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Agriculture
Special Issues
Factors Affecting Soil Fertility and Improvement Measures
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Factors Affecting Soil Fertility and Improvement Measures

A special issue of Agriculture (ISSN 2077-0472). This special issue belongs to the section "Agricultural Soils".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 10 January 2026 | Viewed by 1819

Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Hongqing Hu

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
College of Resources and Environment, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China
Interests: soil environmental chemistry; soil fertility; soil chemistry; soil minerals; plant nutrition

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The theme of this Special Issue is the factors that affect soil fertility and their improvement measures. Investigating how these factors influence soil fertility and crop production is crucial for enhancing food security.

Understanding the changes in soil fertility in agricultural production can improve our knowledge of agriculture and crops. With the continuous growth of the global population, it is even more necessary to enhance soil fertility to produce more crops to meet human food demands. For thousands of years, soil fertility has been influenced by nature and human choices, leading to different fertility characteristics in various regions. However, the factors driving these changes have not been fully explored.

This Special Issue focuses on the factors affecting soil fertility and their improvement measures, exploring how these factors impact crop production. It can provide researchers with new insights and be applied to soil amendment. These developments help to address current challenges in agriculture, such as soil acidification, heavy metal pollution, and soil infertility. The call for manuscripts includes, but is not limited to, the following topics:

  • Soil acidification: Causes of soil acidification, mechanisms of acidification improvement, and the effectiveness of different soil amelioration.
  • Heavy metal pollution: Comparisons of the effects of different remediation technologies and their mechanisms.
  • Soil infertility: Analysis of fertility changes and influencing factors on a global scale; exploration of the interactions between soil minerals, microorganisms, moisture, and other factors at the micro level to identify factors affecting fertility and seek corresponding measures to enhance fertility.

Prof. Dr. Hongqing Hu
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Agriculture is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • soil fertility
  • acidification
  • heavy metal contamination
  • infertility
  • soil amelioration

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

18 pages, 2030 KB  
Article
Land Use Changes Influence Tropical Soil Diversity: An Assessment Using Soil Taxonomy and the World Reference Base for Soil Classifications
by Selvin Antonio Saravia-Maldonado, Beatriz Ramírez-Rosario, María Ángeles Rodríguez-González and Luis Francisco Fernández-Pozo
Agriculture 2025, 15(17), 1893; https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture15171893 - 5 Sep 2025
Viewed by 690
Abstract
The transformation of natural ecosystems into agroecosystems due to changes in land use/land cover (LULC) has been shown to significantly affect soil characterization and classification. The impact of LULC on soil taxonomy was assessed in a primary forest located in central–eastern Honduras, which [...] Read more.
The transformation of natural ecosystems into agroecosystems due to changes in land use/land cover (LULC) has been shown to significantly affect soil characterization and classification. The impact of LULC on soil taxonomy was assessed in a primary forest located in central–eastern Honduras, which had been deforested approximately forty years prior to the study. Morphological, physical, and physicochemical analyses were performed by describing 10 representative profiles, applying the Soil Taxonomy (ST) and World Reference Base for Soil Resources (WRB) nomenclatures. LULC resulted in physical degradation in agricultural areas, as evidenced by lighter-colored horizons (P02), reduced granular structure (P01, P02, P05), higher bulk densities (≤1.73 Mg m−3), and surface crusting (P02, P05); this phenomenon was also observed in pastures (P06–P09). SOC loss was 62% in croplands, 47–53% in agroforestry systems (P03) and fruit tree plantations (P04), and 25% in pastures. All profiles exhibited pH values between 6.5 and 8.4 and complete base saturation (BS), except for P08 and P09, which had pH values below 5.5, high levels of Al3+, and reduced BS (50–60%). Mollic epipedons and variability in the endopedons were also observed. According to the ST of the System of Soil Classification (SSC), the soils were classified as Mollisols, Entisols, Vertisols, and Alfisols; and as Phaeozems, Fluvisols, Gleysols, Anthrosols, Gypsisols, and Plinthosols by the WRB. We advocate for the inclusion of Anthropogenic Soils as a distinct Order within Soil Taxonomy (ST). The implementation of sustainable agricultural practices, in conjunction with the formulation of regulatory frameworks governing land use based on capacity and suitability, is imperative, particularly within the context of fragile tropical systems. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Factors Affecting Soil Fertility and Improvement Measures)
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15 pages, 1636 KB  
Article
Relative Phosphorus Fertilizer Efficiency of Rapeseed and Soybean Cakes Across Different Soils
by Yukun Li, Pu Wang, Qingling Fu, Jun Zhu and Hongqing Hu
Agriculture 2025, 15(17), 1857; https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture15171857 - 31 Aug 2025
Viewed by 451
Abstract
Cake fertilizers are phosphorus-rich organic fertilizers that are commonly used in horticulture. Soil plays a crucial role in determining the effectiveness of phosphorus fertilizer. Comparative data on the relative phosphorus efficiency (rPE) of cake fertilizers across contrasting soils are scarce in the international [...] Read more.
Cake fertilizers are phosphorus-rich organic fertilizers that are commonly used in horticulture. Soil plays a crucial role in determining the effectiveness of phosphorus fertilizer. Comparative data on the relative phosphorus efficiency (rPE) of cake fertilizers across contrasting soils are scarce in the international literature. Information on the mechanisms that control phosphorus supply is also limited. This study examined the rPE of rapeseed and soybean cakes in three soils using ryegrass growth experiments and investigated the main factors affecting their phosphorus efficiency. The results showed that the rPE of rapeseed cake did not differ significantly among the three soils, with an average value of 71%. In contrast, the rPE of soybean cake showed a clear soil-dependent pattern, with the highest rPE in red soil (67%), followed by fluvo-aquic soil (47%), and the lowest in yellow-brown soil (32%). In red soil, there was no significant difference in rPE between the two cakes. Water-soluble phosphorus content of cake fertilizers and soil phosphatase activity are key factors affecting rPE. Owing to its low water-soluble phosphorus content, the phosphorus supplied by soybean cake is predominantly mobilized through soil phosphatase–mediated mineralization of organic phosphorus. In phosphorus fertilization practices, both cake water-soluble phosphorus content and soil phosphatase activity should be considered. In soils with low phosphatase activity, cake fertilizers with a higher water-soluble phosphorus content should be prioritized. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Factors Affecting Soil Fertility and Improvement Measures)
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