness about the vital role of soil for nature and society has been increasing. Soil is presently a priority in European research, development, and innovation programs. In order to design effective research strategies, there is the need to identify the current knowledge level and its gaps. With that aim, this study collected systematic information from twenty three European countries about the impacts of sustainable soil management practices. Each team reported impacts of sustainable practices, based on a total of thirty predefined practices, grouped in four management groups (Soil tillage and cover, Crop and cropping system, Nutrient management and crop protection, and Water management). The impacts were related to the soil challenges defined by the European Joint Programme Soil. The results show that the knowledge is rather well spread over practices in the four management groups, both generally and regionally. There was a high variability in the level of knowledge or awareness about the practices related to the different soil challenges. The need for further knowledge on practices to decrease greenhouse gas emissions from agricultural soils could be clearly identified., A consciência sobre o papel vital do solo para a natureza e a sociedade tem vindo a aumentar. Atualmente, o solo é um dos eixos prioritários dos programas de investigação, desenvolvimento e inovação na Europa. Para desenhar estratégias de investigação eficazes é necessário identificar o atual grau de conhecimento bem como as suas lacunas. Com esse objetivo, este estudo reuniu informação sistemática de vinte e três países europeus sobre os impactos das práticas sustentáveis de gestão do solo agrícola. As equipas de cada país identificaram o conhecimento sobre as práticas e seus impactos, partindo de um total de trinta práticas pré-definidas e agrupadas em quatro grupos (Lavoura e cobertura do solo, Culturas e sistemas culturais, Nutrição e proteção de plantas e Gestão da água). Os impactos foram relacionados com os desafios do solo definidos pelo European Joint Programme Soil. Os resultados mostram que o conhecimento está bastante difundido por práticas dos quatro grupos, quer a nível europeu quer regional. Há uma grande variabilidade no grau de conhecimento ou de disseminação das práticas relacionadas com os diferentes desafios do solo. A necessidade de maior conhecimento sobre as práticas para diminuir as emissões de gases de efeito estufa dos solos agrícolas pôde ser claramente identificada.

The potato is one of the most important food and cash crops in Malawi, but current yields are low and the fertilizer recommendations rely on outdated soil fertility information. To understand the influence of soil factors in limiting current potato production, the mineralogical and physicochemical soil characteristics of 26 farms in the central highlands of Malawi were evaluated. Cluster analysis with clay, crystalline iron oxide, and total carbon content revealed three clusters with two corresponding to Ferralsols and one to Regosols, which are known to exist in the area. In the three clusters, the soil was generally acidic with low exchangeable acidity and aluminium (Al; < 0.7 cmolc kg-1); thus, Al toxicity was not a concern because the soil solution Al would be very low to negatively affect plant growth. Inorganic nitrogen was adequate, while available phosphate and exchangeable potassium (K) were variable within each cluster. However, a deficiency in exchangeable calcium (Ca; < 3.6 cmolc kg-1) and magnesium (Mg; < 1.2 cmolc kg-1) indicated that low base cation concentration was the problem and the potential yield-limiting factor. Soil management, not soil type, appeared to determine soil nutrient conditions based on the current soil Ca and Mg deficiencies and variable K nutrient status. There is a need for updating the current fertilizer recommendations by incorporating K, Ca, and Mg and promoting soil amendment interventions using locally available animal manure and plant ash. Key words: acid soil; fertilizer; Ferralsols, Regosols, Solanum tuberosum L., aluminium toxicity, calcium; magnesium.

