Effect of Agricultural Management Intensity on the Organic Carbon Fractions and Biological Properties of a Volcanic-Ash-Derived Soil

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

Review on the manuscript with title: Effect of agricultural management intensity on organic carbon fractions and biological properties of a Volcanic soil. I suggested a major revision with the following comments:

1. In Abstract, the authors should make a significant revision. The current abstract fails to highlight the innovation points of this article and has poor logical coherence.
2. About the article details, the authors have serious grammar and format problem. For example, in the lines 45-47, the authors should recheck the logic for accuracy; in the lines 130, the authors should recheck the punctuation.
3. In the lines 60-63, the authors should further explain the function of soil aggregates. The reference (Chemical Engineering Journal, 506 (2025) 160050) may be helpful for the section and is suggested to be cited.
4. The authors should add a paragraph to each method in the Materials and Methods of the reason for doing this experiment.
5. Where is Figure 3 and Figure 4?
6. In the lines 270-274, the author should compare the experimental results of NT and CT and explain the reasons, and the authors should provide some basis on root distribution or tillage depth be provided to support this interpretation. The reference (ACS ES&T Engineering 4 (2024) 2054-2067) may be helpful for the section and is suggested to be cited.
7. In the lines 294-298, the author said that The ECA protein content was positively associated with soil aggregate stability. However, is the direct relationship between enzyme/protein and aggregate formation verified by experiments? For example, the authors should provide some microstructure analysis (such as SEM). The reference (ACS ES&T Engineering 4 (2024) 3045-3056) may be helpful for the section and is suggested to be cited.
8. In the lines 372-379, The authors recommend the promotion of NT, but also mention that NT dependence on pesticides may threaten soil health. Have the long-term effects of pesticide use on microbial communities or enzyme activity in NT systems been assessed? The reference (Chemical Engineering Journal, 497 (2024) 154467) may be helpful for the section and is suggested to be cited.

Comments on the Quality of English Language

 The English could be improved to more clearly express the research.

Author Response

We appreciate the reviewer's comments and time, most of which were considered. Please see the attachment.

Author Response File: Author Response.docx

Reviewer 2 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

 

Dear Authors,

The paper is well written but too confusing, the writing style and a lot listing of facts, the abstract contains research on earthworms that were overlooked.

Comments for author File: Comments.pdf

Author Response

We appreciate the reviewer's comments and time, most of which were considered. Please see the attachment.

Author Response File: Author Response.docx

Reviewer 3 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

Soil carbon pool is an important component of ecosystem carbon pool. This study attempts to explore the impact of different agricultural management intensities on soil organic carbon pools by sampling and analyzing the organic carbon components and biological properties of volcanic soils. This study has certain reference value for how to increase more ecosystem carbon pools under human activities. This manuscript has a tight structure, clear logic, and standardized writing. The results can basically support the conclusions obtained. However, there are still issues that need improvement in this manuscript, including (but not limited to) the following:
1. This manuscript only considers the impact of soil biological properties on organic carbon, without monitoring and analyzing soil environment, such as soil temperature and soil moisture. Perhaps, these environmental factors also have important effects on soil organic carbon, which needs to be added in the discussion section;
2. This study only collected one sample for analysis in the autumn of 2022, which may result in significant uncertainty in the results, as soil organic carbon composition and content usually have seasonal variations and are not completely synchronized under different land use types;
3. Some data still need further explanation, such as the abnormally high GN-a value in Figure 2A;
4. Figures 3 and 4 are not seen in the manuscript;
5. Adding subheadings to the Results and Discussion section may be more conducive to reading;
6. The significance of soil carbon storage cannot be limited to the increase of soil carbon pool, but should be comprehensively evaluated in conjunction with crop economic value, otherwise it cannot meet the requirements of sustainable development.

Author Response

We appreciate the reviewer's comments and time, most of which were considered. Please see the attachment.

Author Response File: Author Response.docx