Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Christopher Poeplau, Axel Don, Florian Schneider
Summary: Using a machine learning approach, this study found that the mean residence time of organic carbon in German agricultural topsoils was 21.5 years, with grasslands showing significantly higher MRTOC than croplands. Root-derived organic carbon inputs were identified as the most important variable for explaining MRTOC variability at a regional scale.
GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Ecology
Leiyi Chen, Yuanhe Yang
Summary: The study points out that overlooking the non-linear relationship between topsoil Delta C-14 and plant carbon input in Wu et al.'s analysis is the key reason for the disagreement between their findings and the findings of this study. Despite this, plant carbon input remains the main factor influencing topsoil carbon turnover.
Article
Soil Science
Jumpei Fukumasu, Christopher Poeplau, Elsa Coucheney, Nick Jarvis, Tobias Kloffel, John Koestel, Thomas Katterer, David Nimblad Svensson, Johanna Wetterlind, Mats Larsbo
Summary: Aluminum-bearing reactive mineral phases, represented by Alox, play a significant role in soil organic carbon (SOC) stabilization in arable topsoil in humid continental climates, explaining approximately 48% of the spatial variation in SOC. The study also showed that approximately 80% of SOC is stored in silt- and clay-sized fractions, indicating the importance of Al-bearing reactive mineral phases in SOC stabilization. Including spatially-variable crop yields as a proxy for carbon inputs improved the prediction of SOC variation in the study area.
Article
Soil Science
Zhiyong Zhang, Han Wang, Fan Ding, Rutger A. Wilschut, Zhaojie Jia, Xiaoke Zhang, Di Zhang, Sergio Rasmann, Sara Sanchez-Moreno, Bingxue Li
Summary: This study investigated the effects of aboveground and belowground plant carbon inputs on soil nematode communities. The results showed that belowground inputs supported a higher abundance of nematodes and favored a bacterial-driven decomposition channel, while aboveground inputs favored a fungal decomposition channel. Compared to aboveground inputs, belowground inputs increased the metabolic activity of higher functional guilds of nematodes, the growth and respiration rates of bacterivores, omnivores predators, and total nematodes, and the carbon use efficiency of omnivores-predators and total nematodes.
Article
Soil Science
Wang Zhou, Kaiyu Guan, Bin Peng, Andrew Margenot, DoKyoung Lee, Jinyun Tang, Zhenong Jin, Robert Grant, Evan DeLucia, Ziqi Qin, Michelle M. Wander, Sheng Wang
Summary: Cropland carbon budget and soil carbon credit calculation are crucial for evaluating climate change mitigation potential in agroecosystems. The accuracy of these calculations depends on soil and climatic conditions, particularly the initial soil organic carbon stock. However, there are uncertainties in SOC stock datasets, resulting in discrepancies in carbon budget calculations. This study assesses the impacts of SOC stock uncertainty using a process-based agroecosystem model and finds that initial SOC% has a greater impact on carbon budget components than bulk density. The uncertainty of soil carbon credits is smaller compared to absolute carbon budgets, indicating that publicly available soil datasets are suitable for calculating soil carbon credits.
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Xiaojuan Feng, Simin Wang
Summary: Microbe-mediated carbon transformation is crucial for soil carbon sequestration, serving as a key strategy for long-term carbon neutrality. Evaluating the efficiency of microbial necromass accumulation in relation to plant carbon input or microbial respiration can provide insights into promoting soil carbon sequestration from an ecosystem perspective.
GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Lyndre Nel, Ana Flavia Boeni, Viola Judit Prohaszka, Alfred Szilagyi, Eszter Tormane Kovacs, Laszlo Pasztor, Csaba Centeri
Summary: Soil carbon storage is crucial for the global chemical regulation of the atmosphere, and its measurement is used to assess landscapes as carbon sinks or sources. This study developed InVEST soil carbon stock models for two agricultural landscapes in Hungary using national carbon stock data and soil sample data. The models were evaluated to determine their usefulness in land-use management and policy development. The integration of soil sample data with national carbon stock data shows potential in assessing landscape-scale soil carbon storage.