Context Sustainable management of the soil is one of the pillars of conservation agriculture (CA). Aims The objective of this study was to evaluate the long-term effects of soil management systems (SMS) on liming efficiency, soil chemical properties and wheat yield. Methods This study was part of a long-term experiment established in 1986 in Passo Fundo, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, but using data from 2008 to 2015 to explore the effects of agricultural lime applied in 2008. The experiment was laid out in a split-plot design where the main plot (SMS) were arranged in randomised blocks and the cropping systems (sub-plot treatments) were randomised within the main plots. This study assessed the effects of the SMS; i.e. two CA systems [no-tillage (NT) and reduced tillage] and two conventional tillage (CT) systems (disk ploughing + disk harrowing annually, and mouldboard ploughing + disk harrowing annually). Key results The NT system was the most sustainable due to improvements in soil organic carbon concentration. After liming, CT systems were more effective than CA systems in decreasing Al3+ toxicity and increasing soil pH and Ca2+ and Mg2+ concentrations at deeper soil layers. The NT system had a considerable advantage over other SMS, due to a greater average wheat yield (18%). Conclusions The SMS evaluated in this study modified chemical properties when compared with the native forest area. The NT system was the least detrimental to soil organic carbon, an important indicator of soil quality. Implications The NT system provided greater average wheat yield (18%), and thus was the most viable SMS for subtropical spring wheat production.

Soil fertility is one of the crucial factors for agriculture, whose main objective is to increase production. Therefore it is extremely important to know the nutritional requirement of cultivars. Fertility-focused studies are essential for fertilization recommendations in all regions, especially in banana cultivation which is a very demanding plant in fertility. Thus, the present work aimed to evaluate soil fertility, emphasizing the quantification of nutrients necessary to ensure the agricultural productivity of musa sp. The research was developed at laudelino farm, municipality of Teotônio Vilela/Alagoas, between 2019 and 2020, where soil amotragens were performed, randomly collected in the 0-20 cm depth layer, removing 1 kg of soil and sent to the soil laboratory of the Campus of Engineering and Agrarian Sciences (CECA) of the Federal University of Alagoas (UFAL) located in the municipality of Rio Largo-AL, for chemical analysis. The hydrogenic potential (pH), phosphorus (P) and potassium (K+) accessible were analyzed; calcium (Ca+2) and tradable magnesium (Mg+2); saturation by exchangeable aluminum (m%), cation exchange capacity CTC at pH 7.0 (T); base saturation (V%) and; organic matter (OM). As a result of the analysis, the following results were obtained: pH content (5.6); OM (14.1 g/kg) P (5.0 mg/dm³) K (110 mg/dm³), Ca2+ (3.42 cmolc/dm³), Mg2+ (2.53 cmolc/dm³); Al3+ (0.00 cmolc/dm³), H (4.41 cmolc/dm³), and CTC (T) (10.73 cmolc/dm³); m (0.0 %) and V (59 %). Based on the above results, it is suggested the application of 1,103 kg of limestone in order to increase the base saturation to 70%, in addition to the addition of 50 kg/ha of N and 343.5 kg/ha of P2O5 and 96.7 kg/ha of K2O. It is worth mentioning that their applications in the soil must be carried out through sources of 837.8 kg/ha of triple superphosphate; 161.2 kg/ha of potassium chloride and 111 kg/ha of urea. It is also essential to add 30 to 50 t/ha of organic matter, such as bovine manure to the soil, aiming at better utilization of the material by crops.

Context Although both plant cover and mulch are considered for erosion control in arid and semi-arid regions, they have divergent impacts on soil ecology. Aim We examined the effects of orchard floor management practices on the density and diversity of soil free-living nematode communities and relevant soil abiotic properties. Methods Soils were sampled in winter in a citrus orchard in the Sharon region of Israel from plots that for 6 years had been under (1) annual native species; or (2) Avena sativa and Vicia villosa, planted between tree rows; or (3) woodchip mulching along tree rows. There were two control sites: (4) bare soil between tree rows and (5) bare soil along the tree rows (both common practice). Key results Nematode communities and their trophic diversity were significantly impacted by floor management. Significant increases in soil moisture under plant cover, and higher organic matter and water-holding capacity for all covered orchard floors could be related to nematode changes. Shifts in nematode feeding group structure suggest a shift in the type and availability of soil carbon pools. Conclusions There was a strong association between orchard floor management and soil free-living nematode communities, indicating a shift in the soil food-web structure and functionality. Bare soil harboured fewer nematodes, but more complex communities dominated by persisters, while seeded plant cover had a greater nematode abundance dominated by coloniser communities, indicating increased availability of resources. Implications Results reveal the importance of integrating biological information in performance index determinations for improving soil management decisions, suggesting these relationships as sensitive bio-indicators of soil health.

