Article
Environmental Sciences
Alex Zizinga, Jackson-Gilbert Majaliwa Mwanjalolo, Britta Tietjen, Bobe Bedadi, Geofrey Gabiri, Kizza Charles Luswata
Summary: The study found that climate smart agriculture practices, such as mulching and permanent planting basins, have a positive impact on maize growth, yield, water use efficiency, and soil moisture storage in sub-humid regions.
Article
Soil Science
Kirsten A. Pearsons, Emmanuel C. Omondi, Gladis Zinati, Andrew Smith, Yichao Rui
Summary: Tillage reduction is a common goal of farmers worldwide, but it is unclear if different strategies have contrasting effects on soil health. A long-term field crop trial in Pennsylvania was evaluated to compare the effects of reduced-till strategies on soil health under conventional and organic management. The results showed that reducing tillage in the conventional system increased potentially mineralizable carbon and surface compaction, while moderately reducing tillage in the organic systems did not cause significant changes in soil health indicators.
SOIL & TILLAGE RESEARCH
(2023)
Review
Agronomy
Gergo Peter Kovacs, Barbara Simon, Istvan Balla, Boglarka Bozoki, Igor Dekemati, Csaba Gyuricza, Attila Percze, Marta Birkas
Summary: This paper provides an overview of tillage progress in Hungary, summarizing both local and international impacts on national practices. It also presents the adoption of conservation tillage results in Hungary. The study shows that progress and restraint factors in tillage have appeared simultaneously over the years, with beliefs and lack of consideration for soil conservation and climate-related hazards being significant restraints. The commitment to soil protection, raising farming standards, and mitigating climate-related threats have driven progress in tillage.
Article
Soil Science
Habtamu M. Fenta, Misbah A. Hussein, Seifu A. Tilahun, Prossie Nakawuka, Tammo S. Steenhuis, Jennie Barron, Abera Adie, Michael Blummel, Petra Schmitter
Summary: The study evaluates the effectiveness of soil mechanical or biological interventions to improve soil water management and crop yield in rainfed maize systems while reducing soil erosion and runoff. Results showed that certain methods can increase maize yield and reduce soil erosion.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Qiao Guotong, Chen Fei, Wang Na, Zhang Dandan
Summary: Carbon sequestration in farmland ecosystems plays an important role in regional carbon reduction, and the study of carbon emissions, sequestration, and footprint in Guangdong's farmland ecosystems provides a theoretical basis for carbon emission reduction policies and industrial restructuring.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2022)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Thirze D. G. Hermans, Andrew J. Dougill, Stephen Whitfield, Caroline L. Peacock, Samuel Eze, Christian Thierfelder
Summary: This study aims to combine local knowledge and conventional soil science approaches to develop a contextualized understanding of the impact of Conservation Agriculture (CA) on soil health, as well as understand how an integrated approach can contribute to explaining farmer decision-making on land management. By combining farmers’ observations with soil measurements, the study found that CA improved soil structure, moisture, and infiltration, highlighting the importance of integrating local knowledge with scientific measurements in sustainable land management practices.
JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT
(2021)
Article
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Roberto Fanigliulo, Daniele Pochi, Pieranna Servadio
Summary: This study assessed the power-energy requirements and soil tillage quality parameters of conventional and conservation implements for preparing an optimal seedbed for wheat planting. Field tests on flat, silty-clay soil using instrumented tractors showed significant differences in operative performances between the two types of machines powered by the tractor's PTO, with rotary tillers exhibiting higher fuel consumption and power requirements. However, a decrease in these parameters was observed when transitioning from conventional to more conservation tillage implements, with rotary tillers providing a better quality seedbed.
Article
Agriculture, Multidisciplinary
Qiong Peng, Baoyuan Liu, Yaxian Hu, Aijuan Wang, Qiankun Guo, Bing Yin, Qi Cao, Liang He
Summary: Conventional tillage refers to the process of plowing in which the entire surface layer of soil is disturbed. It is widely used in sloping land, but it leads to severe soil erosion and land degradation. This study analyzes the effect of conventional tillage on soil erosion and calculates the tillage factor (T value). The results show regional variations in the T values and suggest that alternative tillage measures have significant soil and water conservation benefits.