Article
Geography, Physical
Nandor Fodor, Laszlo Pasztor, Brigitta Szabo, Annamaria Laborczi, Klara Pokovai, Dora Hidy, Roland Hollos, Erzsebet Kristof, Anna Kis, Laura Dobor, Aniko Kern, Thomas Grunwald, Zoltan Barcza
Summary: Gridded model assessments require at least one climatic and one soil database for conducting simulations, and the choice of input database can introduce variability in model outputs with significant impact on carbon sequestration studies. Careful evaluation of input database quality is a crucial step towards more realistic plant production and carbon balance simulations.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF DIGITAL EARTH
(2021)
Article
Soil Science
Sushil Lamichhane, Kabindra Adhikari, Lalit Kumar
Summary: This study utilized state-of-the-art soil mapping techniques to predict and map topsoil SOC content in agricultural lands in Nepal. Four machine learning algorithms were used to build prediction models, and the best performing model was used to map and quantify the spatial distribution of SOC contents. The results showed that the Random Forest algorithm performed the best among the tested models. The predictive performance of all models was better than the global SOC prediction from ISRIC.
Article
Soil Science
Xiaowei Guo, Raphael A. Viscarra Rossel, Guocheng Wang, Liujun Xiao, Mingming Wang, Shuai Zhang, Zhongkui Luo
Summary: This study used two carbon models to investigate the turnover of particulate (POC) and mineral-associated organic carbon (MOC) and predict long-term soil organic carbon (SOC) dynamics. The results showed that the models constrained by POC, MOC, and COC had less parameter collinearity and uncertainty compared to models constrained by total SOC alone.
SOIL BIOLOGY & BIOCHEMISTRY
(2022)
Article
Soil Science
Elisa Pellegrino, Gaia Piazza, Thorunn Helgason, Laura Ercoli
Summary: Research findings show that conservation agriculture positively influences the diversity and structure of soil microbiome, which can serve as indicators of nutrient stocks and soil structuring in agriculture focused on soil health.
SOIL BIOLOGY & BIOCHEMISTRY
(2022)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Tingting Fan, Tao Long, Yuanyuan Lu, Lu Yang, Na Mi, Feiyang Xia, Xiaohan Wang, Shaopo Deng, Qinghua Hu, Fuwang Zhang
Summary: Heavy metal pollution of agricultural soil, especially Cd, is a global threat to food safety and human health. Analyzing the fluxes of Cd through different pathways can help predict Cd content changes, identify critical pathways, and develop effective management strategies. Atmospheric deposition is the dominant input pathway, and irrigation and livestock manure also contribute significantly in China. Crop harvesting and leaching play important roles as output pathways in China, while leaching is the dominant Cd output pathway in Europe.
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Lotte Patty Mens, Aida Bargues-Tobella, Frank Sterck, Tor-Gunnar Vagen, Leigh Ann Winowiecki, Madelon Lohbeck
Summary: Land degradation poses a significant threat to food security in Sub Saharan Africa. This study explores how woody vegetation and its functional properties impact soil fertility and infiltrability. The findings suggest that both the quantity and quality of vegetation influence soil health. Increasing aboveground woody biomass enhances soil infiltrability, while woody plants with thinner leaves have a positive effect on infiltrability.
JOURNAL OF APPLIED ECOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Soil Science
Jean-Daniel Sylvain, Francois Anctil, Evelyne Thiffault
Summary: The study combines bias correction and ensemble modeling to improve the accuracy of digital soil mapping, reduce conditional bias, and provide uncertainty assessment. The performance of ensemble modeling surpasses individual models and underdispersion in uncertainty analysis is identified. Global mapping products show low performance and important conditional bias compared to the proposed approach.
Article
Ecology
Donghai Wu, Xiangtao Xu, Haicheng Zhang
Summary: The study found that plant input plays a crucial role in the persistence of topsoil carbon in alpine grasslands, while precipitation also has a significant impact on topsoil Delta C-14. These results offer an alternative perspective on the drivers of soil carbon turnover.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Menghan Wang, Fucui Li, Lili Dong, Xiang Wang, Liebao Han, Jurgen E. Olesen
Summary: Increases in nitrogen deposition have the potential to impact the organic carbon cycle in soil. The effects of nitrogen addition on soil organic carbon pools are inconsistent, highlighting the need for quantifying the response of organic carbon pool distribution to nitrogen addition. Furthermore, the influence of adding a mixture of organic and inorganic nitrogen on organic carbon pool distribution and stabilization in grassland soil remains unclear.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2023)
Article
Agriculture, Multidisciplinary
Janine Moll-Mielewczik, Sonja G. Keel, Andreas Gubler
Summary: Long-term monitoring of soil organic carbon (SOC) content and stocks is crucial for climate change and carbon sequestration. Field data and models are used to report changes in SOC stocks and validate models. This study presents SOC measurements from 1985 to 2014 in Swiss grassland sites and compares them with predictions from the RothC model. While there was no general trend in measured data, the model showed a good fit in two-thirds of the cases.