Herbicides with soil-residual activity have the potential for carryover into subsequent crops, resulting in injury to sensitive crops and limiting productivity if severe. The increased use of soil-residual herbicides in the United States for management of troublesome weeds in corn- and soybean-cropping systems has potential to result in more cases of carryover. Soil management practices have different effects on the soil environment, potentially influencing herbicide degradation and likelihood of carryover. Field experiments were conducted at three sites in 2019 and 2020 to determine the effects of corn (clopyralid and mesotrione) and soybean (fomesafen and imazethapyr) herbicides applied in the fall at reduced rates (25% and 50% of labeled rates) and three soil management practices (tillage, no-tillage, and a fall-established cereal rye cover crop) on subsequent growth and productivity of the cereal rye cover crop and the soybean and corn crops, respectively. Most response variables (cereal rye biomass and crop canopy cover at cover crop termination in the spring, early-season crop stand and herbicide injury ratings, and crop yield) were not affected by herbicide carryover. Corn yield was lower when soil was managed with a cereal rye cover crop compared with tillage at all three sites, while yield was lower for no-till compared with tillage at two sites. Soybean yield was lower when managed with a cereal rye cover crop compared with tillage and no-till at one site. Findings from this research indicate a low carryover risk for these herbicides across site-years when label rotational restrictions are followed and environmental conditions favorable for herbicide degradation exist, regardless of soil management practice on silt loam or silty clay loam soil types in the U.S. Midwest region.

Identification of the factors controlling the migration of hexavalent chromium (Cr (VI)) in soil can provide valuable information for pollution control and risk assessment. In this study, we assessed the processes of transportation and migration of Cr (VI) in soil by batch and column experiments. Breakthrough curves were used to examine the mobility of Cr (VI) in soil columns. Most of them could be described by a typical S-shaped curve. The Yoon–Nelson model and Thomas model were applied to predict the behavior of Cr (VI) in soil and obtained parameters to characterize the rate and capacity of adsorption. It was observed that all obtained parameters changed along with soil properties. Moreover, stepwise multiple regression and grey correlation analysis were used to determine the main control factors by evaluating the relationship between soil properties and dynamic or static parameters. The results showed Fe oxide content was the key factor no matter in static or dynamic adsorption while soil texture had a great influence on the transportation of Cr (VI) in soil columns. Also, in the actual situation, the external input condition should not be ignored. Our research provides meaningful information for authorities to develop better soil management and remediation strategies.

Increased concentration of atmospheric nitrous oxide (N2O), a potent greenhouse gas (GHG), is of great concern due to its impact on ozone layer depletion leading to climate change. Ozone layer depletion allows penetration of ultraviolet radiations, which are hazardous to human health. Climate change culminates in reduced food productivity. Limited empirical studies have been conducted in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) to quantify and understand the dynamics of soil N2O fluxes from smallholder cropping systems. The available literature on soil N2O fluxes in SSA is limited; hence, there is a pressing need to consolidate it to ease mitigation targeting and policy formulation initiatives. We reviewed the state of N2O emissions from selected cropping systems, drivers that significantly influence N2O emissions, and probable soil N2O emissions mitigation options from 30 studies in SSA cropping systems have been elucidated here. The review outcome indicates that coffee, tea, maize, and vegetables emit N2O ranging from 1 to 1.9, 0.4 to 3.9, 0.1 to 4.26, and 48 to 113.4 kg N2O-N ha-1 yr−1, respectively. The yield-scaled and N2O emissions factors ranged between 0.08 and 67 g N2O-N kg−1 and 0.01 and 4.1%, respectively, across cropping systems. Soil characteristics, farm management practices, and climatic and environmental conditions were significant drivers influencing N2O emissions across SSA cropping systems. We found that site-specific soil N2O emissions mitigation measures are required due to high variations in N2O drivers across SSA. We conclude that appropriate fertilizer and organic input management combined with improved soil management practices are potential approaches in N2O emissions mitigation in SSA. We recommend that (i) while formulating soil N2O emissions mitigation approaches, in SSA, policymakers should consider site-specific targeting approaches, and (ii) more empirical studies need to be conducted in diverse agroecological zones of SSA to qualify various mitigation options on N2O emissions, yield-scaled N2O emissions, and N2O emission factors which are essential in improving national and regional GHG inventories.

