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Agriculture
Special Issues
Cropping and Tillage Systems Impacts on Soil Physical Quality
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Cropping and Tillage Systems Impacts on Soil Physical Quality

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 25 July 2026 | Viewed by 851

Editor

Prof. Dr. Moacir Tuzzin de Moraes

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Soil Science, “Luiz de Queiroz” College of Agriculture, University of São Paulo, Piracicaba 13418-900, SP, Brazil
Interests: soil physical quality and root growth; focusing on how agricultural waste-derived bio-based amendments (e.g., biochar) affect soil structure; water and gas fluxes; process-based modeling of root–soil interactions
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Soil’s physical quality is a key driver of agroecosystem performance because it controls water infiltration and storage, aeration, root growth, and soil strength. Increasing traffic mechanization, intensification, and climate variability have raised concerns about compaction, structural degradation, and hydrological dysfunction. In this context, cropping systems and tillage strategies (e.g., no tillage, reduced, and conventional tillage) significantly influence aggregate stability, pore-size distribution, bulk density, and hydraulic properties, with direct implications for crop productivity and sustainability. This Special Issue aims to gather information on how cropping and tillage systems affect soil physical quality across soil textures, climates, and production conditions, including their effects on soil functioning, erosion risk, and yield stability. We welcome the submission of original research articles and reviews that combine robust experimentation, monitoring, and/or modeling, and innovative measurement approaches (e.g., soil physical indices, hydraulic functions, imaging of pore networks). We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Prof. Dr. Moacir Tuzzin de Moraes
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 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.

Keywords

  • soil physical quality
  • no-tillage system
  • soil structure
  • soil compaction
  • water flux
  • root growth

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

16 pages, 2475 KB  
Article
Determining the Accuracy of Water Infiltration Models for Different Land Uses in the Dry–Hot Valley Region of China
by Xiushuang Li, Leimeng Wang, Jingru Ruan, Dongdong Hou and Yi Wang
Agriculture 2026, 16(11), 1170; https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture16111170 - 26 May 2026
Viewed by 526
Abstract
In the dry–hot valley region of Southwest China, water infiltration exhibits temporal variations due to the combined effects of land use type and the dramatic seasonal dry–wet cycle. To accurately compare and predict the infiltration characteristics, soil water infiltration processes and cumulative infiltration [...] Read more.
In the dry–hot valley region of Southwest China, water infiltration exhibits temporal variations due to the combined effects of land use type and the dramatic seasonal dry–wet cycle. To accurately compare and predict the infiltration characteristics, soil water infiltration processes and cumulative infiltration were quantified for five typical land uses—traditional corn (TC), plum orchard (PO), pine forest (PF), grassland (GL), and abandoned cropland (AC)—in a dry–hot valley region during both the rainy (July) and dry (November) seasons using a Mini Disk Infiltrometer (MDI). These data were then statistically analyzed using the Kostiakov, Philip, and Horton models. The results showed that the mean infiltration rate and cumulative infiltration during the rainy season were 1.34 times and 1.31 times higher than in the dry season, respectively. The water infiltration rate and cumulative infiltration for the five land uses generally followed the order of PF > GL/TC > PO/AC during both rainy and dry seasons. The model parameters related to the initial infiltration capability (Kostiakov parameter, a) and the steady infiltration capability (Philip parameter, A; and the Horton parameter, fc) during the rainy season were all greater than those in the dry season. Compared to the Kostiakov and Horton models, the Philip model achieved the highest mean Nash–Sutcliffe efficiency (NSE) values in fitting soil water infiltration processes, the lowest mean relative error (MRE) values, and the highest determination coefficient values (R2) in predicting the cumulative infiltration, with relatively little difference between the two seasons. These results indicate that PF, GL, and TC exhibit superior soil water infiltration capabilities compared to other land uses during both the rainy and dry seasons. The Philip model is more suitable for estimating soil infiltration capacity in the dry–hot valley region during both seasons. Identification of the superior land use types and accuracy determination of the water infiltration model can help guide effective water conservation and vegetation restoration initiatives in the dry–hot valley region of Southwest China. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Cropping and Tillage Systems Impacts on Soil Physical Quality)
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