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A special issue of Land (ISSN 2073-445X). This special issue belongs to the section "Soil-Sediment-Water Systems".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (25 April 2023) | Viewed by 18077

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Prof. Dr. Shaoliang Zhang

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Guest Editor

School of Resources and Environment, Northeast Agricultural University, Harbin 150006, China
Interests: soil organic matter; soil nutrients cycling; spatiotemperal heterogeneity; soil degradation; soil erosion

Prof. Dr. Xiaobing Liu

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Guest Editor

Northeast Institute of Geography and Agroecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Harbin 150006, China
Interests: soil nutrient management; soil degradaion; soil quanlity; soil amendment
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Prof. Dr. C. Lee Burras

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Guest Editor

Department of Agronomy, Iowa State University, 1126 Agronomy Hall, Ames, IA 50011-3611, USA
Interests: mollisol pedology and transformations with long-term cropping; quantification of inherent soil productivity

Prof. Dr. Yuriy Kravchenko

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Guest Editor

Department of Soil Science and Soil Protection, National University of Life and Environmental Sciences of Ukraine, 03041 Kyiv, Ukraine
Interests: soil organic matter; soil physics; pedogenesis

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Mollisols are the literal foundation to four of the Earth's most important and highest yielding crop regions (Northeast China, South America Pampas, Southeast Europe, Central North America). Their annual production of grain feeds billions of people. Not surprising, Mollisols are some of the most intensely farmed soils of the world, and are often recognized as inherently productive and fertile soils. However, Mollisols are prone to degrade with a high speed caused by the unreasonable managements, such as high dose of fertilization and intense tillage practices, especially soil erosion is widely happened and seriously decreased soil quality in slope areas. This threats the food production, environmental quality, and deeply influences the sustainable development in these regions. This special issue focuses on the geography, ongoing degradation as well as the state-of-the-art research that demonstrates the full range of best management practices now available for improving Mollisol quality, health and productivity.

This research topic will help to understand the problem of Mollisols degradation by combining disciplines of physicochemistry, biology, geography, environment and ecology.

Contributions can include, but are not limited to:

(1) Key factors determining the soil physicochemical and biological properties at various scales in Mollisols

(2) Impact of soil management (e.g. soil amendments and tillage practices) on soil quality and food productivity in Mollisols

(3) Nutrient cycling at various scales in Mollisols

(4) Effect of soil erosion on soil quality, health and food productivity in Mollisols

Prof. Dr. Shaoliang Zhang
Prof. Dr. Xiaobing Liu
Prof. Dr. C. Lee Burras
Prof. Dr. Yuriy Kravchenko
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Land is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

soil degradation
soil quality
soil physicochemical properties
soil biological properties
tillage practice
soil amendment
soil productivity

Published Papers (9 papers)

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Research

15 pages, 1490 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Soil Quality Mediates the Corn Yield in a Thin-Layer Mollisol in Northeast China

by Wei Fang, Xuemei Zhong, Xinhua Peng, Linyuan Li, Shaoliang Zhang and Lei Gao

Land 2023, 12(6), 1187; https://doi.org/10.3390/land12061187 - 6 Jun 2023

Viewed by 1017

Abstract

Soil quality (SQ) is critical to sustainable agricultural development. It is sensitive to the crop yield, especially in thin-layer black-soil regions, which have experienced severe degradation in recent years. However, how to evaluate the SQ and its influence on land productivity is not clear in regions with thin black-soil coverage. Therefore, an integrated soil quality index (SQI) was constructed using diverse datasets along a 30 km transect in a typical thin-layer black-soil region of China. The results showed that obvious soil degradation was observed in this area. Black-soil thickness (BST), soil organic matter (SOM), and the total nitrogen (TN) content were the most strongly correlated with corn yield among the 13 investigated indexes, with Pearson coefficients of 0.65, 0.39 and 0.34, respectively. The minimum-dataset-based SQI using six soil properties within 0–30 cm was the optimal solution for SQ evaluation in the study area. The good performance of the established SQI using the optimal method was supported by its strong correlation with the corn yield, with a Pearson coefficient and linear R² of 0.75 and 0.56, respectively. The BST identified by differences in colour across the soil profile provided powerful information for the SQI, the value of which would be underestimated by 8% if this index were ignored. The linear R² between the SQI and corn yield decreased from 0.56 to 0.49 when the BST index was removed. This study showed the significance of improving the SQ in thin-layer black-soil regions. The core of soil management is to prevent the losses of surface black soil and improve the SOM content in this region. These findings can help farmers and decision makers adopt proper measures to improve SQ and thereby crop yield. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Insights in Mollisol Quality and Management)