Aims This study looks whether the response of soil management (liming and nitrogen fertilization) on the incidence of Fusarium wilt (Foc Race 1) in Gros Michel banana (Musa AAA) varies with different soil properties. Methods The effect of inoculation with Foc Race 1 was studied in a factorial greenhouse trial with soil samples from eight representative soil types from the Costa Rican banana region, two pH levels; and three levels of N-fertilization. After an 8-week period, plant biomass and a disease index were measured. Results There were significant effects of soil pH and N, and their interactions on disease expression. Low pH levels and high N-fertilization increased the disease expression. The response to changes in soil pH and N-fertilization differed considerably between the different soils. Conclusions Although soil pH and N influence Fusarium wilt in banana, each soil differs in its response to these soil properties. This complicates the development of standard soil management strategies in terms of e.g., N-fertilization and liming to mitigate or fight the disease.

Purpose: Nitrogen (N) cycle is one of the key biogeochemical cycles in terrestrial ecosystems. Global climate change and soil management practices have disrupted the soil N cycling processes due to increased water and N limitations. Biochar is a soil amendment and improves soil–plant water and N retentions. However, it is uncertain to what extent biochar pyrolysis temperature would affect soil N transformations under two soil moisture regimes. This study aimed to explore how pyrolysis temperature would affect biochar properties and subsequently soil N transformations through a short-term laboratory incubation study at two moisture levels. Materials and methods: An incubation study was carried out for 5 days. Biochar added to the soil at a rate of 5% (w/w) was produced under six different pyrolysis temperatures (e.g., 500, 600, 650, 700, 750, and 850 °C). We used 15N natural abundance (δ15N) of inorganic N (NH4+-N and NO3−-N) to assess the potential of biochar materials in facilitating forest soil N transformations at two different soil moisture levels of 50% and 65% water holding capacity (WHC). Results and discussion: Pyrolysis temperature significantly increased cumulative nitrification and N mineralization initially, peaked between 600 and 700 °C and decreased thereafter. However, both cumulative nitrification and N mineralization were significantly lower in the biochar-amended soils than those of the control soil, with significantly lower δ15N of NH4+-N and δ15N of NO3−-N. The 65% WHC had higher cumulative nitrification and N mineralization compared with those in 50% WHC. This study highlights that application of biochar would reduce N losses and improve soil N retention particularly for forest soil. Conclusions: The present study highlights the importance of biochar pyrolysis temperatures for their use as soil conditioner to increase soil N retention. An optimum pyrolysis temperature range of 600–700 °C was identified for improving soil nitrification and N mineralization under the laboratory incubation conditions.

Despite the strong recommendations from scientists, to till or not to till remains a confusing question for many farmers around the world due to the worries of crop yield decline and negative impacts on soils and environment. A confused understanding of the role of the individual principles of conservation agriculture significantly limits the effectiveness and applicability of soil conservation strategies and frameworks to achieve sustainable agriculture. By distinguishing clearly between the different principles of conservation agriculture, the net effects of no-tillage on improving and sustaining agro-ecosystems are analyzed based on 49 recent meta-analyses in this study. The review shows that no-tillage leads to a significant decline of crop yield (-8.0% to 10.0%, median: -1.9%), whereas residue retention represents the key driver for improving crop production (4.0%-28.0%, median: 8.2%). The efficacy of no-tillage for water erosion control, especially runoff (-24.0% to -0.7%, median: -10.0%), is often insignificant and otherwise lower compared to residue retention (-87.0% to -14.0%, median: -45.5%). Soil carbon sequestration potential under conservation tillage is quite limited or even close to zero, and if any, it can likely be attributed to the associated residue retention (-0.1% to 12.8%, median: 9.7%) rather than no-tillage (-2.0% to 10.0%, median: 4.8%). Our analysis illustrates that in conservation agriculture, no-tillage as the original and central principle of soil management is often less effective than associated supplementary measures, in particular residue retention. Residue retention may therefore play a key role for achieving sustainable land use. An additional benefit of residue retention is the less dramatic change of farming practices compared to no-tillage. The results of this review illustrate that a new framework for assessing the benefits of conservation practices has to be developed. To till, or not to till, is not the question: residue retention seems more critical.

