Recent  

The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of different biopreparations on soil porosity, temperature, and CO₂ emission from the soil in northeast Europe (Lithuania) when growing food-type crops. The application of the biopreparations showed a cumulative effect on the soil properties. In the third year of the study, the total porosity of the soil was higher in all scenarios compared to the control, ranging between 51% and 74%.

Structural stability is critical for sustainable agricultural soil management. We invented a simple test to measure soil structural stability. The QuantiSlakeTest consists of a dynamic weighting of a dried soil sample in water. The test is rapid, does not require expensive equipment and provides a high density of information on soil structural properties. With an open-access programme for data management under development, the test has strong potential for adoption by a large community of users.

Cr pollution is a global concern. The use of methodologies specifically related to Cr toxicity is appropriate, such as the pollution-induced community tolerance (PICT) methodology. The development of PICT was determined in 10 soils after Cr addition in the laboratory. The Cr-soluble fraction and dissolved organic carbon were the main variables determining the development of PICT (R² = 95.6 %).

In this study, we systematically evaluated prospective crop transpiration benefits of sequestering soil organic carbon (SOC) under current and future climatic conditions based on the model SWAP. We found that adding at least 2% SOC down to at least 65 cm depth could increase transpiration annually by almost 40 mm, which can play a role in mitigating drought impacts in rain-fed cropping. Beyond this threshold, additional crop transpiration benefits of sequestering SOC are only marginal.

Our paper presents a new web-based software tool to support soil process research. It is designed to categorize publications in this field according to site and soil characteristics, as well as experimental conditions, which is of critical importance for the interpretation of the research results. The software tool is provided open access for the soil science community such that anyone can contribute to improve the contents of the literature data base.