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21 pages, 4757 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Multi-Scenario Land Use Change Simulation and Spatial Response of Ecosystem Service Value in Black Soil Region of Northeast China

by Yun Jiang, Guoming Du, Hao Teng, Jun Wang and Haolin Li

Land 2023, 12(5), 962; https://doi.org/10.3390/land12050962 - 26 Apr 2023

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1337

Abstract

Simulating the spatial response of ecosystem service value (ESV) caused by land use change in Heilongjiang Province under different scenarios in the future is of great significance for ensuring ecological security and sustainable development in the region. Heilongjiang Province, an important grain-producing region in China, is taken as the research area in this study. Five land use maps (2000, 2005, 2010, 2015, and 2020) were used to evaluate the change of ecosystem service value in Heilongjiang Province in the past 20 years. In addition, the area of each land use type under different future scenarios was predicted by Markov model and MOP model, the future land use pattern was simulated based on PLUS model, the ESV under different scenarios was calculated, and the spatial distribution and the degree of ESV clustering were further explored. The results show that: (1) During 2000–2020, the built-up land in Heilongjiang Province continued to grow, with a total increase of 5076 km² during the 20-year period, the area of water continued to grow, the area of unused land gradually decreased, and the area of farmland and forest land changed less. (2) During the study period, the ESV in 2000, 2005, 2010, 2015, and 2020 were 1320.8 billion yuan, 1334.5 billion yuan, 1342.1 billion yuan, 1327.6 billion yuan, and 1328.4 billion yuan, respectively. Generally, it shows a fluctuating trend. (3) The ESV of natural development scenario (NDS), economic priority scenario (ERS) and ecological protection scenario (EPS) are 1334.3 billion yuan, 1254.8 billion yuan and 1455.6 billion yuan, respectively. The ESV of different scenarios is quite different. (4) The spatial distribution of ESV was higher in the northwest, central, and southeast, and lower in the east and west. The hot and cold spots of ESV are widely distributed and the degree of polymerization is high. The methods and conclusions of this study can provide scientific reference for the optimization of national spatial pattern and the formulation of sustainable development policy. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Insights in Mollisol Quality and Management)

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22 pages, 12143 KiB

Open AccessArticle

An Integrated Approach to Constructing Ecological Security Pattern in an Urbanization and Agricultural Intensification Area in Northeast China

by Fengjie Gao, Wei Yang, Si Zhang, Xiaohui Xin, Jun Zhou and Guoming Du

Land 2023, 12(2), 330; https://doi.org/10.3390/land12020330 - 25 Jan 2023

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1588

Abstract

Ecological security pattern (ESP) can bridge the paradox between ecological conservation and socioeconomic development. Although various methods have been applied to establish ESP successfully, improving its scientificity and reliability for regional sustainability are still great challenges. Taking Harbin administrative region as the study area, this paper integrated the merits of the function-oriented method (assessing the importance of ecological services using the InVEST model) and the structure-oriented method (extracting the connectivity of landscapes based on the MSPA model) to improve the identification of ecological sources more scientifically. Night light data were used to modify the natural resistance surface to reveal the real natural and human disturbance for ES loss during species migration and ecological flows. Then, the ESP was established by combining the ecological nodes after extracting and grading the ecological corridors. The results showed that the individual ES performed with a high spatial heterogeneity and was highly correlated with land use patterns. The extremely important and slightly important were the dominant level types in the study area, and the proportion of extremely important declined greatly from 44.78% in 1980 to 30.14% in 2020. Core was the main landscape type with a proportion of 57.13% and mainly distributed in the Lesser Khingan Mountains and Zhangguangcai Mountains. More than 700 ecological corridors were extracted according to the MCR model and the important ecological corridors were selected based on the gravity model, with 86 ecological nodes obtained from the intersection points of ecological corridors. An ESP of “two zones, two barriers, one axis and one belt” was proposed, and relevant protection measures were put out for the sustainable development in the study area. The findings indicated that imposing ESP could form a stable secure frame for social economic development and ecological protection, avoiding irrational land use modes and excessive dispersion of landscapes. This study could provide valuable references for land use planning and the formulation of related ecological protection policies and regional sustainable development strategies. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Insights in Mollisol Quality and Management)