Dimensionality reduction is important for revealing important details that may be useful in decision-making. Although different dimensionality reduction methods have been applied in several soil-based studies, Kohonen self-organizing map neural network (KSOM-NN) has attracted significant attention from researchers because of the quality of data visualization and interpretation. However, there is a dearth of studies that compare KSOM-NN and other robust data reduction techniques such as the t-distribution stochastic neighbor embedding (t-SNE) method to improve visualization and interpretation of the relationships between soil quality indicators in agricultural soil. This study compares the above-mentioned methods for characterizing soil quality indicators including particle size distribution, soil organic matter (SOM), cation exchange capacity (CEC), soil reaction (pH), electrical conductivity (EC), zinc (Zn), iron (Fe), manganese (Mn), potassium (K) and phosphorus (P) in agricultural dryland. There were strongly positive associations identified between some of the variables studied for example, clay/Fe (r = 0.95), clay/SOM (r = 0.79) and Mn/Zn (r = 0.90) based on the correlation matrix output. According to the KSOM-NN, the best map size was a 4 by 7 with Quantization error (QE) = 0.108, Topographic error (TE) = 0.875 and Kaski-Lagus error (K-LE) = 9.104. This map only yielded 2 main clusters. As for the t-SNE, applying various perplexity values (i.e. 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10) enabled better visualization of the soil quality indicators as observed from the cluster formations than the KSOM-NN. Ultimately, the t-SNE was considered a better and promising method for assessing the interactions of soil quality indicators and has the potential to appropriately visualise as well as improve the interpretability of soil results by identifying essential features and similarities. The results of this study have good implications for agricultural soil management and decision-making. Moreover, the results are preliminary findings that may be used in the future to verify detailed aspects of soil biogeochemistry within the study area.

Global climate change is one of the main factors threatening agriculture. In this context, variations in precipitation have the strongest effect on soil fertility, plant nutrient availability, and erosion. This research aimed to assess soil vulnerability to climate variability in the central coffee-growing region of Colombia. This study analyzed soil components involved in the sustainability of the coffee production system as affected by extreme high and low precipitation events. For evaluation, three sensitivity indices were constructed, with a weighted aggregation structure and with weight values defined from expert knowledge. The indices were estimated by randomly selecting 432 coffee farms in the municipalities of Balboa and Santuario in Risaralda department and Salamina in Caldas department. The soil nutrient availability and conservation vulnerability index was moderate in the three municipalities (Balboa=2.87 and coefficient of variation-CV 13%; Santuario=2.88 and CV 10%; Salamina=2.9 and CV 9%). The soil leaching vulnerability index was very low in Balboa (4.33 and CV 3%) and Salamina (4.74 and CV 7%) and low in Santuario (3.57 and CV 19%). The soil loss vulnerability index was low in Balboa (3.32 and CV 10.03%) and Salamina (3.49 and CV 11.43%) and moderate in Santuario (3.13 and CV 9.34%). Lastly, the vulnerability of coffee-growing soil to climate variability was low in Balboa (3.33) and Salamina (3.45) and moderate in Santuario (3.09). Based on these results, in the three municipalities, coffee growers must introduce farming practices towards improving soil resilience and decreasing soil vulnerability to high and low precipitation extremes by adequately managing the sources and doses of fertilizers, soil conditioners, and compost and by implementing integrated management of weeds and litterfall.

