‘Soil and Plant Nutrition’—A Section of Agronomy: Advances and Perspectives

‘Soil and Plant Nutrition’ is a peer-reviewed and open-access section of Agronomy (ISSN 2073-4395). ‘Soil and Plant Nutrition’ is dedicated to investigating plant biology and soil sciences, aiming to advance the understanding of plant–soil relationships. It covers a broad range of topics, encompassing fundamental and applied aspects of plant nutrition, plant productivity and quality, plant–soil interactions, and soil health. Soil health is understood as the ability to perform ecosystem functions, described through physical, chemical, and biological properties. Additionally, the scope of the section extends to articles that explore agrophysics and mathematical modelling of crop and soil systems.

The interest in crop nutrition and soil health has been growing, as the need for sustainable agriculture and preservation of natural ecosystems is rooted in all societies. Figure 1 indicates a significant increasing trend in research subjects related to plant nutrition. This highlights the growing total number of research reports and the very rapid growth in publications in Agronomy since 2017.

The main challenge faced by the authors contributing to ‘Soil and Plant Nutrition’ is linking soil quality with crop productivity. Crop productivity not only is critical to meet food demands but also serves as a feedstock for industry, including biofuel production. In recent decades, a real challenge has been devising agricultural systems with a lower environmental impact, particularly due to climate change and resource depletion. To address these problems, conducting interdisciplinary research is necessary. The development of genetic research, molecular biology, and plant physiology allows us to understand the basis of plant nutrition [1,2,3,4,5].

1. Recent Advances

Reviewing publications from recent years, the main issues addressed by authors are:

• Mineral and organic soil amendments (biochar, compost, animal manure, sewage sludge, etc.) and their effect on soil properties and crop growth and quality.
• Nitrogen loss and its causes and methods of prevention.
• Soil biota as an indicator of soil health.
• Crop productivity and quality.

Nitrogen losses not only diminish soil fertility and plant yield but can also have adverse effects on the environment. Nitrogen can be lost from the soil through processes such as leaching, denitrification, and volatilization, which lead to acidification in terrestrial systems, eutrophication of aquatic systems, and decline in biodiversity and contribute to climate change. The most commonly proposed solutions involve optimizing fertilizer doses, as well as considering the form of fertilizers used, such as slow-release fertilizers [6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14]. A very promising solution is the application of nitrification inhibitors [15,16,17,18,19,20].

The most commonly researched soil amendments are organic. Studies focus on both the individual application of specific soil amendments and their mixtures. In the case of mixed amendments, the primary research aim has been to determine the optimal proportions and doses for different crop species in various climatic zones [21,22,23,24,25]. Many publications have also explored combining organic soil amendments with mineral fertilizers, with the main objective being nutrient supplementation [26,27,28,29,30,31,32]. These investigations primarily aimed to determine the impact of soil amendments on chemical properties, but they also addressed physical properties, including soil structure and water-related characteristics, as well as their influence on soil biota.

Biochar is the most intensively investigated amendment and is widely described in the literature, including in the ‘Soil and Plant Nutrition’ section [6,21,22,23,33,34,35,36,37,38,39]. Many review papers (1327 reviews indexed in the Web of Science Core Collection in categories related to agronomy) and meta-analyses have already been written on this subject [40,41,42,43,44,45,46,47,48]. Biochar has been recognized as a soil amendment that provides opportunities for soil improvement and mitigates climate change by promoting carbon sequestration. Biochar amendment has a beneficial influence on the physical, chemical, and biological properties of soil. The application of biochar increases crop production, providing a liming effect, increasing soil water and nutrient retention, and reducing N leaching. However, these results depend on the feedstock used for biochar production, the parameters of the pyrolysis process, and soil and climate conditions.

It is expected that further investigations into biochar will not be promising. However, there are still interesting topics such as the long-term effects of biochar application and the mechanisms of soil ecosystem responses.

The impact of mineral and organic fertilization on crop yield and crop quality is also a subject receiving less attention. The novelty of these studies is systematically decreasing despite the consideration of specialty crops, new features, or more precise measurement methods [49,50,51,52,53,54,55,56].

2. Perspectives

Many research topics remain interesting and innovative. However, some of the previously explored subjects are gradually losing novelty. This raises a fascinating question for every researcher: which research areas will be the most promising in the coming years?

Based on their increasing number of publications and citations in recent years, the following prospective research topics can be distinguished:

• Searching for new soil amendments materials and formulations. Of particular interest is waste utilization in agriculture as a soil amendment.
• Long-term soil amendment experiments and the effect after decades of systemic application.
• Improving soil water management (especially irrigation systems in the context of limited water sources).
• Climate change and crop production resilience and adaptation.
• Artificial intelligence (AI) adaptation in soil management and plant fertilization.
• Soil–plant–microbe interactions.

Climate change has many negative effects on plants by creating numerous stresses. Agronomy practices are continuously adapted to the impacts of climate change to ensure food security and preserve natural resources. A detailed understanding of the mechanisms affecting these processes is highly relevant for researchers. Three areas regarding ‘Soil and Plant Nutrition’ are very promising in the context of climate change: soil amendments as a method of carbon sequestration, methods for improved soil water retention, and nitrogen management to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Interest in AI applications has rapidly grown in recent years. It is also expected to find applications in agronomy. AI application seems to be a useful tool in modelling soil processes and crop responses to environmental and agronomic factors. It can be used in crop yield prediction, to increase crop quality, in nutrient management and to find the optimal agrotechnical parameters in crop production and soil tillage.

Research on microbe application to increase crop production is increasingly promising. Abiotic stresses, such as salinity, drought, heavy metals, and climate change, are still important factors limiting agricultural production. To overcome the adverse effects of these stresses, the application of microbes is an effective, eco-friendly, and economically reasonable method. The microbial biome, especially in the soil ecosystem, plays a vital role in combating environmental stress and substantially impacts crop growth and product quality.

The ‘Soil and Plant Nutrition’ section in the Agronomy journal welcomes articles in every agronomic aspect of soil–plant relationships, with a particular interest in the range of promising topics.