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Soil Fertility and Plant Nutrition for Sustainable Cropping Systems

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A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Sustainable Agriculture".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (10 January 2026) | Viewed by 17823

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Special Issue Editors

Dr. Daniel Menezes-Blackburn

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Guest Editor

Department of Soils, Water and Agricultural Engineering, Sultan Qaboos University, Muscat, Oman
Interests: soil microbiology; rhizosphere science; plant nutrition; soil phosphorus and sulfur; soil salinity
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Dr. Bingjie Jin

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Guest Editor

Institute of Urban Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xiamen 361021, China
Interests: soil–plant system; earthworm gut microbiology; vermicompost; rhizosphere; soil phosphorus cycling
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Dr. Dong-Xing Guan

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Guest Editor

College of Environmental and Resource Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China
Interests: soil contamination and remediation; passive sampling; chemical imaging; soil-plant interaction; contaminant and nutrient bioavailability; food safety; soil health
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Sustainable food production faces significant challenges due to climate change, land degradation, and the scarcity of natural resources, thereby presenting a major obstacle for modern agriculture. Enhancing soil fertility and optimizing plant nutrition are crucial steps toward developing more sustainable farming systems that can meet increasing food demands while minimizing negative environmental consequences. While soil fertility deals with the availability and plant uptake of essential nutrients, soil health expands the concept so that it includes physical, chemical, and biological soil parameters and their feedback. Both soil fertility and soil quality (health) are directly related to and dependent on sustainable cropping practices, thus surpassing solely improving crop yields by including a focus on minimizing environmental impacts and accounting for long-term effects.

This Special Issue aims to combine interdisciplinary perspectives on emerging concepts, technologies, and practices at the forefront of enhancing soil health, soil quality, nutrient cycling, and crop nutrition in diverse cropping systems. We encourage submissions of original research articles and comprehensive reviews exploring innovative strategies for soil fertility management and nutrient use efficiency in sustainable crop production. Potential topics include but are not limited to the following:

Ecologically based nutrient management strategies;
Feedback between plant nutrition and other aspects of sustainable farming;
Biological nutrient acquisition and plant–microbe interactions;
Innovations in organic amendments, biofertilizers, and biofortification;
Novel fertilizer formulations and enhanced efficiency products;
Nutrient management modeling and impact;
Breeding for nutrient use efficiency and adaptations to nutrient limitations;
Rhizosphere processes governing nutrient dynamics and acquisition;
Integration of crops with livestock for nutrient cycling;
Agroecological intensification and redesigning cropping systems;
Policy, social, and economic dimensions of sustainable nutrient management;
Life cycle assessments of nutrient flows and soil fertility practices.

We welcome submissions reporting original research findings from field studies, greenhouse experiments, modeling efforts, and synthesis/meta-analysis papers, which review important themes that are relevant to the scope of the Special Issue. Approaches relating to multidisciplinary systems that consider interactions among biological, technological, and socioeconomic factors are especially encouraged.

Manuscript submissions will undergo rigorous peer review. Both empirical research articles and comprehensive review papers will be considered for publication in this Special Issue. Please use the following link for more information: https://www.mdpi.com/journal/sustainability/about.

Dr. Daniel Menezes-Blackburn
Dr. Bingjie Jin
Dr. Dong-Xing Guan
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-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability 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 2400 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

agriculture sustainability
soil fertility
plant nutrition
cropping systems
fertilizers
nutrient use efficiency
nutrient management
crop nutrition

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Related Special Issue

Soil Fertility and Plant Nutrition for Sustainable Cropping Systems—2nd Edition in Sustainability (1 article)

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Editorial

Jump to: Research, Other

5 pages, 159 KB

Open AccessEditorial

Sustainable Soil Fertility Management: Recent Advances and Future Directions

by Daniel Menezes-Blackburn, Bingjie Jin and Dong-Xing Guan

Sustainability 2026, 18(7), 3359; https://doi.org/10.3390/su18073359 - 31 Mar 2026

Viewed by 468

Abstract

Sustainable crop production is increasingly constrained by climate change, soil degradation, and competition for water and nutrients [...] Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Soil Fertility and Plant Nutrition for Sustainable Cropping Systems)

