Search for Articles:
Title / Keyword
Author / Affiliation / Email
Journal
Article Type
 
 
Advanced Search
 
Section
Special Issue
Volume
Issue
Number
Page
 
6.7
3.4
Journals
Agronomy
Special Issues
Effects of Agronomic Practices on Soil Properties and Health
share announcement

Effects of Agronomic Practices on Soil Properties and Health

A special issue of Agronomy (ISSN 2073-4395). This special issue belongs to the section "Soil and Plant Nutrition".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 January 2026 | Viewed by 1658

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Marco Pittarello

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Agricultural Sciences, Mediterranean University of Reggio Calabria, Feo di Vito, 89122 Reggio Calabria, Italy
Interests: phytoremediation; soil chemistry; sustainable and conservative agriculture
Dr. Emilio Lo Presti

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department Agraria, University Mediterranea of Reggio Calabria, Feo di Vito, 89122 Reggio Calabria, Italy
Interests: agroecology; ecosystem services; intercropping; root interactions; cover cropping; legumes; wheat; phosphorus availability; root exudates (carboxylates and phosphatase activity)
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Paolo Carletti

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Agronomy, Food, Natural Resources, Animals and Environment, Università degli Studi di Padova, Viale dell'Università, 16, I-35020 Legnaro, Italy
Interests: plant biostimulants; soil humic substances; soil science and plant nutrition; plant physiology; soil enzymatic activity
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

After decades of soil overexploitation in the past century due to conventional intensive agriculture, sustainable and conservative agricultural practices—such as intercropping, a practice almost entirely abandoned due to main-crop competition—are experiencing revisited and new adoption. Due to increasingly extreme climate phenomena related to global warming (such as soil erosion and widespread soil contamination) and accompanying challenges, such as the need to properly feed a growing world population, it is now essential to maintain and restore the fertility of agricultural soils while also making marginal and/or moderately contaminated soils characterized by low microbial diversity and enzymatic activity and low organic matter storage suitable for low-intensity agriculture.

Based on the above, this Special Issue will focus on the following:

  • Short-term effects (maximum 3 years) of different crop rotations on the enzymatic activity of sandy soils.
  • Short- and long-term effects of intercropping on the availability of heavy metals and their accumulation in moderately contaminated soils.
  • Cover crops and organic matter storage in marginal and sloping grounds.
  • Cover cropping and intercropping effects on weed infestation and the accumulation of high-molecular-weight allelochemicals in soil.
  • Management of phytochemical degradation in soil under cover cropping and intercropping.
  • Phosphorus availability in marginal soils under cover cropping and intercropping (with a special focus on tropical and subtropical soils).

The overall aim of this Special Issue is to encourage the development of practices focused on restoring fertility with the goal of “conquering and re-conquering” new lands for sustainable agriculture.

Dr. Marco Pittarello
Dr. Lo Presti Emilio
Dr. Paolo Carletti
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 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. Agronomy is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly 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

  • enzymatic activity
  • organic matter
  • soil fertility
  • sustainable agriculture

Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue

  • Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
  • Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
  • Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
  • External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
  • Reprint: MDPI Books provides the opportunity to republish successful Special Issues in book format, both online and in print.

Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Published Papers (2 papers)

Download All Papers
Order results
Result details
Show export options expand_more Show export options expand_less
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