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18 pages, 3349 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Microbial Community and Their Potential Functions after Natural Vegetation Restoration in Gullies of Farmland in Mollisols of Northeast China

by Ziliang Xiao, Shaoliang Zhang, Pengke Yan, Jiping Huo and Muhammad Aurangzeib

Land 2022, 11(12), 2231; https://doi.org/10.3390/land11122231 - 7 Dec 2022

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1785

Abstract

Although huge numbers of gullies have been widely formed and have severely decreased the quality of farmlands in mollisols, it is still unclear how the microbial community distributes after natural vegetation restoration (NVR), which highly relates to the ecological functions in the farmland. In this study, both the microbial community and their potential ecological functions after NVR were reviewed, together with the environmental factors relating to microbial evolution which were detected in two gullies of mollisols situated on farmland in Northeast China. The main results showed that NVR improved the microbial diversity and complexity of the co-occurrence network in gullies, and promoted bacterial community composition to be similar between the gully and deposition area. Moreover, the soil organic matter (SOM) regulated the microbial diversity by balancing soil available phosphorus (AP), soil moisture (SM), and pH, thus stimulating the key bacterial biomarkers of gullies (Rhizobiales, Microtrichales, TRA3-20) and regulating the bacterial composition, as well as indirectly enriching the function of bacteria to perform denitrification, C fixation, and phosphorus transport in gullies. In addition, abundant Dicotyledons in gullies mainly regulate the fungal community composition, and increased fungal richness in 0–20 cm soil depth, but decreased bacteria richness in 0–20 cm soil depth. Our findings revealed the repair mechanism of NVR on soil bacterial and fungal communities, especially on bacterial functionality, which should be given further attention in nutrient cycling across eroding mollisols in gullies. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Insights in Mollisol Quality and Management)

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13 pages, 4360 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Effects of Topographic Factors on Cultivated-Land Ridge Orientation in the Black Soil Region of Songnen Plain

by Guoming Du, Tongbing Guo and Chen Ma

Land 2022, 11(9), 1489; https://doi.org/10.3390/land11091489 - 5 Sep 2022

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1514

Abstract

Topographic factors are essential to the spatial distribution of ridge orientation, yet the literature shows limited exploration of the mechanisms underlying the effects of terrain on cultivated-land ridge orientation in a black soil region. To better understand this subject, interpretation, statistical analyses and field verification were carried out in Songnen Plain, a typical Mollisol area. The results revealed that inclined-ridge cultivation was the most common farming method in the study area. When the slope gradient of cultivated land was greater than 13°, the influence of slope on ridge orientation was obvious, and the residual ridge angle increased with the increase in slope. There was a strongly significant negative correlation between the residual ridge angle and the azimuth angle, and the proportion curves of all ridge orientations with respect to different slope aspects were axisymmetric with respect to azimuth angles of 0°–180°. The relationship among indices such as slope gradient, slope aspect and ridge orientation could be modeled using a Poly2D function. This study indicates that topographic factors are the dominant factor in ridge-orientation selection, and provides a scientific basis for block-scale cultivated-land protection and utilization in black soil region; however, the scientific configuration of ridge orientation requires further research. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Insights in Mollisol Quality and Management)

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19 pages, 5827 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Profile Soil Carbon and Nitrogen Dynamics in Typical Chernozem under Long-Term Tillage Use

