Search Results (36)

Understanding the effects of agricultural practices on soil nutrient dynamics is critical for optimizing land management in arid regions. This study analyzed spatial patterns, driving factors, and surface stocks (0–20 cm) of soil organic carbon (SOC), total nitrogen (TN), total phosphorus (TP), and their stoichiometric ratios (C:N, C:P, and N:P) across six cropping systems (paddy fields, cotton fields, wheat–maize, orchards, wasteland, and others) in the Aksu region, Northwest China, using 1131 soil samples combined with geostatistical and field survey approaches. Results revealed moderate to low levels of SOC, TN, and TP, and stoichiometric ratios, with moderate spatial autocorrelation for SOC, TN, TP, and C:N but weak dependence for C:P and N:P. Cropping systems significantly influenced soil nutrient distribution: intensive systems (paddy fields and orchards) exhibited the highest SOC (22.31 ± 10.37 t hm⁻²), TN (2.20 ± 1.07 t hm⁻²), and TP stocks (peaking at 2.58 t hm⁻² in orchards), whereas extensive systems (cotton fields and wasteland) showed severe nutrient depletion. Soil pH and elevation were key drivers of SOC and TN variability across all systems. The C:N ratio ranked highest in “other systems” (e.g., diversified rotations), while wheat–maize fields displayed elevated C:P and N:P ratios, likely linked to imbalanced fertilization. These findings highlight that sustainable intensification (e.g., paddy and orchard management) enhances soil carbon and nutrient retention, whereas low-input practices exacerbate degradation in arid landscapes. The study provides actionable insights for tailoring land-use strategies to improve soil health and support ecosystem resilience in water-limited agroecosystems. Full article

During the mining process in mines, a problem arises with the formation of coal post-mining waste, which is waste rock. It is often stored by mines on various types of land to manage the resulting spoil. However, this is not without its impact on the soil. In this study, we determined the biological and physicochemical properties of rhizosphere soils of the podzolic type, subjected to waste rock reclamation and without the influence of waste rock (control), differing in the type of agricultural use and type of plant cover: field-monocotyledonous (oat cultivation), field-dicotyledonous (buckwheat cultivation), and wasteland covered with very species-poor vegetation. Research has shown that long-term cultivation (buckwheat) contributed to the elimination (leveling out) of the microbial and biochemical differences. The addition of waste rock significantly reduced the number of microorganisms synthesizing siderophore, especially on wasteland (decreased by 1.5 log₁₀/gDW). The abundant presence of the genera Acidocella and Acidphilum, absent in wasteland without waste rock, in the unused soil under the influence of waste rock was strongly associated with the effect of lowering the pH by waste rock in soil not used for agriculture. Increased levels of 77 types of bacteria were observed in samples from buckwheat cultivation compared to wasteland. The number of microorganisms resistant to heavy metals as well as microorganisms capable of producing specific Fe-binding ligands—siderophores—decreased under the influence of waste rock. Moreover, the dehydrogenase activity in long-term cultivation both under the influence of waste rock and without its influence was at a similar level. In contrast, an almost 100-fold decrease in dehydrogenase activity was observed in soils with oat cultivation and a more than 4-fold decrease in acid phosphatase (ACP) and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity. These parameters provide an effective system for monitoring soil health, from inexpensive and fast methods to advanced and precise techniques. The results can be applied to solve the problems associated with coal mining wastes by developing methods for their use in soils with long-term agricultural use. Full article

Microplastic (MP) pollution has garnered widespread attention because of its negative effects, even in the most remote areas of Earth. However, research on MP deposition in deserts, which account for 45% of Earth’s total land area, remains limited. Desert environments, characterized by large temperature fluctuations, high ultraviolet radiation, and strong winds, accelerate the degradation, aging, wind erosion, deposition, and migration of microplastics (MPs). In desert regions, MPs originate primarily from human activities, such as tourism waste, agricultural mulch residues, and artificial water storage systems. Additionally, wind transport, water entrainment, atmospheric deposition, and the migration of wildlife further influence the abundance of MPs in these areas. As MP pollution in desert soils intensifies, it negatively affects local microbial activity, crop yields, the reproduction of rare wildlife, and climate. In response, mitigation strategies, such as biodegradation, organic alternatives, and wasteland transformation, have been proposed. However, challenges remain, including a lack of specific research data and limited economic incentives for environmental protection measures. Drawing on existing research, this paper provides a comprehensive summary of the main sources of MPs in desert areas; the influence of environmental factors on their fate; their detrimental effects on ecosystems (including microorganisms, animals, plants, and climate); and current response measures. Valuable insights are extracted from the available data, highlighting the status and challenges of MP pollution in desert regions, and offering a useful reference for future research in this area. Full article