Research

Jump to: Editorial, Other

18 pages, 1295 KB

Open AccessArticle

Effect of Different Set-Aside Management Systems on Soil Biological Fertility and Biodiversity of Bacterial and Microarthropod Communities

by Arturo Fabiani, Stefano Mocali, Francesco Binazzi, Sara Del Duca, Francesco Vitali and Silvia Landi

Sustainability 2026, 18(5), 2575; https://doi.org/10.3390/su18052575 - 6 Mar 2026

Viewed by 429

Abstract

Soil health and agricultural sustainability are primarily threatened by organic matter depletion and a decline in biodiversity. To mitigate these processes, managing set-aside systems remains a simple practice to preserve biodiversity and functions essential to soil fertility. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of medium-term set-aside management in preventing soil degradation using changes in microbial and microarthropod communities, both of which are involved in organic matter degradation. Three different set-aside managements, with mowing (May or July) and without mowing, were compared to conventional rotation in three sites located in North, Central, and South Italy. The microbial community was analyzed through both biochemical methods, such as the assessment of soil respiration and microbial biomass, and molecular techniques, such as Denaturing Gradient Gel Electrophoresis. Soil fertility was assessed by the Biological Fertility Index, while soil biodiversity was assessed with microbial and microarthropod indicators. All set-aside management showed a statistically significant separation from conventional crop rotation for both microbial and microarthropod communities. Indicators highlighted a lower efficiency of set-aside management in organic matter use compared to conventional crop rotation, while microbial and microarthropod biodiversity increased in all set-aside managements. The QBS-ar index showed good soil quality standards in each set-aside management, benefiting the euedaphic microarthropods, whereas soil microbial respiration highlighted a higher microbial activity in the same experimental context. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Soil Fertility and Plant Nutrition for Sustainable Cropping Systems)

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18 pages, 261 KB

Open AccessArticle

Yield Formation and Stability of Maize Under Monoculture in Response to Biological Amendments, Weather Variability and Cultivar Maturity

by Katarzyna Rymuza, Elżbieta Radzka, Krzysztof Kapela and Marek Gugała

Sustainability 2026, 18(5), 2542; https://doi.org/10.3390/su18052542 - 5 Mar 2026

Viewed by 304

Abstract

Contemporary agriculture faces the challenge of sustaining crop productivity amid increasing climatic pressures and simplified agronomic practices, such as monoculture. A field experiment conducted from 2022 to 2024 aimed to determine the effects of meteorological conditions and biological amendments on grain yield and yield structure in three maturity groups of continuous maize (Zea mays L.; FAO 200, 230 and 260). The split-plot experiment included applications of the biological amendments Neosol, Bactim Gleba and UGmax. Deteriorating agrometeorological conditions over the years studied led to a progressive decline in mean grain yield, reaching the lowest value in 2024 (5.06 Mg ha⁻¹). The cultivar belonging to the FAO 260 maturity group exhibited the highest yield potential. Application of all biological amendments resulted in a significant increase in grain yield and thousand-grain weight compared with the untreated control. The most effective treatment was UGmax which increased mean grain yield by approximately 14% and thousand-grain weight by 19% compared with the control. Path analysis revealed hierarchical relationships among components of ear structure and grain yield. The primary direct effect on yield increase was the number of kernels per ear, with thousand-grain weight also contributing significantly depending on maturity group. In later-maturing cultivars, kernel number per ear played the dominant role, whereas thousand-grain weight was more influential in earlier-maturing ones. The economic analysis demonstrated that all of the applied biological amendments generated a positive net profit, with the highest additional revenue obtained following the application of UGmax (160 USD·ha⁻¹). These results confirm that biostimulant application affected grain yield formation, and reduced yield losses under stress conditions. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Soil Fertility and Plant Nutrition for Sustainable Cropping Systems)

35 pages, 1745 KB

Open AccessEditor’s ChoiceArticle

Balanced Fertilization of Winter Wheat with Potassium and Magnesium—An Effective Way to Manage Fertilizer Nitrogen Sustainably

by Agnieszka Andrzejewska, Katarzyna Przygocka-Cyna and Witold Grzebisz

Sustainability 2025, 17(15), 6705; https://doi.org/10.3390/su17156705 - 23 Jul 2025

