Improving Soil Quality and Sustainable Agriculture: The New Tools, Technologies and Practices
A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Sustainable Agriculture".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 October 2026 | Viewed by 236
Special Issue Editor
2. Exact and Technological Sciences, Universidade Federal de Catalão, Catalão, Brazil
3. Embrapa Cerrados, BR 020, km 18, CP 08223, Planaltina, Brasília, DF, Brazil
Interests: agrogeology; regenerative agriculture; local fertilizers; sustainable agriculture
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
This Special Issue seeks high-quality original research, reviews, perspectives, and case studies that advance understanding and application of approaches to enhance soil quality and promote sustainable agricultural systems. We welcome contributions that bridge fundamental soil science with practical innovations, integrating biological, chemical, physical, digital, and socioeconomic dimensions. Emphasis is placed on scalable, climate-resilient, and context-appropriate solutions that support food security, ecosystem services, and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
Topics of interest include, but are not limited to, the following:
- Novel soil health indicators and monitoring frameworks (biological, chemical, physical, and integrated indices).
- Precision agriculture, remote sensing, IoT, and data-driven tools for soil management.
- Soil microbiome studies, biofertilizers, soil remineralizers, and microbial interventions to enhance fertility and resilience.
- Conservation tillage, cover cropping, crop rotations, agroforestry, and other regenerative practices.
- Organic amendments, biochar, compost, and sustainable nutrient management strategies.
- Soil carbon sequestration, greenhouse gas mitigation, and climate-smart land management.
- Erosion control, salinity remediation, and remediation of contaminated soils.
- Socioeconomic assessments, policy instruments, and participatory approaches for technology adoption.
- Case studies demonstrating successful translation of research to practice in diverse agroecosystems.
We encourage interdisciplinary submissions that quantify trade-offs, co-benefits, and long-term outcomes for productivity, biodiversity, water quality, and farmer livelihoods. Manuscripts should clearly articulate methodological rigor, relevance to sustainability goals, and implications for policy or practice. Contributions that include open data, reproducible methods, or comparative analyses across regions are particularly welcome.
This Special Issue aims to catalyze collaboration among researchers, practitioners, and policymakers to accelerate the adoption of effective soil-improving technologies and practices worldwide.
Prof. Dr. Éder de Souza Martins
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-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
- nature-based solutions
- regenerative agriculture
- regional solutions
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