Soil salinity and acidity are the major land degradation processes in coastal agro-ecosystem which harm agricultural productivity. This study aims to evaluate the changes in crop productivity and soil quality of saline and slightly acid soils under the influence of integrated nutrient management (INM) practices. A rice-based strip plot experiment was established on a raised bed created through a land-shaping technique in Coastal Sundarbans of India. Rice-tomato, rice-sunflower, and rice-chili cropping were tested over two consecutive years with the addition of various organic amendments in combination with mineral fertilizers. Soil physical, chemical, and microbial properties were measured using standard protocols. Soil salinity increased during the winter season (crops grown during October to February) hence decreased microbial biomass, soil respiration, and enzyme activities as compared to monsoon (the crop sown at the beginning of the summer rains during June to September). The effect was more pronounced in control. However, the addition of organics reduced the soil salinity and restricted the magnitude of such decreases resulting in higher system rice equivalent yield in those treatments over control. The higher respiratory quotient value was measured in control, indicating a stress response to the loss of more organic carbon. Rice-sunflower cropping and conjunctive use of NPK with green leaf manure + farm yard manure + vermicompost show better performance in terms of soil quality and yield. The application of organic amendments to the soil can be considered an effective management practice, due to soil quality improvement rapidly as well as enhancing microbial activities by reducing soil salinity which is a major problem of coastal saline agro-ecosystem.

Soil degradation, which is linked to poor nutrient management, remains a major constraint to sustained crop production in smallholder urban agriculture (UA) in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). While organic nutrient resources are often used in UA to complement mineral fertilizers in soil fertility management, they are usually scarce and of poor quality to provide optimum nutrients for crop uptake. Alternative soil nutrient management options are required. This study, therefore, evaluates the short-term benefits of applying an aluminium-based water treatment residual (Al-WTR), in combination with compost and inorganic P fertilizer, on soil chemical properties, and maize (Zea mays L.) productivity and nutrient uptake. An eight-week greenhouse experiment was established with 12 treatments consisting of soil, Al-WTR and compost (with or without P fertilizer). The co-amendment (10% Al-WTR + 10% compost) produced maize shoot biomass of 3.92 ± 0.16 g at 5 weeks after emergence, significantly (p

Land use and management practices affect the response of soil organic carbon (C) to global change. Process-based models of soil C are useful tools to simulate C dynamics, but it is important to bridge any disconnect that exists between the data used to inform the models and the processes that they depict. To minimise that disconnect, we developed a consistent modelling framework that integrates new spatially explicit soil measurements and data with the Rothamsted carbon model (Roth C) and simulates the response of soil organic C to future climate change across Australia. We compiled publicly available continental-scale datasets and pre-processed, standardised and configured them to the required spatial and temporal resolutions. We then calibrated Roth C and ran simulations to estimate the baseline soil organic C stocks and composition in the 0–0.3 m layer at 4043 sites in cropping, modified grazing, native grazing and natural environments across Australia. We used data on the C fractions, the particulate, mineral-associated and resistant organic C (POC, MAOC and ROC, respectively) to represent the three main C pools in the Roth C model's structure. The model explained 97 %–98 % of the variation in measured total organic C in soils under cropping and grazing and 65 % in soils under natural environments. We optimised the model at each site and experimented with different amounts of C inputs to simulate the potential for C accumulation under constant climate in a 100-year simulation. With an annual increase of 1 Mg C ha−1 in C inputs, the model simulated a potential soil C increase of 13.58 (interquartile range 12.19–15.80), 14.21 (12.38–16.03) and 15.57 (12.07–17.82) Mg C ha−1 under cropping, modified grazing and native grazing and 3.52 (3.15–4.09) Mg C ha−1 under natural environments. With projected future changes in climate (+1.5, 2 and 5.0 ∘C) over 100 years, the simulations showed that soils under natural environments lost the most C, between 3.1 and 4.5 Mg C ha−1, while soils under native grazing lost the least, between 0.4 and 0.7 Mg C ha−1. Soil under cropping lost between 1 and 2.7 Mg C ha−1, while those under modified grazing showed a slight increase with temperature increases of 1.5 ∘C, but with further increases of 2 and 5 ∘C the median loss of TOC was 0.28 and 3.4 Mg C ha−1, respectively. For the different land uses, the changes in the C fractions varied with changes in climate. An empirical assessment of the controls on the C change showed that climate, pH, total N, the C : N ratio and cropping were the most important controls on POC change. Clay content and climate were dominant controls on MAOC change. Consistent and explicit soil organic C simulations improve confidence in the model's estimations, facilitating the development of sustainable soil management under global change.