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2489

Abstract

In agricultural practice, in addition to determining the nitrogen (N_f) dose, it is necessary to effectively control its effect on currently grown crops. Meeting these conditions requires not only the use of phosphorus (P) and potassium (K), but also nutrients such as magnesium (Mg) and sulfur (S). This hypothesis was verified in a single-factor field experiment with winter wheat (WW) carried out in the 2015/2016, 2016/2017, and 2017/2018 growing seasons. The experiment consisted of seven variants: absolute control (AC), NP, NPK-MOP (K as Muriate of Potash), NPK-MOP+Ki (Kieserite), NPK-KK (K as Korn–Kali), NPK-KK+Ki, and NPK-KK+Ki+ES (Epsom Salt). The use of K as MOP increased grain yield (GY) by 6.3% compared to NP. In the NPK-KK variant, GY was 13% (+0.84 t ha⁻¹) higher compared to NP. Moreover, GYs in this fertilization variant (FV) were stable over the years (coefficient of variation, CV = 9.4%). In NPK-KK+Ki+ES, the yield increase was the highest and mounted to 17.2% compared to NP, but the variability over the years was also the highest (CV ≈ 20%). The amount of N in grain N (GN) increased progressively from 4% for NPK-MOP to 15% for NPK-KK and 25% for NPK-KK+Ki+ES in comparison to NP. The nitrogen harvest index was highly stable, achieving 72.6 ± 3.1%. All analyzed NUE indices showed a significant response to FVs. The PFP-N_f (partial factor productivity of N_f) indices increased on NPK-MOP by 5.8%, NPK-KK by 12.9%, and NPK-KK+Ki+ES by 17.9% compared to NP. The corresponding N_f recovery of N_f in wheat grain was 47.2%, 55.9%, and 64.4%, but its total recovery by wheat (grain + straw) was 67%, 74.5%, and 87.2%, respectively. In terms of the theoretical and practical value of the tested indexes, two indices, namely, NUP (nitrogen unit productivity) and NUA (nitrogen unit accumulation), proved to be the most useful. From the farmer’s production strategy, FV with K applied in the form of Korn–Kali proved to be the most stable option due to high and stable yield, regardless of weather conditions. The increase in the number of nutritional factors optimizing the action of nitrogen in winter wheat caused the phenomenon known as the “scissors effect”. This phenomenon manifested itself in a progressive increase in nitrogen unit productivity (NUP) combined with a regressive trend in unit nitrogen accumulation (NUA) in the grain versus the balance of soil available Mg (Mg_b). The studies clearly showed that obtaining grain that met the milling requirements was recorded only for NUA above 22 kg N t⁻¹ grain. This was possible only with the most intensive Mg treatment (NPK-KK+Ki and NPK-KK+Ki+ES). The study clearly showed that three of the six FVs fully met the three basic conditions for sustainable crop production: (i) stabilization and even an increase in grain yield; (ii) a decrease in the mass of inorganic N in the soil at harvest, potentially susceptible to leaching; and (iii) stabilization of the soil fertility of P, K, and Mg. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Soil Fertility and Plant Nutrition for Sustainable Cropping Systems)

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24 pages, 836 KB

Open AccessArticle

Effect of Farming System and Irrigation on Physicochemical and Biological Properties of Soil Under Spring Wheat Crops

by Elżbieta Harasim and Cezary A. Kwiatkowski

Sustainability 2025, 17(14), 6473; https://doi.org/10.3390/su17146473 - 15 Jul 2025

