Delineation of Productive Zones in Eastern China Based on Multiple Soil Properties
, Nebiyou Legesse, Junfeng Chang, Chunyang Ying, Youhua Ma and Qingyun Wang *Round 1
Reviewer 1 Report
Comments and Suggestions for AuthorsGeneral comments
Title: There are lots of articles with similar titles (e.g., Using soil properties to delineate management zones, delineation of management zones based on soil physical and chemical properties). Considering to be specific: in croplands or cultivated lands? "A case study in city administrative districts" would help as well. Don't need to mention "Hefei".
Line 55, how fewer? less than 100? Will fewer data points yield biases? Also if their study area is small, probably their sampling points are fewer. Please be specific about the knowledge gap in the literature.
Line 84-97, in this section, the details of analytical procedures are needed: what instruments and methods were used to analyze those parameters? and in what lab. Also, AP and AN are vague terms. Available P can be Olsen-P and Bray-P. Available N can be NH4 or NO3 or both.
Figure 2. this is one of the most important results in this study. Please enlarge all the labels and legends. It is difficult to read now.
Table 4 and 5, I would prefer to display a graph rather than tables.
Line 305. if authors can try to explain why certain areas or MZ (southwest vs northeast) have more fertile soils based on their geographical locations and historical reasons, it will be more interesting and important from the management perspective.
Line 337-346, Conclusion section should not just list out all the results again. It should only mention key findings and give implications for management or practical suggestions for future studies in this area.
Specific comments
Line 11, in the Abstract, this is the first time mentioning "Hefei", please add the country "China".
Line 11, I am confused. Why the title says "a case study of the administrative districts" but in the Abstract it says "outside the districts", so this study is nothing to do with the district?
Line 12, missing period before "A total..."
Line 14-24, you don't need acronyms (except for MZ) if the term only appears once in the Abstract. Abstract is considered as the section separate from the main body.
Line 21-24, "significantly differ" is not a useful information. Indicating which area (e.g., southwest vs northeast) has higher or lower soil fertility and why is more meaningful.
Line 29, "human survival" is a big scope, consider replacing it with "food production".
Line 59, omit "including pH and organic matter (OM)", not needed.
Line 60-64, were all those methods needed in the Abstract? the last few sentences at the end of the Introduction should be objectives and/or hypotheses.
Comments on the Quality of English Language
Avoid long sentences.
Please review each sentence carefully. There are many places that miss a period or have an extra period.
Line 41, the first word of one sentence cannot use an acronym.
Author Response
Please see the attachment
Author Response File: 
Author Response.pdf
Reviewer 2 Report
Comments and Suggestions for AuthorsSee the attached document
Comments for author File: Comments.pdf
It is recommended to revise the English throughout the manuscript.
Author Response
Please see the attachment
Author Response File: Author Response.pdf
Reviewer 3 Report
Comments and Suggestions for AuthorsGeneral comments:
1. On Abstract: Please minimize putting acronyms in the abstract. These acronyms may be included in the Introduction and methodology parts.
2. On Introduction: Last part especially Lines 60-66 can be added to the methodology.
3. On Introduction: The objectives of the study must be included in the last part of the Introduction.
4. Line 75: Sunshine hours may replace by “sunshine duration”. Please do it in the entire manuscript.
5. Line 85: What is this GF? Please give the complete name.
6. Mention Figure 1 anywhere in the subsection “Soil sampling site selection and collection”.
7. Lines 93-97: Include the instrument or equipment used and its manufacturer in measuring the 13 parameters.
8. Please consider replacing soil properties by “soil parameters”. Soil properties pertain to water holding capacity, aeration, drainage rate, etc.
Author Response
Please see the attachment
Author Response File: Author Response.pdf
Reviewer 4 Report
Comments and Suggestions for AuthorsFirstly, the title must be modified since you made an investigation into a huge area that couldn’t be manageable in the way of precision agriculture principles that you suggest. When you talk about field delineation it means you make distinctions between relatively uniform areas in the existing production unit. You did it on the large area which covers many separate agriculture fields and other purpose lands. The title should be “Delineation of productive zones….”
Secondly, the lack of a succinct and well-defined scientific hypothesis in the initial sections of the research undermines the foundation of the study. The absence of a clearly articulated hypothesis diminishes the overall coherence and direction of the research, making it challenging for readers to grasp the precise scientific intent and expected outcomes of the study. A well-structured hypothesis is pivotal in guiding the research process and facilitating the systematic testing of the proposed ideas.
All other comments can be found in the attached PDF.
Comments for author File: Comments.pdf
Author Response
Please see the attachment
Author Response File: Author Response.pdf
