We studied whether reduced soil disturbance can lower nitrate losses from farmland in Switzerland. In a large lysimeter experiment, we compared chisel ploughing with conventional ploughing.

Reduced tillage lowered nitrate leaching by up to 42 percent in some soils during a very rainy period without crop cover. The results suggest that reduced soil management could help protect water quality under future climate conditions with wetter winter and spring conditions.

Soil is the largest terrestrial carbon pool but vulnerable to loss under warming. Using a +4 °C whole-soil warming experiment at Blodgett Forest Research Station to 1 m depth, we investigated density fractions across depths. Below 50 cm, carbon quantity and composition shifted, mainly from losses of unprotected soil organic carbon. Soil carbon protected by minerals stayed largely stable, indicating organo-mineral protection buffers subsoil carbon loss.

Reliable estimates of soil carbon storage are essential for climate change mitigation and carbon credit schemes. This study compared long-term field measurements with carbon model based simulations in an olive grove amended with organic materials. Both approaches identified biochar as the most effective treatment, but differences between measured and simulated values remained. Integrating measurements and modelling can improve confidence in agricultural carbon accounting.

This study examined how different composts affect carbon dioxide emissions from tropical soil. We found that soil phosphorus and pH are key drivers and chicken dung compost resulting in the highest CO₂ release. The work shows that compost is not carbon neutral; its environmental impact depends on how it changes the soil. This research helps farmers select composts that enhance soil health while curbing emissions, advancing climate-friendly tropical agriculture.

We tested how soil carbon models predict carbon storage and respiration using soil incubation data. We compared 2-pool models based on particulate and mineral-associated carbon with 3-pool models that also include faster-cycling carbon. 3-pool models performed better because they captured carbon dynamics operating at different timescales. We then simulated alternative model structures and found that transfer rates into the most persistent pool were the main control on overall carbon persistence.

We developed an ensemble approach that combines three agroecosystem models to predict crop yields and changes in soil carbon across the United States. The ensemble results were more accurate and consistent compared to individual model. Ensemble result matched closely the observed yield data and soil carbon measurements while reducing the uncertainty from the individual models. This work improves our ability to track carbon change and supports carbon farming, climate action, and land management.

Healthy soil is vital for nature, farming, and society, but disagreements about what "healthy" means make it hard to create effective policies. Our research develops a value-based framework that brings together six perspectives, from food production to ecosystem services and social benefits. We show that no single policy works for all needs, and that a mix of approaches is essential. This framework helps decision makers design fair and flexible strategies to support long-term soil stewardship.

This study evaluates compost made from rice straw and sewage sludge in Mediterranean citrus orchards. Compost improved some indicators of soil fertility, nutrient availability, and biological activity, while maintaining crop nutritional status. Yield and fruit quality were largely unaffected. These findings support the recycling of organic residues as a strategy to improve soil health and promote more sustainable citrus production.

In greenhouses, long-term manure application does not always lead to lasting soil carbon. We found that loam and sandy loam store carbon in very different ways. Loam continuously converts particulate carbon into stable forms, while sandy loam relies on short-lived, easily lost carbon. These results indicate that long-term carbon storage depends on soil composition and mineral properties, providing guidance for smarter manure use in sustainable farming.

To return straw or not to return? We demonstrate that rice straw incorporation at half of the harvest enhanced soil fertility without additional global warming potential (GWP). This minimal increase in GWP relied on the highest nosZII abundance and the lowest nirS/nosZII ratio, and the CH₄ production being just above the soil CH₄ holding capacity. We offer a viable strategy to scientifically manage rice straw for climate-smart sustainable rice agriculture.

This study reviews how remote sensing is used to monitor forest soil degradation after disturbance. It shows that remote sensing works best when wildfire or harvesting create visible surface change, while monitoring subsurface soil degradation still requires field measurement. Satellite data support large‑scale screening, and laser scanning and photogrammetry detect localized machinery impacts. These findings clarify realistic uses of remote sensing for forest soil monitoring and reporting.

Urban parks store and release carbon, but what controls this process in Mediterranean cities remains poorly understood. We monitored carbon dioxide emissions from soils in three Madrid parks over one year and found that soil moisture, not temperature, is the main driver. Surprisingly, emissions declined at high temperatures, not because heat suppresses soil life, but because hot summers dry out the soil. Keeping urban soils moist is key to managing their carbon balance under climate change.

Soil health tests often use sensitive indicators, but their reliability after long-term storage is unclear. Using air-dried archived soils from a cover crop experiment, we found that three years of storage nearly doubled water-extractable organic carbon. Similar water-extractable organic carbon patterns across different long-term agricultural experiment sites show that storage can distort concentrations, so archived samples should be interpreted with caution.

Coastal soils often suffer from salt stress and low fertility, limiting plant growth. We studied beneficial soil bacteria living around the roots of a native coastal plant in Morocco to see how they help plants grow. Several bacteria improved plant height and biomass by making nutrients more available and protecting roots. These findings show that natural soil microbes can support sustainable agriculture and help restore degraded coastal lands.

Readily oxidized organic carbon and particulate organic carbon were the main factors affecting soil surface electrochemical properties. Biochar enhanced van der Waals attraction while reducing electrostatic repulsion and net repulsive forces, stabilizing soil aggregates. Soil aggregate stability increased with higher biochar application rates, and the beneficial effect of biochar on aggregate stability became increasingly pronounced over time.

We studied California farmland managed with conservation practices for 20 years to understand how reducing tillage and planting cover crops change soil. Conservation farming greatly improved soil structure, doubled carbon storage in surface soil, and increased its ability to hold water. We also found that much of the additional carbon became protected within soil structure, while the soil still had substantial capacity to store more carbon.

We examined how long-term fertilizer treatments shape the microbial community around sugarcane roots. Using gene sequencing, we found that although the types of microbes stayed similar, their interactions changed with each nutrient regime. These shifts suggest that fertilizer composition influences soil functioning. The results help guide more sustainable management of soils used for sugarcane.

Effective strategies are needed to remediate heavy metal pollution while supplying carbon (C) to maintain microbial activity and soil fertility. In this study, we revealed that optimised straw:biochar ratio (1 : 3) provides a novel integrated approach for remediating heavy metal-contaminated agricultural soils while simultaneously enhancing soil C stability, nutrient availability, and microbial activity.

We studied how farming practices like cover cropping, reduced tillage, and crop diversity relate to soil carbon on 28 California organic farms. Fields with more continuous plant cover and less tillage tended to have more particulate organic carbon, with weaker but positive signals for slower-cycling mineral-associated carbon. Management explained trends in particulate and mineral-associated carbon more than soil properties, suggesting that farming practices could help build soil carbon.

We explored whether adding basalt and beneficial fungi to soil could improve soil health and crop growth. Basalt improved soil chemistry, confirming its role as a soil improver, while the fungi had little effect. Crop yield remained unchanged, showing that benefits depend on soil type. Our study helps clarify how soil amendments work and when they may support farming and climate solutions.

Soil microorganisms contribute to carbon storage, but their efficacy depends on their environment. We have developed a computer model based on real soil structures to investigate how pore shape, resource location and water content influence microbial behaviour. Small, poorly interconnected pores favour slower but more efficient microorganisms, whilst large, interconnected pores favour fast-growing but less efficient ones, demonstrating that soil structure plays a decisive role in carbon storage.