Viewed by 1098

Abstract

A field experiment in growing spring wheat (Triticum aestivum L.—cv. ‘Monsun’) under organic, integrated and conventional farming systems was conducted over the period of 2020–2022 at the Czesławice Experimental Farm (Lubelskie Voivodeship, Poland). The first experimental factor analyzed was the farming system: A. organic system (control)—without the use of chemical plant protection products and NPK mineral fertilization; B. conventional system—the use of plant protection products and NPK fertilization in the range and doses recommended for spring wheat; C. integrated system—use of plant protection products and NPK fertilization in an “economical” way—doses reduced by 50%. The second experimental factor was irrigation strategy: 1. no irrigation—control; 2. double irrigation; 3. multiple irrigation The aim of the research was to determine the physical, chemical, and enzymatic properties of loess soil under spring wheat crops as influenced by the factors listed above. The highest organic C content of the soil (1.11%) was determined in the integrated system with multiple irrigation of spring wheat, whereas the lowest one (0.77%)—in the conventional system without irrigation. In the conventional system, the highest contents of total N (0.15%), P (131.4 mg kg⁻¹), and K (269.6 mg kg⁻¹) in the soil were determined under conditions of multiple irrigation. In turn, the organic system facilitated the highest contents of Mg, B, Cu, Mn, and Zn in the soil, especially upon multiple irrigation of crops. It also had the most beneficial effect on the evaluated physical parameters of the soil. In each farming system, the multiple irrigation of spring wheat significantly increased moisture content, density, and compaction of the soil and also improved its total sorption capacity (particularly in the integrated system). The highest count of beneficial fungi, the lowest population number of pathogenic fungi, and the highest count of actinobacteria were recorded in the soil from the organic system. Activity of soil enzymes was the highest in the integrated system, followed by the organic system—particularly upon multiple irrigation of crops. Summing up, the present study results demonstrate varied effects of the farming systems on the quality and health of loess soil. From a scientific point of view, the integrated farming system ensures the most stable and balanced physicochemical and biological parameters of the soil due to the sufficient amount of nutrients supplied to the soil and the minimized impact of chemical plant protection products on the soil. The multiple irrigation of crops resulting from indications of soil moisture sensors mounted on plots (indicating the real need for irrigation) contributed to the improvement of almost all analyzed soil quality indices. Multiple irrigation generated high costs, but in combination with fertilization and chemical crop protection (conventional and integrated system), it influenced the high productivity of spring wheat and compensated for the incurred costs (the greatest profit). Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Soil Fertility and Plant Nutrition for Sustainable Cropping Systems)

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22 pages, 1998 KB

Open AccessArticle

Soil Health Practices and Decision Drivers on Diversified Vegetable Farms in Minnesota

by Natalie Hoidal, Shane M. Bugeja, Emily Lindenfelser and Paulo H. Pagliari

Sustainability 2025, 17(3), 1192; https://doi.org/10.3390/su17031192 - 1 Feb 2025

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1881

Abstract

Soil health is at the root of agricultural sustainability, and small-scale vegetable farmers are becoming an increasingly important part of the US food system. These farmers face unique challenges when it comes to managing soil on their farms. These challenges include reliance on intensive production practices, the use of primarily organic inputs with difficult to calculate nutrient concentrations, and lack of access to formal education tailored to their needs. We surveyed farmers at 100 small-scale vegetable farms in Minnesota to (1) develop a better baseline understanding of how small-scale vegetable farmers utilize key soil health practices including nutrient management, cover crops, and tillage; (2) explore how farm demographics influence the adoption of soil health practices; and (3) determine educational priorities to better support these growers. Here, we report a lack of understanding about the nutrient contributions of compost, which is often applied at very large volumes without guidance from soil test results, with implications for nutrient loading in the environment. Farmers in our study had high rates of cover crop adoption relative to other farmers in the region despite several barriers to using cover crops. More experienced farmers were more likely to utilize more tillage, with more use of deep tillage implements on larger farms. Overall, organic certification was correlated with higher adoption of soil health practices including utilization of soil tests and cover crop use, but it was not correlated with tillage. Other demographic variables including land access arrangement and race did not meaningfully influence soil health practices. Our findings suggest a need for more research, outreach, and education targeted to vegetable farmers about how to interpret laboratory soil test results, and how to responsibly utilize organic inputs including vegetative compost and composted manure at rates appropriate for crop production in a diversified farm setting. We also report a need to compensate farmers for their labor to incentive cover crop use on small farms, and a need for more research and support for farmers in the 3–50-acre range to utilize reduced tillage methods. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Soil Fertility and Plant Nutrition for Sustainable Cropping Systems)