by Yuriy Kravchenko, Anna Yarosh and Yimin Chen

Land 2022, 11(8), 1165; https://doi.org/10.3390/land11081165 - 27 Jul 2022

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1737

Abstract

For the first time in research literature, this report presents the seasonal changes of total organic carbon (TOC), total nitrogen (TN), and TOC:TN ratio in Chernozem solum (0–100 cm) as effected by 14 years of application of conventional tillage (CTu), deep reduced tillage (DRTu), and reduced tillage (RTu) under barley growing. During the season, TOC content drastically declined in the spring, increased in the summer, decreased in the middle of August, and recovered in October. TN content was gradually decreased during a crop growing season and renewed in the autumn. A trend of TOC:TN changes (vertical peak curve) in 0–30 cm soil layer varied from TOC (S-shaped curve) and TN (unsymmetrical decayed curve). The amplitude of seasonal TOC and TN changes in deeper layers was far fewer related to the upper horizons. The highest amplitude in 0–30, 30–60 and 60–100 cm layers was under: DRTu, CTu, DRTu—for TOC and DRTu, CTu, RTu—for TN correspondently. Tillage practices differently stratified the content of organic carbon and nitrogen in Chernozem profile. Minimum tillage benefited TOC sequestration in 0–5 and 5–10 cm layers: 24.83 ± 0.64- and 24.65 ± 0.57 g kg⁻¹—under RTu, 24.49 ± 0.62- and 24.71 ± 0.47 g kg⁻¹—under DRTu, while CT—deeper than 20 cm: 22.49–15.03 g kg⁻¹. The vertical distribution of TN content repeated TOC trend. TOC:TN ratio upraised from 12.60 in 0–5 to 14.33 in 80–100 cm layer and was the highest in summertime. A total (0–100 cm) profile was much greater under RTu and DRTu—for TN, and CTu, DRTu—for TOC. The correlation coefficient (r) was almost negligible between TOC and: T (air temperature), P (precipitation) and W (soil moisture). The strong and very strong r was found for TN—W, and P—W pairs. The negative r was between: TOC–P, TN–P, TOC:TN-W, TOC:TN–T and P–W pairs. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Insights in Mollisol Quality and Management)

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21 pages, 2099 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Seasonal Dynamics of Organic Carbon and Nitrogen in Biomasses of Microorganisms in Arable Mollisols Affected by Different Tillage Systems

by Yuriy S. Kravchenko, Xingyi Zhang, Chunyu Song, Wei Hu, Anna V. Yarosh and Olena V. Voitsekhivska

Land 2022, 11(4), 486; https://doi.org/10.3390/land11040486 - 27 Mar 2022

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2575

Abstract

Tillage has been reported to induce seasonal changes of organic carbon (C_micro) and nitrogen (N_micro) in the biomass of microorganisms. Soil microorganisms execute such ecosystem functions as it is an immediate sink of labile biophil elements; it is an agent of a conversion, catalysis and synthesis of humus substances; it transforms soil contaminants into nonhazardous wastes and it participates in soil aggregation and pedogenesis as a whole. However, the seasonal turnover of microorganisms on arable lands in temperate ecosystems has not been studied at a relevant level. Hence, we are aimed at studying the dynamics of such soil microbial biomass patterns as C_micro, N_micro, microbial index (MI = (C_micro/C_TOC)·100%) and CO₂-C emissions against the background of 9 years of tillage and 22 years of abandoned (Ab) and fallow (F) usage. Our study was conducted on a long-term experimental site on a Mollisol in Northeast China. The maximum C_micro and N_micro contents were recorded at the beginning of the growing season at the 0–10-cm layer and mid-July at the 20–40-cm layer, while the minimum content was during August–October. The C_micro content ranged from 577.79 to 381.79 mg⁻¹ kg⁻¹ using Ab in the spring to 229.53 to 272.86 mg⁻¹ kg⁻¹ in the autumn using CT (conventional tillage) and F in the 0–10- and 10–20-cm layers, respectively. The amplitude of N_micro content changes were several times lower as compared with the C_micro. The smallest quartile range (IQR_0.25–0.75) of such changes was shown when using the following treatments: no till (NT) and Ab in the 0–10-, NT and F in the 10–20- and CT in the 20–40-cm layer. The widest C_micro:N_micro ratio was recorded at F and CT in the 0–20- and CT and rotational tillage (Rot) in the 20–40-cm layer. The MI dynamics were similar to the trends of C_micro and N_micro and changed from 0.72 ± 0.168 to 2.00 ± 0.030%. The highest share of C_micro in C_TOC was at Ab (1.82 ± 1.85%) and NT (1.66 ± 1.52 %) in the 0–10-, Ab (1.23 ± 1.27%) and NT (1.29 ± 1.32%) in the 10–20- and Ab (1.19 ± 1.09%) and F (1.11 ± 1.077%) in the 20–40-cm layer, correspondingly. The Pearson’s correlation coefficient between C_micro and C_TOC increased from the upper 0–10- to the lower 20–40-cm layer; it was “strong” and “high” between C_micro and C_TOC. Different uses of Mollisol affected the amplitude of the C_micro and N_micro seasonal changes, but it did not change their trend. Our results suggest the key role of Ab and NT technologies in C_micro accumulation in the total organic carbon (TOC). Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Insights in Mollisol Quality and Management)

