Soil Systems, Volume 9, Issue 1

The tangible effects of climate change are bringing to the fore the need for the world’s most fragile areas affected by salinity and water scarcity to find ways to mitigate the effects of salinity and other abiotic stresses [...]

The concept of metal bioavailability in soils is increasingly becoming the key to addressing potential risks. Yet, space–time variations of heavy metal concentrations in salt-affected soils is still vague. The current work, therefore, is the fi...

The alpine peatlands in western Sichuan Province are currently experiencing aridification. To understand the effects of aridification on the characteristics of organic carbon release from alpine soils, the soil in the northwest Sichuan Plateau was in...

Carbon dioxide (CO₂) efflux from soil (or soil respiration, SR) is one of the most important yet variable characteristics of soil. When evaluating large areas, CO₂ efflux modeling serves as a viable alternative to direct measurements. This research a...

Physical soil crust (PSC) is a dense structural layer formed on the surface of bare or very low-cover land due to raindrop splashes or runoff. The formation of crust changes the properties of the soil and strongly affects water infiltration and runof...

Phosphate sorption data are often analyzed by least-squares fitting to the two- or three-parameter Freundlich model. The standard methods are flawed by (1) treating the measured pseudo-equilibrium concentration C as the independent (hence error-free)...

(1) Background: This study aimed to evaluate the effects of organic fertilizer dose on soil nutrients, wolfberry fruit nutrient compositions, and fruit yields. (2) Methods: We conducted a two-year field trial in two typical fields with different fert...

The relationships between soil aggregates, aggregate-associated carbon (C), and soil compaction indices in pomegranate orchards of varying ages (0–30 years) in Assiut, Egypt, were investigated. Soil bulk density (Bd) and organic carbon (OC) con...

Plant growth-promoting bacteria (PGPB) are an effective tool for improving nutrients in agricultural systems; however, their efficacy depends on successful colonization in soils. To address this challenge, biochar has been identified as an effective...

A biochar (BC) generated by the pyrogasification of wood chips from authorized forestry cuts was extensively characterized and evaluated for its efficacy in retaining/releasing two agrochemicals, namely the fungicide penconazole (PEN), the herbicide...

This study aimed to evaluate the residual effect of different management practices on a subsoil that has been exposed since 1969, which has been under recovery for 30 years. The soil under study is an Oxisol, and its assessment was conducted in 2023...

Background: Soil salinity poses a significant threat to agricultural lands by adversely affecting soil properties, crop productivity, and, consequently, global food security. This study evaluated the effects of date palm waste compost (C), applied al...

In peat research, the question often arises as to how similar/different the records of cores collected in the same mire are. This has been addressed for some metals (e.g., Pb and Hg), but the question remains open for the molecular composition of org...

Fires significantly influence the ecosystems of Western Siberia’s forest–tundra zone. Namely, they alter soil processes, including the transformation of different forms of iron and the redistribution of carbon flows. Recent climate change...

This study evaluates the impact of ten stubble tillage methods, cultivators, and disk harrows, on clay loam soil under uncovered and mulched conditions during a wetter-than-average (+20% precipitation) summer in 2020. Key parameters such as soil mois...

The extreme conditions in arid ecosystems make these environments sensitive to environmental changes. Particularly, land use and seasonal changes are determinants of their soil carbon dynamics. The effect of those elements on soil respiration (R_S) is...

Wildfires significantly alter watershed functions, particularly the mobilization of organic carbon (OC). This study investigated OC mobility and the physicochemical characteristics of wildfire-impacted soils and ashes from the northern California and...

Background: Self-organizing maps (SOMs) are a class of neural network algorithms able to visually describe a high-dimensional dataset onto a two-dimensional grid. SOMs were explored to classify soils based on an array of physical, chemical, and biolo...

This special edition of the journal Soil Systems contains 14 articles dealing with current research on cationic trace elements and semi-metals [...]

Boron (B) in soils originates from both natural and human sources, such as agriculture and industry, which contribute boron via fertilizers and irrigation water. Using treated wastewater (TWW) for irrigation is a strategy to address water scarcity in...

The European Union prioritizes nature restoration, particularly in semiarid Mediterranean regions where integrating degraded coal mining areas into the landscape is essential. This involves maximizing water use and controlling runoff. A rehabilitatio...

The application of phosphate-solubilizing microbes (PSMs) as biofertilizers in agricultural systems has not satisfactorily solved the problem of reducing our reliance on chemical phosphorus (P) fertilizers. Ongoing efforts are continually trying to t...

Tillage, cover crops (CC) and nutrient amendments are regenerative agricultural practices (RAPs) which enhance desirable ecosystem services (DESs), including the beneficial nematode community structure (BNCS), soil organic matter (SOM), pH, and avail...

The use of organic mulch as a natural practice to enhance water retention and absorption is underexplored, highlighting the need for a deeper understanding of its effectiveness under varying conditions. The aim of this study was to investigate the pr...

Soil salinity is a major constraint to soil health and crop productivity, especially in arid and semi-arid regions. The most accurate measurement of soil salinity is considered to be the electrical conductivity of saturated soil extracts (EC_e). Becau...

Soil is a complex and dynamic ecosystem containing a diverse array of microorganisms, and plays a crucial and multifaceted role in various functions of the ecosystem. Substantial fluctuations in the environmental conditions arise from diverse global...

Understanding farmers’ perceptions of soil health is valuable for developing strategies to increase the adoption of conservation practices. A combination of soils with poor soil fertility, low levels of soil organic matter, and the use of produ...