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15 pages, 2393 KB

Open AccessArticle

Organic Management and Intercropping of Fruit Perennials Increase Soil Microbial Diversity and Activity in Arid Zone Orchard Cropping Systems

by Rhonda R. Janke, Daniel Menezes-Blackburn, Asma Al Hamdi and Abdul Rehman

Sustainability 2024, 16(21), 9391; https://doi.org/10.3390/su16219391 - 29 Oct 2024

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 2971

Abstract

Organic farming encourages soil management practices that can improve soil health and fertility by increasing soil organic matter inputs and system sustainability. This study evaluated the effect of three years of continuous organic farming and intercropping orchard treatments on soil microbial diversity, microbial enumeration, respiration, soil fertility and fruit yields. Organic management resulted in higher soil organic matter content, Olsen P, and water holding capacity, but did not affect soil pH, electrical conductivity (EC), K, or Na levels. Growth parameters measured on all fruit trees were not significantly different among treatments. The enumeration of bacteria was significantly higher in organic plots when compared to conventionally managed plots. Soil respiration and substrate-induced respiration were significantly higher in the organic diverse plots in comparison to both conventional systems. The genomic analysis of prokaryotes (16S rRNA) and eukaryotes/fungi (ITS) revealed a significantly higher number of taxa, Shannon H index, and Equitability index in the organic systems for both prokaryotes and eukaryotes, in comparison to conventional farming, all of which are indicators of system sustainability. The relative abundance of Operational Taxonomic Units (OTUs) previously reported as diazotrophs, denitrifiers, or involved in the sulfur cycle, as well as Arbuscular Mychorrizae Fungi (AMF)/glomeromycotan, were highest in the organically managed soils than in the conventional plots. A multivariate correlation network clustering revealed that the microbial communities within the organic and conventional soils had strong dissimilarities regarding soil microbial niches. Our work provides evidence that organic management can be used for increasing soil microbial diversity and soil health, leading to higher levels of sustainability in fruit orchard systems. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Soil Fertility and Plant Nutrition for Sustainable Cropping Systems)

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15 pages, 1849 KB

Open AccessArticle

The Integration of Phosphorus-Solubilizing Rhizobacteria, Eisenia fetida and Phosphorus Rock Improves the Availability of Assimilable Phosphorus in the Vermicompost

by Alfonso Andrade-Sifuentes, Gabriel de Jesús Peña-Uribe, Jorge Sáenz-Mata, Jesús Josafath Quezada-Rivera, Rubén Palacio-Rodríguez and Gisela Muro-Pérez

Sustainability 2024, 16(17), 7576; https://doi.org/10.3390/su16177576 - 1 Sep 2024

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2357

Abstract

Due to increasing soil degradation caused by unsustainable agricultural practices and the continued demand for quality food for the human population, it is imperative to find sustainable strategies for high-quality food production. For this reason, the objective of the present study was to evaluate the interaction between the factors of consortium of phosphorus-solubilizing rhizobacteria, addition of phosphate rock and worm load in horse manure to produce an organic fertilizer fortified with phosphorus. For this, consortia of phosphate-solubilizing rhizobacteria of the genus Bacillus (Bacillus aryabhattai, Bacillus subtilis and Bacillus cereus) isolated from the rhizosphere of Distichlis spicata were inoculated. Igneous phosphate rock (0 and 2%) was added in the vermicomposting process (with 25 and 50 g of E. fetida worms per kg of horse manure). The results obtained show that there is a significant interaction between the factors of inoculation with bacterial consortia (1 × 10⁸ CFU mL⁻¹), phosphate rock (2%) and earthworm biomass (50 g kg⁻¹ of manure), and that this interaction promotes the production of assimilable forms of phosphorus for plants (such as monobasic phosphate ions H₂PO₄⁻¹ or dibasic phosphate ions HPO₄⁻²) within the vermicomposting process, having as a product an organic substrate supplemented with the optimal nutritional requirements for the development and growth of crops. This work can serve as a basis to produce high-quality organic fertilizer. However, field studies are required in order to observe the impact of vermicompost on the yield and quality of the fruits, and it can be compared with other types of fertilizers and the relevance of their use in different types of climates. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Soil Fertility and Plant Nutrition for Sustainable Cropping Systems)