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17 pages, 2647 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Simulations of Soil Water and Heat Processes for No Tillage and Conventional Tillage Systems in Mollisols of China

by Shuang Liu, Jianye Li and Xingyi Zhang

Land 2022, 11(3), 417; https://doi.org/10.3390/land11030417 - 12 Mar 2022

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 2098

Abstract

Soil water and temperature are important factors to reflect variations in soil heat and water flows especially for tillage systems. The objective of this study was to evaluate the performance of the CoupModel in predicting the effect of tillage practices on soil water and heat processes for conventional tillage (CT) and no-tillage (NT) systems with straw mulching on semi-arid and high-latitude Mollisols of northeast China. This model was calibrated and evaluated in a three-year tillage experiment from 2009 to 2011 in a field experiment station, using field measurements of daily soil temperature and water storage in profiles for CT and NT separately. The results showed that under the model, soil temperatures were well simulated at 0–90 cm soil depths for CT, as indicated by R² ≥ 0.97, the nRMSE = 27.5–38.7% and −1.02 °C ≤ ME ≤ −0.31 °C, and soil water storage at 0–130 cm soil depth (R² = 0.01–0.06, the nRMSE = 19.6–37.1%, 13.3 mm ≤ ME ≤ 28.2 mm) was simulated with more uncertainty. “Moderate to good agreements” were achieved for NT. In general, the temporal and spatial variations of soil temperature and water for NT were well simulated by CoupModel. Although NT decreased soil evaporation—thus improving soil water content, especially in the root zone soil—and lowered the soil frozen depths, it reduced the soil temperatures, which could influence crop growth. It was concluded that the CoupModel proved to be a functional tool to predict soil heat and water processes for CT and NT systems in high-latitude seasonal frost conditions of Mollisols in China to estimate the soil temperature, water, energy balance, and frost depth dynamics in relatively complex systems that combined plant dynamics with tillage and/or no tillage covered with straw mulching in the soil surface. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Insights in Mollisol Quality and Management)

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20 pages, 3723 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Root Distribution and Soil Properties of Gully Heads and Their Effects on Headcut Migration in the Mollisols Region of Northeast China

by Xingyi Zhang, Jiarui Qi, Jinzhong Xu, Pengchong Zhou, Zhuoxin Chen, Lixin Wang and Mingming Guo

Land 2022, 11(2), 184; https://doi.org/10.3390/land11020184 - 24 Jan 2022

Cited by 8 | Viewed by 2307

Abstract

Previous studies have proved that root distribution along gully headwalls greatly alters soil properties and further affects the soil erodibility of gully heads. However, it is not clear whether the gully headcut migration is affected by root distribution and soil properties. Five representative gullies developed in different land uses were selected to clarify the variations of root distribution and soil properties and their effects on headcut migration in the rainy season (May to October 2021) in the Mollisols region of northeast China. Results showed that the 68.4%–93.3% of root mass density and 65.6–88.5% of root length density were concentrated in 0–30 cm soil layer of gully heads, and the roots of <2.0 mm accounted for >85%. The gullies developed in farmlands had relatively higher soil compactness, shear strength and aggregate stability, but lower organic matter (OMC), disintegration capacity and soil permeability than those developed in woodlands, unpaved roads in farmland and stable gully-beds. Changes in soil properties of gully heads were closely related to root density. The linear, areal, and volumetric migration rate of gully heads varied greatly and were 1.07–35.11 m yr⁻¹, 28.95–562.46 m² yr⁻¹ and 56.82–6626.37 m³ yr⁻¹, respectively, with the average of 9.07 m yr⁻¹, 156.92 m² yr⁻¹ and 1503.02 m³ yr⁻¹, respectively. The change in headcut migration rate was significantly affected by root density, soil properties and drainage area, of which soil texture, OMC, soil aggregate structure, and the drainage area were the critical factors influencing headcut migration in the Mollisols region of northeast China. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Insights in Mollisol Quality and Management)

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