Frontiers in Soil Science | New and Recent Articles

Soils in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) are central to both agricultural productivity and human nutrition, yet increasing contamination from mining activities, wastewater irrigation, and agrochemical inputs has intensified the accumulation of toxic trace elements in food crops. This review synthesizes current evidence on the soil–plant–human transfer of toxic elements alongside essential nutrients, hig…

This study is the first to investigate the relationship between potentially toxic elements (PTEs) and soil fauna abundance across a chronosequence of minesoils in Moatize coal mine, Mozambique. Soil samples were collected (0.00−0.10 m layer) across a chronosequence of minesoils afforested for 0.5, 1.4, 5.3, and 10.6 years. One adjacent unmined soil was sampled as reference. The samples were analy…

Urban agriculture soils are commonly amended with compost to improve fertility, yet the functional responses of these systems to biochar additions across application rates remain poorly understood. We conducted a field experiment at Three Sisters Gardens (West Sacramento, CA, USA) to evaluate how biochar applied at 0, 10, 20, and 30 t ha−1 influenced soil physical, chemical, and biological indica…

Soil quality is a key determinant of plant growth and ecosystem functioning, yet conventional assessments often overlook it from the plant’s perspective. Here, we propose the Ease of Root Water Uptake Index (ERWUI), a dynamic index that quantifies the energy required by plants to extract water from the soil, based on soil water retention characteristics, rooting depth, and temporal changes. The i…

Sustainable intensification of horticultural systems requires effective weed management strategies that reduce reliance on synthetic herbicides while maintaining crop productivity. Agroecological practices, particularly the use of multispecies cover crops, are increasingly recognized as promising tools to reconcile weed suppression with environmental sustainability. This study assessed the effect…

Limited availability of high-quality organic resources, inconsistent nutrient content, and unestablished nutrient-release patterns hinder the effective utilization of organic materials for soil fertility management. To address this, the present study characterizes the total nutrient content of fourteen organic materials and analysed their NPK fertilizer value following standards established by th…

Soil acidity is a major constraint to agricultural productivity across sub-Saharan Africa, where highly weathered soils exhibit strong spatial heterogeneity in chemical reactivity. While soil pH identifies acidity status, it does not indicate how a soil will respond to corrective liming how strongly it resists pH change or how much amendment it ultimately requires. Soil buffering capacity fills t…

Water scarcity is a major challenge for agriculture in arid and semi-arid regions. This study evaluates the long-term effects of deficit irrigation (DI) and land management practices, including no-tillage (NT), crop genetics, crop types, and cover cropping (CC), on soil health and water infiltration. Field experiments were conducted from 2019 to 2024 at three sites in Utah, USA, to study the effe…

Phosphogypsum (PG), a calcium sulfate dihydrate by-product of wet-process phosphoric acid production, is generated globally at over 300 million tons per year, yet only 14% is currently reused or recycled, with the remainder stockpiled or discharged into coastal areas. Its agricultural use as a soil amendment has grown considerably, yet a rigorous, integrated synthesis of its agronomic benefits, e…

This study developed a computer vision application for soil-phase segmentation and precise characterization of soil porosity, as well as for estimating soil color and fractal properties from digital images collected in undisturbed in situ soils. The multi-sensor Digital Soil Core (DSC) was used to collect microscopic soil images from four cultivated locations in California’s Central Valley, encom…

IntroductionEffective cation exchange capacity (ECEC) is a key indicator of soil fertility and sustainable soil management assessment in coffee-growing systems.MethodsThis study aimed to identify the principal edaphic and altitudinal factors explaining ECEC variability in 69 soil samples collected from coffee farms in northeastern Peru.ResultsECEC results exhibited substantial variation, ranging …

Fertilizer applications are popular for enhancing crop productivity, yet they pose significant environmental risks, particularly nutrient runoff and water contamination. However, the relevant field data for Kentucky is limited. This 2024-2025 study at Kentucky State University’s Harold R. Benson Research Demonstration Farm assessed short-term impacts of three treatments: dairy manure, composted d…

Organic materials are widely used to enhance soil organic carbon (SOC) storage, but their comparative effects and underlying mechanisms in saline-alkali soils remain unclear. A field experiment was conducted in the Yellow River Delta to evaluate the effects of different organic materials on SOC sequestration and soil structure in saline-alkali paddy soil. Four treatments were included: mineral fe…

Intensive cultivation of Salvia miltiorrhiza often leads to soil functional decline, compromising both yield and medicinal quality. Humic acid (HA) is recognized as a promising soil amendment, yet its integrated mechanisms within the plant-soil-microbe system remain unclear. Here, we conducted a pot experiment using soil from a Salvia miltiorrhiza monoculture system to evaluate the effects of thr…

Lawns and wooded areas dominate urban green spaces (UGSs) and are known to store substantial amounts of carbon in soils, yet the role of lawn trees in litter decomposition dynamics remains poorly understood. This study assessed how trees influence litter decomposition through (i) microclimatic (temperature and moisture) and (ii) soil properties effects. Decomposition rates of 8 tree and shrub lit…

IntroductionSoil salinity fundamentally reshapes geochemical controls governing metal mobility and plant uptake, yet its effects across soils with different salinity histories remain poorly resolved.MethodsWe conducted four controlled experiments using NaCl treatments ranging from 1.0 to 20.0 dS m−1, combining freshly salinized soils with soils previously exposed to salinity, and evaluated metal …

IntroductionWildfires can alter soil structure and reduce microbial diversity, potentially affecting ecosystem resilience. Understanding the effects of wildfire on native soil microbiomes may help identify bacterial taxa relevant for ecosystem recovery. In this study, we investigated wildfire-associated patterns in soil bacterial communities across a pine–oak forest in Mexico. MethodsSixteen soil…

This study evaluates soil organic carbon (SOC) sequestration in Mediterranean agroecosystems using the Carbon, Aggregation, and Structure Turnover (CAST) model, with a focus on agroecological and regenerative practices that support carbon farming (CF) strategies. Three case studies across Greece, Italy, and Spain were assessed to quantify SOC dynamics and carbon storage potential. In Koiliaris, G…

Soil health is a priority in European policies, such as the EU Soil and Biodiversity Strategies for 2030, owing to land degradation and climate change, with Mediterranean vineyards being especially vulnerable because of their low soil organic matter content and risk of erosion. To improve sustainability, cover crops are increasingly used as alternatives to conventional tillage with bare soils. Th…