AGRICULTURE ECOSYSTEMS & ENVIRONMENT
(2023)
Article
Engineering, Chemical
Sana Ullah, Ghulam Hafeez, Gul Rukh, Fahad R. Albogamy, Sadia Murawwat, Faheem Ali, Farrukh Aslam Khan, Sheraz Khan, Khalid Rehman
Summary: Agricultural productivity is crucial for a country's economy, and the proper provision of water is essential for increasing productivity. A smart-sensors-based solar-powered system has been developed to monitor and control water supply to crops, reducing water and energy wastage.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Jeonghyeon Choi, Jeongeun Won, Okjeong Lee, Sangdan Kim
Summary: This study explores the potential of using global root zone soil moisture based on satellite observation to calibrate hydrological models for predicting stream flow in ungauged basins. The results show that this approach is promising as it provides impressive predictive performance, particularly in dry years, and significantly improves the model's performance under low flow conditions compared to traditional regionalization methods. The uncertainty of the model calibrated using soil moisture data is similar to that using observed stream flow data, indicating more robust outputs, and overall stream flow predictions are also better.
Article
Soil Science
Julia Denier, Michel-Pierre Faucon, Anne-Maimiti Dulaurent, Julien Guidet, Lea Kervroedan, Justine Lamerre, David Houben
Summary: Our study highlights the importance of understanding management factors that drive soil biota in cropping systems. Tillage practices were found to have a greater impact on soil biota than specific cropping systems, while no-tillage generally had positive effects on soil microbial activity and earthworm abundance. Additionally, feed and biogas cropping systems were shown to increase microbial activity and diversity under no-tillage conditions, likely due to higher crop diversity and alternative nutrient sources.
APPLIED SOIL ECOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Agronomy
Robert B. Beelman, John P. Richie, Allen T. Phillips, Michael D. Kalaras, Dongxiao Sun, Sjoerd W. Duiker
Summary: ERGO, a potent antioxidant and anti-inflammatory amino acid, is crucial for human health and longevity. While not directly produced by plants, ERGO can be found in plant products such as grains. Differences in plant species and tillage management practices can affect the concentration of ERGO in crops grown in soil, impacting both crop yield and ERGO yield per hectare.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Mangesh M. Goswami, Milind Mujumdar, Bhupendra Bahadur Singh, Madhusudan Ingale, Naresh Ganeshi, Manish Ranalkar, Trenton E. Franz, Prashant Srivastav, Dev Niyogi, R. Krishnan, S. N. Patil
Summary: This study investigates the soil water dynamics in the core monsoon zone of India by analyzing the observations of soil moisture. The research reveals that lower soil moisture is associated with depleted convective activity and higher temperatures during the pre-monsoon season, while monsoon rains increase soil moisture. The study highlights the importance of surface-subsurface soil moisture observations in unraveling the complexity of soil water dynamics.
ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH LETTERS
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Noemie Ostandie, Brice Giffard, Olivier Bonnard, Benjamin Joubard, Sylvie Richart-Cervera, Denis Thiery, Adrien Rusch
Summary: The study revealed that organic farming has varying effects on biodiversity, increasing abundance of springtails and spiders but decreasing pollinator abundance and soil microbial biomass. Farming practices such as tillage regime, insecticide use, and soil copper content were the main drivers of these effects.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2021)
Article
Soil Science
Sekou F. M. Coulibaly, Michael Aubert, Nicolas Brunet, Fabrice Bureau, Marc Legras, Matthieu Chauvat
Summary: The study evaluated the impact of different tillage systems on soil dynamics under actual field conditions. The results showed that stopping tillage improved soil structure, increased populations of soil fauna, and consequently enhanced soil quality and health.
SOIL & TILLAGE RESEARCH
(2022)