The central Mongolian forest-steppe underlies a recent decline of forested area. We analysed the site- and soil properties in the Khangai Mountains to identify differences between disturbed forest areas with and without regrowth of trees. More silty soils were found under areas with tree regrowth and more sandy soils under areas without tree regrowth. Due to the continental, semiarid climate, soil properties which increase the amount of available water are decisive for tree regrowth in Mongolia.

Archaeological Dark Earth (ADE) is distributed from the tropics (Amazonian Terra preta, African ADE), moderate climatic zones (European ADE) up to the Arctic (kitchen middens). ADEs have stable organic matter content, reduced acidity, higher CEC, and C, N, P, Ca, Mn, Cu, Zn, Mn, Mg, Fe, Sr, and Ba content compared to surrounding soils. Although generally productive, comparison of herbage production and crop yields between ADEs and natural soils are still rare.

Soil organic carbon (SOC), an important indicator of soil health, is often assessed by re-wetting a dry soil and measuring   production, but the potential bias introduced by soils of different moisture contents is unclear. Our study found that wetter soil tended to lose more carbon during drying than drier soil, thus leading to an underestimate of SOC. We developed a correction factor to account for initial soil moisture effects, which future studies may benefit from adapting for their soil.

Laboratory experiments that assess microplastic impact on the terrestrial environment require information on common soil MP concentrations. We reviewed item numbers and mass concentrations recorded in 23 studies with in total 223 sampling sites with respect to the underlying entry pathways, land uses and vicinities. Common values amount of up to 13 000 items kg⁻¹ and 4.5 mg kg⁻¹ dry soil. Based on the collected data, we identified problems of past field studies.