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13 pages, 3078 KB

Open AccessArticle

Effects of Nitrogen Fertilizer Application on Soil Properties and Arsenic Mobilization in Paddy Soil

by Bing Han, Wei-Qing Chen, Yong-Qiang Jiao, Rui Yang, Li-Lu Niu, Xin-Ran Chen, Chen-Yang Ji and Dai-Xia Yin

Sustainability 2024, 16(13), 5565; https://doi.org/10.3390/su16135565 - 28 Jun 2024

Cited by 10 | Viewed by 2921

Abstract

Anthropogenic nitrogen (N) fertilization may substantially alter arsenic (As) behavior in the soil. However, a comprehensive understanding of how the soil As cycle responds to external N addition remains elusive. This study investigates the effects of various N fertilizers on soil properties and As mobility in paddy soil. Regardless of N sources, the concentrations of soluble As and SPLP-extractable As decreased with all N applications. Similarly, soil acidification occurred and dissolved iron (Fe) increased in most treatments, except for KNO₃ addition. However, only the KNO₃ application could reduce As desorption from soil minerals based on phosphate extraction. Also, KNO₃ enhanced both soil catalase (S-CAT) and dehydrogenase (S-DEH) activities. Other N treatments decreased S-CAT activities, but increased S-DEH activities. Principal components analysis indicated that phosphate extractable As was associated with NH₄⁺-N concentration and S-DEH activity, while the concentrations of soluble As and SPLP-extractable As were associated with pH, S-CAT activity, and dissolved Fe. These results demonstrated that the soil properties induced by the N application are the main drivers of As desorption in paddy soil and that KNO₃ application is more eco-friendly than other N sources in As-contaminated paddy soil. This study shed light on the reasonable application of N-bearing fertilizers and the importance of soil properties to assess As mobility in As-contaminated paddy soil. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Soil Fertility and Plant Nutrition for Sustainable Cropping Systems)

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33 pages, 1685 KB

Open AccessSystematic Review

Do Soil Microbes Drive the Trade-Off Between C Sequestration and Non-CO₂ GHG Emissions in EU Agricultural Soils? A Systematic Review

by Arianna Latini, Luciana Di Gregorio, Elena Valkama, Manuela Costanzo, Peter Maenhout, Marjetka Suhadolc, Francesco Vitali, Stefano Mocali, Alessandra Lagomarsino and Annamaria Bevivino

Sustainability 2026, 18(1), 319; https://doi.org/10.3390/su18010319 - 29 Dec 2025

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 972

Abstract

The role of soil microbial communities in soil organic matter (OM) decomposition, transformation, and the global nitrogen (N) and carbon (C) cycles has been widely investigated. However, a comprehensive understanding of how specific agricultural practices and OM inputs shape microbial-driven processes across different European pedoclimatic conditions is still lacking, particularly regarding their effectiveness in mitigating greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. This systematic review synthesizes current knowledge on the biotic mechanisms underlying soil C sequestration and GHG reduction, emphasizing key microbial processes influenced by land management practices. A rigorous selection was applied, resulting in 16 eligible articles that addressed the targeted outcomes: soil microorganism biodiversity, including microbiome composition and other common Biodiversity Indexes, C sequestration and non-CO₂ GHG emissions (namely N₂O and CH₄ emissions), and N leaching. The review highlights that, despite some variations across studies, the application of OM enhances soil microbial biomass (MB) and activity, boosts soil organic carbon (SOC), and potentially reduces emissions. Notably, plant richness and diversity emerged as critical factors in reducing N₂O emissions and promoting carbon storage. However, the lack of methodological standardization across studies hinders meaningful comparison of outcomes—a key challenge identified in this review. The analysis reveals that studies examining the simultaneous effects of agricultural management practices and OM inputs on soil microorganisms, non-CO₂ GHG emissions, and SOC are scarce. Standardized studies across Europe’s diverse pedoclimatic regions would be valuable for assessing the benefits of OM inputs in agricultural soils. This would enable the identification of region-specific solutions that enhance soil health, prevent degradation, and support sustainable and productive farming systems. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Soil Fertility and Plant Nutrition for Sustainable Cropping Systems)

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