17 pages, 1659 KB  
Article
Response of Soil Microbial Biomass and Activity to Cover Crop Incorporation Methods
by Caterina Lucia, Vito Armando Laudicina, Sara Paliaga, Luciano Gristina and Sofia Maria Muscarella
Agronomy 2025, 15(11), 2504; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy15112504 - 28 Oct 2025
Viewed by 77
Abstract
Cover crop management in vineyards under a semiarid Mediterranean environment needs strategies that enhance soil C and N status and microbial functioning without increasing disturbance. This study compared cover crops biomass incorporation (harrowing, HR; rotary tillage; RT) and non-incorporation (NI, residues left on [...] Read more.
Cover crop management in vineyards under a semiarid Mediterranean environment needs strategies that enhance soil C and N status and microbial functioning without increasing disturbance. This study compared cover crops biomass incorporation (harrowing, HR; rotary tillage; RT) and non-incorporation (NI, residues left on the topsoil) into the soil in a 12-year Grecanico dorato vineyard. Traditional vineyard soil management (continuously tilled for weeds control) was also used as a control. Soil samples from 0 to 20 and 20 to 40 cm were analyzed for total organic carbon (TOC), total nitrogen (TN), microbial biomass carbon (MBC) and nitrogen (MBN), and enzyme activities. NI and HR raised TOC and TN in the topsoil versus TR, with NI frequently maintaining advantages at depth. NI also maximized MBC/MBN and reduced the metabolic quotient (qCO2), indicating improved microbial C-use efficiency; RT showed intermediate chemistry but depressed subsoil MBC and altered MBC/MBN. Enzyme profiles reflected contrasting mechanisms: RT boosted β-glucosidase in the topsoil, TR peaked for urease and arylsulfatase but alongside lower biomass and higher specific enzyme activities, while NI supported greater overall functioning via larger biomass and lower per-C enzyme demand. The calculated geometric mean enzyme (GMea) index emphasized transient TR flush versus steadier conservation functioning. Strong vertical stratification occurred for all indices, yet NI transmitted some benefits to 20–40 cm. We conclude that residue retention or moderate incorporation promotes larger, more efficient microbial population and more balanced nutrient cycling, whereas repeated rotary tillage risks subsoil inefficiencies. In semi-arid Mediterranean vineyards, low-disturbance cover-crop incorporation (HR) or, preferably, residue retention at the topsoil (NI) offer a simple, scalable route to sustain soil quality and long-term fertility. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Effects of Agronomic Practices on Soil Properties and Health)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

19 pages, 5327 KB  
Article
Effects of Sanqi Cultivation on Soil Fertility and Heavy Metal Content in the Sanqi–Pine Agroforestry System
by Keyu Liu, Xiaoyan Zhao, Rui Rui, Yue Li, Jingying Hei, Longfeng Yu, Shu Wang and Xiahong He
Agronomy 2025, 15(9), 2123; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy15092123 - 4 Sep 2025
Viewed by 732
Abstract
The Sanqi–pine agroforestry (SPA) system is considered a sustainable agroforestry model. However, empirical studies that clearly elucidate the impact of Sanqi cultivation on soil fertility and the heavy metal content within the SPA system are still lacking. This study established monoculture Pinus armandii [...] Read more.
The Sanqi–pine agroforestry (SPA) system is considered a sustainable agroforestry model. However, empirical studies that clearly elucidate the impact of Sanqi cultivation on soil fertility and the heavy metal content within the SPA system are still lacking. This study established monoculture Pinus armandii (MPA) and SPA systems to conduct a comparative analysis of dynamic changes in soil physicochemical properties and the heavy metal content of Sanqi and pine over one year (with semi-monthly sampling), followed by a comprehensive evaluation of soil fertility and heavy metal pollution. Following the land use conversion from MPA to SPA, there was a notable increase in soil moisture (SM), total nitrogen (TN), and nitrate nitrogen (NO3−-N) levels within Sanqi soil. Conversely, total potassium (TK), ammonium nitrogen (NH4+-N), plumbum (Pb), and chromium (Cr) levels experienced a significant reduction. In the case of pine soil, soil moisture (SM), pH levels, and ammonium nitrogen (NH4+-N) content exhibited an increase. However, soil organic carbon (SOC), total phosphorus (TP), total potassium (TK), zinc (Zn), manganese (Mn), plumbum (Pb), and chromium (Cr) contents all significantly decreased. The Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) demonstrated that Sanqi cultivation not only significantly enhanced soil fertility for Sanqi rather than pine but also reduced the heavy metal content in the soil of both Sanqi and pine within the SPA system. Furthermore, the Nemerow pollution index for both Sanqi and pine soils has decreased, transitioning the pollution status from relatively safe to safe. This suggests that the introduction of Sanqi promotes the sustainable development of the SPA system. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Effects of Agronomic Practices on Soil Properties and Health)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

Show export options expand_more Show export options expand_less
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:
 
Displaying articles 1-2
Back to TopTop