AGRICULTURE ECOSYSTEMS & ENVIRONMENT
(2023)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Ji Chen, Yong Zhang, Yakov Kuzyakov, Dong Wang, Jorgen Eivind Olesen
Summary: Soil microbiology has entered the era of big data, but faces challenges in integrating laboratory, field, and model-based studies. The limitations of laboratory experiments ignore the interactions of various environmental drivers, leading to discrepancies between laboratory and field studies. The upscaling of soil microbiology research from laboratory to ecosystems is a grand challenge with the potential to inform climate-smart and resource-efficient ecosystems. Understanding the gaps between laboratory and field studies and the issues in bridging observations and model predictions is crucial for interdisciplinary collaboration and knowledge advancement.
GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Agronomy
Alireza Araghi, Christopher J. Martinez, Jorgen E. Olesen
Summary: This study assessed the accuracy of a gridded weather dataset called MSWX in modeling wheat performance in Iran. The results showed that MSWX temperature had higher accuracy than AgERA5, while MSWX solar radiation had weaker performance. It was found that MSWX temperature data could be the best replacement for measured temperature data in the study area.
EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF AGRONOMY
(2023)
Article
Soil Science
Laura Sofie Harbo, Jorgen E. Olesen, Camilla Lemming, Bent T. Christensen, Lars Elsgaard
Summary: Changes in soil organic carbon (SOC) storage in agricultural land are important for national greenhouse gas emission inventories and climate mitigation strategies. We analyzed the effects of management practices on SOC stocks in Danish agricultural mineral soils using data from two surveys. The overall SOC stock remained stable, but deeper soil layers should be included in soil-monitoring networks. The use of farm management data to explain changes in SOC stocks appears limited.
EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF SOIL SCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Agronomy
Chiara De Notaris, Ea Elisabeth Enggrob, Jorgen E. Olesen, Peter Sorensen, Jim Rasmussen
Summary: Increasing grain legume production in Europe has multiple benefits, including protein self-sufficiency and environmental advantages such as biological nitrogen fixation. Faba bean is the main grain legume grown in Europe, with growing interest from the organic sector. However, the inclusion of grain legumes in cropping systems faces agronomic and economic challenges that can be overcome by considering ecosystem services.
FIELD CROPS RESEARCH
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Xiquan Wang, Shang Wang, Huadong Zang, Jiangwen Nie, Jie Zhao, Peixin Wang, Leanne Peixoto, Yadong Yang, Jorgen Eivind Olesen, Zhaohai Zeng
Summary: Nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions from agroecosystems are a major contributor to global warming and ozone depletion. This study investigated the effects of manure application and irrigation on N2O emissions in a wheat-maize cropping system. The results showed that manure application reduced N2O emissions by 25-51% compared to chemical fertilizer, particularly during the two weeks after fertilization combined with irrigation. Furthermore, manure application maintained grain nitrogen yield, while increasing N2O emissions.
JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT
(2023)
Article
Agriculture, Multidisciplinary
Chloe Wust-Galley, Sandra Heller, Christof Ammann, Sonja Paul, Sebastian Doetterl, Jens Leifeld
Summary: Wet rice cultivation in organic soils contributes to methane and nitrous oxide emissions, but the use of a mineral cover layer can significantly reduce these greenhouse gas emissions.
AGRICULTURE ECOSYSTEMS & ENVIRONMENT
(2023)
Article
Soil Science
Leonor Rodrigues, Alice Budai, Lars Elsgaard, Brieuc Hardy, Sonja G. Keel, Claudio Mondini, Cesar Plaza, Jens Leifeld
Summary: Biochar is a carbon-rich material produced from biomass through pyrolysis. It has been suggested as an effective long-term option to sequester CO2 for climate change mitigation. However, there is no universally applicable approach to measure its carbon sequestration efficiency. Guidelines on biochar quality have been developed to ensure its safe environmental use in agriculture. The hydrogen-to-organic C ratio is an important quality criterion widely used as a proxy for biochar stability.
EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF SOIL SCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Agronomy
Wenhai Huang, Yuhao Yang, Haoyu Zheng, Jorgen Eivind Olesen, Robert M. Rees, Jun Zou, Li Zhang, Suya Hu, Bowen Qiao, Xiaohui Wang, Shuaijie Shen, Biaoding Yang, Zhiyuan Bai, Axiang Zheng, Wenjie Li, Zhenwei Song, Xinya Wen, Fu Chen, Xiaogang Yin
Summary: This study evaluated the effects of different fertilizer nitrogen inputs on the yield and biological nitrogen fixation (BNF) of summer peanut in the North China Plain (NCP). The results showed that the optimal nitrogen application rate for achieving high nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) and low nitrogen losses without sacrificing yield was 150 kg N ha-1, which resulted in a yield of 3915 kg ha-1 and NUEoi of 73.0% in the summer-peanut production. These findings have important implications for the sustainable development of summer-peanut systems.
FIELD CROPS RESEARCH
(2023)
Review
Agronomy
Dilani Rathnayake, Hans-Peter Schmidt, Jens Leifeld, Jochen Mayer, Carole Alice Epper, Thomas D. Bucheli, Nikolas Hagemann
Summary: Animal manure has been widely used in agriculture to improve soil fertility, but its increasing surplus due to intensive livestock farming has raised concerns about its impact on human, animal, and environmental health. Conventional manure management methods have limitations in reducing contamination risks and greenhouse gas emissions. Pyrolysis, a thermochemical conversion technique, shows potential as an alternative treatment for manure by reducing toxic elements, eliminating pathogens and micropollutants, and decreasing GHG emissions. However, further research is needed to evaluate the effects of manure pyrolysis on crop yield and fertilization efficiencies.
GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY BIOENERGY
(2023)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Jorgen E. Olesen, Robert M. Rees, Sylvie Recous, Marina A. Bleken, Diego Abalos, Ishita Ahuja, Klaus Butterbach-Bahl, Marco Carozzi, Chiara De Notaris, Maria Ernfors, Edwin Haas, Sissel Hansen, Baldur Janz, Gwenaelle Lashermes, Raia S. Massad, Soren O. Petersen, Tatiana F. Rittl, Clemens Scheer, Kate E. Smith, Pascal Thiebeau, Arezoo Taghizadeh-Toosi, Rachel E. Thorman, Cairistiona F. E. Topp
Summary: Crop residues play a crucial role in carbon and nitrogen input to soils, affecting nitrous oxide emissions. The current inventory methodology only considers nitrogen inputs by crop residues, ignoring other factors and processes. Different biochemical and physical characteristics of residues contribute to variations in emissions, with immature residues having higher concentrations of mineralizable nitrogen and decomposable carbon. Accurately estimating the short-term and long-term effects of crop residues on N2O emissions requires distinguishing between mature and immature residues and considering local conditions. Better mitigation efforts and emission accounting methods are urgently needed.
GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Yong Zhang, Xiaoli Cheng, Kees Jan van Groenigen, Pablo Garcia-Palacios, Junji Cao, Xunhua Zheng, Yiqi Luo, Bruce A. Hungate, Cesar Terrer, Klaus Butterbach-Bahl, Jorgen Eivind Olesen, Ji Chen
Summary: Anthropogenic nitrogen loading affects the abundance of soil ammonia-oxidizing archaea and bacteria, leading to changes in soil nitrification. Climate is the most important factor determining the response of the ammonia-oxidizing community to nitrogen loading, and it affects nitrification indirectly through its influence on the ammonia-oxidizing community.
GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Agronomy
Erik A. Hobbie, Rolf Siegwolf, Christian Koerner, Katharina Steinmann, Markus Wilhelm, Matthias Saurer, Sonja G. Keel
Summary: In a Swiss forest, the spatial and temporal dynamics of carbon transfer from tree hosts to ectomycorrhizal fungi were studied. The results showed that fungal morphology did not affect carbon transfer, and carbohydrates were the primary form of carbon transferred to sporocarps across different zones. Environmental factors such as solar radiation and drought influenced carbon transfer.
Editorial Material
Food Science & Technology
Davide Cammarano, Jorgen Eivind Olesen, Katharina Helming, Christine Helen Foyer, Martin Schoenhart, Gianluca Brunori, Keerthi Kiran Bandru, Marco Bindi, Gloria Padovan, Bo Jellesmark Thorsen, Florian Freund, Diego Abalos
Summary: The lack of strong interconnection between research, policy, and societal action inhibits climate change mitigation in agri-food systems. Modelling tools, international superordinate bodies, and stakeholder-inclusive assessment frameworks can facilitate better alignment between these three pillars of human progress.
