Sustainable Soil and Field Management Practices in Agricultural Ecosystems under Climatic Challenges

Dear Colleagues,

Cost crop production has significantly increased during the last few decades. This has happened mainly due to the increase in the prices of fertilizers and plant protection products. Furthermore, imprudent use of chemical fertilizers and plant protection substances and the implementation of improper/unsustainable field management practices have led to the degradation of soil (e.g., decrease in microorganism activity, decline in soil organic C, and impaired soil function) and water (e.g., high NO₃^- and phosphate content, which leads to eutrophication, and increase in soluble salts) resources. In addition, some researchers have found that fruit and vegetables produced under sustainable management are of higher quality and healthier, compared to those produced with conventional systems. Thus, the combined need to (i) protect the environment; (ii) enhance the sustainability of agroecosystems; (iii) ameliorate fruit quality; and (iv) decrease cost production enhances the necessity toward adopting more sustainable, environmental friendly, and cost-effective soil and field management practices in order to support sufficient crop nutrition and economically viable agricultural production.

Horticultural crops (tree and vegetable crops, Vitis vinifera L.) are among the most suitable ones for sustainable management production systems. These systems could meet climate change mitigation and adaptation goals, driven by global warming and climate variability, and successfully respond to problems that have arisen by the increasing demands in the human population in developing countries. However, further knowledge is needed in order to boost the sustainability and efficient use of inputs and natural resources (fertilizers, irrigation water) to crops, via also decreasing the negative impacts on the environment and climate (this may be mainly achieved by reducing nutrient losses—especially those of N by denitrification); in parallel, the targeted future research directions should also include maintaining sufficient and qualitative horticultural crop productions.

This Special Issue of Sustainability focuses on sustainable soil, fertilization, and other field management practices (mainly—but not exclusively—in horticultural crops) in order to address the abovementioned aspects. Thus, we call on our colleagues, who are experts on these topics, for their submission of manuscripts dealing with sustainable nutrient and field management practices aimed at decreasing fertilizers and irrigation water demand/input.

The main topics include, but are not limited to:

• Presenting and thoroughly discussing the benefits and drawbacks for agroecosystems in adopting sustainable nutrient and field management practices in horticultural crops;
• Emphasizing sustainable field practices (e.g., pruning material recycling, manure application, reduced or no tillage systems, cover crops, etc.) targeted at decreasing fertilizers and irrigation water demand/input in crops;
• Providing insights into current and future technological solutions, promising the sustainable and efficient use of natural resources by crops;
• Valorizing the impact of sustainable management on the decrease of cost production;
• Discussing how sustainable management systems for horticultural crops may ameliorate fruit quality, compared to conventional management systems;
• Evaluating how nutrient, C, and water footprints could be ameliorated via sustainable practices in crops;
• Comparing N losses (via denitrification and leaching) and N-use efficiency (as well as those of other nutrients) between conventional and sustainable management systems;
• Thoroughly discussing and evaluating the impact of sustainable management practices on soil health and functioning by examining soil microorganisms’ populations, community, and activity responses, in particular those involved in the C and N cycles;
• Proposing innovative soil and field sustainability aspects to enhance soil fertility and satisfy the nutritional needs of horticultural and other crops.

Dr. Theocharis Chatzistathis
Dr. Vasileios Tzanakakis
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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