Special Issue "Soil Management Practices to Promote Soil Health"

A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Environmental Sustainability and Applications".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 May 2022.

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Nádia Luísa Castanheira
E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Agrarian and Forestry Systems and Plant Health, Instituto Nacional de Investigação Agrária e Veterinária (INIAV), 2780-157 Oeiras, Portugal
Interests: soil protection and preservation, sustainable soil management practices, soil erosion, nutrient management, soil degradation, soil health

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues, 

A major challenge for agriculture today is reducing the negative environmental footprint while sustaining food production for a growing global population. The intensification of crop productivity has been made with intensive use of synthetic fertilizer and pesticides, which has led to land degradation and environmental pollution in several agroecosystems. The pressure on soil resources placed by agriculture has been enormous and still, it is recognized that food necessities have been increasing faster than crop production. We need to understand the soil complex systems, including their various physical, chemical, and biological interactions and how they relate to soil functions. Improving or restoring soil health in agriculture is challenging, and assessment of soil health and quality indicators are expected to enhance our understanding of the factors underlying the processes that contribute to the sustainability of agriculture. We need to enhance knowledge on the plant and soil microbiota and microbial–host dynamics that are beneficial to the host plant and/or the environment. We need to take advantage of the existing natural potential of microbial inoculants that can improve plant access to nutrients and help to improve plant adaptation to stress. This Special Issue will focus on soil management practices to promote soil health, soil quality, and soil biodiversity in agriculture. These soil management practices may include the application of inorganic and organic soil amendments, biostimulants, microbial inoculants, no-tillage, direct seeding, and sustainable agricultural practices. Additionally, soil and water management practices in agriculture, soil monitoring, soil degradation, soil protection, and the role of rhizospheric microorganisms for the sustainability of agriculture will be considered. Papers highlighting the influence of soil management practices on soil health are welcome. This Special Issue invites you to participate and contribute to increased knowledge on this up-to-date challenge for the sustainability of agriculture.

Dr. Nádia Luísa Castanheira
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 papers will be 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. 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 1900 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 health
  • soil quality
  • soil protection
  • soil degradation
  • soil monitoring
  • soil biodiversity
  • rhizospheric microorganisms for sustainable agriculture
  • sustainable soil and water management practices in agriculture

Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

Article
Distributions of Particle Sizes in Black Soil and Their Environmental Significance in Northeast China
Sustainability 2021, 13(7), 3706; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13073706 - 26 Mar 2021
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 465
Abstract
In recent years, black soil has decreased and degenerated heavily due to complicated functions of natural and artificial factors. Hence, characterizing distributions of particle sizes in black soil and their environmental influencing factors is important for understanding black soil degradation. A total of [...] Read more.
In recent years, black soil has decreased and degenerated heavily due to complicated functions of natural and artificial factors. Hence, characterizing distributions of particle sizes in black soil and their environmental influencing factors is important for understanding black soil degradation. A total of 116 surface soil samples in the top 20 cm from a typical black soil region in northeastern China were collected, and the spatial distribution of particle size parameters were characterized. Particle size-sensitive components were extracted quantitatively using the log-normal distribution function, and their environmental implications were investigated. The contents of black soil mechanical composition ranged from 7.8% to 79.3% for clay, 17.7% to 80.3% for silt, and 0% to 73.7% for sand, respectively. Median particle size ranged from 1.71 to 142.67 μm, with a coefficient of variation of 60%, indicating silt accounted for the majority of the composition. Four environmentally sensitive components were identified, including long-distance transported airborne deposits of clay dust (C1), successions from local parent materials (C2), short-distance deposits of silt particles (C3), and a component strongly disturbed by human activities (C4). C1 and C2 had relatively low variations, with C1 exhibiting the smallest variation, and C2 contributing highest proportion, showing no significant differences across all samples. C3 widely existed across samples, suggesting common wind erosion within the black soil region. C3 and C4 varied spatially, which was caused by the low vegetation coverage and high human disturbance of agricultural topsoil. The results suggest that windbreaks should be encouraged to reduce wind erosion in the black soil regions. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Soil Management Practices to Promote Soil Health)
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