Organic Amendments and Soil Health in Sustainable Agriculture

Dear Colleagues,

Soil health is increasingly recognized as a key factor in ensuring the sustainability and resilience of agricultural systems. Intensive farming practices, soil degradation, and the impacts of climate change are leading to a decline in soil fertility and functionality, threatening both crop productivity and environmental quality. As a result, improving soil management has become a priority for researchers, farmers and policymakers aiming to promote sustainable and climate-resilient agriculture.

In this context, organic amendments such as compost, manure, digestates, and biochar represent valuable tools for restoring soil fertility and enhancing ecosystem services. Their application can improve soil structure, increase soil organic carbon, and stimulate biological activity, with positive effects on nutrient availability and crop performance. However, their effectiveness is strongly influenced by environmental conditions, management practices, and amendment characteristics. Moreover, uncertainties remain regarding their long-term impacts and potential environmental risks.

This Special Issue aims to present and disseminate recent advances in the use of organic amendments to improve soil health in sustainable agricultural systems. We welcome original research and review papers addressing the effects of organic inputs on soil properties, as well as their implications for crop productivity, resource use efficiency, circular economy approaches related to organic waste valorization, and environmental sustainability. Particular emphasis is given to interdisciplinary approaches, long-term studies, and innovative strategies for optimizing the use of organic amendments in different agroecosystems. In addition to field-based studies, contributions based on controlled laboratory and greenhouse experiments are encouraged, as they provide key insights into the mechanisms driving soil processes and amendment–soil interactions. Submissions that bridge scientific research and practical applications are especially welcome.

Topics of interest for publication include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Effects of organic amendments on soil fertility and soil health indicators;
• Soil organic carbon dynamics and carbon sequestration in agricultural soils;
• Impacts on soil microbial communities and soil biological functioning;
• Role of organic amendments in climate change mitigation (GHG emissions);
• Long-term impacts of organic inputs on soil fertility;
• Organic waste valorization and circular economy approaches in agriculture;
• Environmental risks (e.g., heavy metals, contaminants, microplastics);
• Life cycle assessment (LCA) and environmental impact of amendment use;
• Organic amendments in degraded or low-fertility soils;
• Case studies and farm-scale applications.

Dr. Rita Leogrande
Dr. Pasquale Garofalo
Guest Editors

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 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

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-anonymized 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.

• field experiments
• laboratory research
• long term experiments
• marginal area
• soil chemical, physical and biological properties
• agricultural productivity
• contamination risks
• circular economy