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Agronomy
Special Issues
Soil Health Restoration and Management: Application and Perspectives in Nature-Based...
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Soil Health Restoration and Management: Application and Perspectives in Nature-Based Solutions

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 June 2025 | Viewed by 2170

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Francesca Vannucchi

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
National Research Council-Research Institute on Terrestrial Ecosystems (CNR-IRET), Via Moruzzi 1, 56124 Pisa, Italy
Interests: nature-base solutions; soil organic matter dynamics; organic waste recycling and valorization; soil enzyme and stoichiometry
Dr. Cristina Macci

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
National Research Council-Research Institute on Terrestrial Ecosystems (CNR-IRET) Via Moruzzi 1, 56124 Pisa, Italy
Interests: nature-based solutions; organic waste recycling and valorization; soil restoration

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The recovery and maintenance of soil health is needed to sustain productivity, biodiversity, and human wellbeing. In fact, healthy soils provide essential functions, such as nutrient cycling, water regulation, buffering, pollution filtering, biotic support, and safe food production. The application of nature-based solutions (NBSs) in agriculture allows the improvement or maintenance of soil health with positive effects for agricultural production, including carbon storage, soil erosion mitigation, limited carbon emission, and enhanced soil fertility.

This Special Issue aims to highlight studies and innovations in NBS applications in improving the physical, chemical, and biological properties of soil in agriculture. We welcome the latest NBS studies focusing on soil health restoration, along with organic waste recovery and recycling, organic fertilizer application, good practices for preventing soil erosion, compaction, and contamination; novel soil analysis; carbon farming; soil organic matter preservation; and soil health indicator evaluations, such as soil enzyme activities and stoichiometry and soil microbiomes.

Dr. Francesca Vannucchi
Dr. Cristina Macci
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

  • soil management
  • soil carbon sequestration
  • sustainable agriculture
  • soil organic matter, carbon and nutrient cycles
  • soil function
  • soil health indicators
  • microbial diversity and activity

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

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

17 pages, 2218 KiB  
Article
Constructing and Spatially Differentiating Soil Quality Indices in Qiqihar’s Typical Black Soil Zone: A Case Study of Tailai, Longjiang, and Gannan Counties, China
by Lei Wang, Min Pang, Na Wang, Dan Wei, Zhizhuang An, Jianzhi Xie and Liang Jin
Agronomy 2025, 15(4), 773; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy15040773 - 21 Mar 2025
Viewed by 397
Abstract
Black soils in Qiqihar City are comprised primarily of black soil. They have been extensively exploited for agriculture. To investigate the spatial distribution of soils in this region, we analyze 72 samples collected from Tailai, Longjiang, and Gannan counties. A soil quality index [...] Read more.
Black soils in Qiqihar City are comprised primarily of black soil. They have been extensively exploited for agriculture. To investigate the spatial distribution of soils in this region, we analyze 72 samples collected from Tailai, Longjiang, and Gannan counties. A soil quality index (SQI) based on a subset of measured soil indicators is constructed to comprehensively evaluate black soil quality. We report an average soil bulk density in these black soil areas of 1.42 g/cm3, indicating relatively high compaction and density. The average soil moisture content (19%) is relatively low. In some areas, soil electrical conductivity reaches 2.92 μS/cm, indicating mild salinization (<4 μS/cm). Overall soil nutrient levels are relatively high, but in some areas they are poor. Principal components and correlation analyses identify five of nine measured indicators (soil bulk density, pH, moisture, nitrate nitrogen, and organic matter contents) that adequately characterize soil quality. The SQI values reveal soil quality to decrease along a north–south gradient, sand to be highest in Gannan County and lowest in Tailai County. Overall, black soil quality in Qiqihar City is relatively low. These results provide a scientific foundation and data support for soil restoration and ecological construction efforts in these areas. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Soil Health Restoration and Management: Application and Perspectives in Nature-Based Solutions)
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24 pages, 5446 KiB  
Article
Efficiency of Geostatistical Approach for Mapping and Modeling Soil Site-Specific Management Zones for Sustainable Agriculture Management in Drylands
by Ibraheem A. H. Yousif, Ahmed S. A. Sayed, Elsayed A. Abdelsamie, Abd Al Rahman S. Ahmed, Mohammed Saeed, Elsayed Said Mohamed, Nazih Y. Rebouh and Mohamed S. Shokr
Agronomy 2024, 14(11), 2681; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy14112681 - 14 Nov 2024
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1250
Abstract
Assessing and mapping the geographical variation of soil properties is essential for precision agriculture to maintain the sustainability of the soil and plants. This study was conducted in El-Ismaillia Governorate in Egypt (arid zones), to establish site-specific management zones utilizing certain soil parameters [...] Read more.
Assessing and mapping the geographical variation of soil properties is essential for precision agriculture to maintain the sustainability of the soil and plants. This study was conducted in El-Ismaillia Governorate in Egypt (arid zones), to establish site-specific management zones utilizing certain soil parameters in the study area. The goal of the study is to map out the variability of some soil properties. One hundred georeferenced soil profiles were gathered from the study area using a standard grid pattern of 400 × 400 m. Soil parameters such as pH, soil salinity (EC), soil organic carbon (SOC), calcium carbonate (CaCO3), gravel, and soil-available micronutrients (Cu, Zn, Mn, and Fe) were determined. After the data were normalized, the soil characteristics were described and their geographical variability distribution was shown using classical and geostatistical statistics. The geographic variation of soil properties was analyzed using semivariogram models, and the associated maps were generated using the ordinary co-Kriging technique. The findings showed notable differences in soil properties across the study area. Statistical analysis of soil chemical properties showed that soil EC and pH have the highest and lowest coefficient of variation (CV), with a CV of 110.05 and 4.80%, respectively. At the same time Cu and Fe had the highest and lowest CV among the soil micronutrients, with a CV of 171.43 and 71.43%, respectively. Regarding the physical properties, clay and sand were the highest and lowest CV, with a CV of 177.01 and 9.97%, respectively. Moreover, the finest models for the examined soil attributes were determined to be exponential, spherical, K-Bessel, and Gaussian semivariogram models. The selected semivariogram models are the most suitable for mapping and estimating the spatial distribution surfaces of the investigated soil parameters, as indicated by the cross-validation findings. The results demonstrated that while Fe, Cu, Zn, gravel, silt, and sand suggested a weak spatial dependence, the soil variables under investigation had a moderate spatial dependence. The findings showed that there are three site- specific management zones in the investigated area. SSMZs were classified into three zones, namely high management zone (I) with an area 123.32 ha (7.09%), moderate management zone (II) with an area 1365.61ha (78.49%), and low management zone (III) with an area 250.8162 ha (14.42%). The majority of the researched area is included in the second site zone, which represents regions with low productivity. Decision-makers can identify locations with the finest, moderate, and poorest soil quality by using the spatial distribution maps that are produced, which can also help in understanding how each feature influences plant development. The results showed that geostatistical analysis is a reliable method for evaluating and forecasting the spatial correlations between soil properties. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Soil Health Restoration and Management: Application and Perspectives in Nature-Based Solutions)
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