Fresh-water food production/agriculture for both plants and animals utilizes some 70% of the planets’ fresh water, produces some 26% of greenhouse gas emissions and has a longish list of other societal-related issues. Given the developing and extant shortages of arable land, fresh water and food, along with climate/ecosystem issues, there is a need to greatly reduce these adverse effects of fresh-water agriculture. There are, especially since the advent of the 4th Agricultural Revolution, a number of major frontier technologies and functionality changes along with prospective alternatives which could, when combined and collectivized in various ways, massively improve the practices, adverse impacts and outlook of food production. These include cellular/factory agriculture; photosynthesis alternatives; a shift to off-grids and roads/back-to-the-future, do-it-yourself living (aka de-urbanization); cultivation of halophytes on wastelands using saline water; insects; frontier energetics; health-related market changes; and vertical farms/hydroponics/aeroponics. Shifting to these and other prospective alternatives would utilize far less arable land and fresh water, produce far less greenhouse gases and reduce food costs and pollution while increasing food production. Full article

During coastal reclamation processes, land use conversion from natural coastal saline/sodic soils to agricultural land changes the soil’s physicochemical properties. However, the impact of soil structure evolution on soil hydraulic properties (SHPs, e.g., hydraulic conductivity and soil water retention curves) during long-term reclamation has rarely been reported. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the effect of reclamation duration and land use types on the soil aggregate stability and SHPs of coastal saline/sodic soils and incorporate the aggregate structures into the SHPs. In this study, a total of 90 soil samples from various reclaimed years (2007, 1960, and 1940) and land use patterns (cropland, grassland, forestland, and wasteland) were taken to analyze the quantitative effects of soil saline/sodic characteristics and the aggregate structure on SHPs through pedotransfer functions (PTFs). We found that soil macroaggregate contents in the old reclaimed areas (reclaimed in 1940 and 1960) were significantly larger than those in the new reclamation area (reclaimed in 2007). The soil saturated hydraulic conductivity (K_s) of forestland was larger than that of grassland in each reclamation year. Soil structure contributed to 22.13%, 24.52%, and 23.93% of the total variation in K_s and soil water retention parameters (α and n). The PTFs established in our study were as follows: log(K_s) = 0.524 − 0.177 × ${\mathrm{Y}}_{k_3}$ − 0.093 × ${\mathrm{Y}}_{k_1}$ + 0.135 × ${\mathrm{Y}}_{k_4}$ − 0.054 × ${\mathrm{Y}}_{k_2}$, 1/α = 477.244 − 91.732 × ${\mathrm{Y}}_{{\alpha }_2}$ − 81.283 × ${\mathrm{Y}}_{{\alpha }_4}$ + 38.106 × ${\mathrm{Y}}_{{\alpha }_3}$, and n = 1.679 − 0.086 × ${\mathrm{Y}}_{n_2}$ + 0.045 × ${\mathrm{Y}}_{n_1}$ − 0.042 × ${\mathrm{Y}}_{n_3}\left(\mathrm{Y}\mathrm{a}\mathrm{r}\mathrm{e}\mathrm{p}\mathrm{r}\mathrm{i}\mathrm{n}\mathrm{c}\mathrm{i}\mathrm{p}\mathrm{a}\mathrm{l}\mathrm{c}\mathrm{o}\mathrm{m}\mathrm{p}\mathrm{o}\mathrm{n}\mathrm{e}\mathrm{n}\mathrm{t}\mathrm{s}\right)$. The mean relative errors of the prediction models for log(K_s), 1/α, and n were 79.30%, 36.1%, and 9.89%, respectively. Our findings quantify the vital roles of the aggregate structure on the SHPs of coastal saline/sodic soils, which will help us understand related hydrological processes. Full article

Investigating the spatial-temporal evolution of land use and its driving forces provides a scientific basis for policy formulation, land-use structure adjustment, and ecological civilization development. Using the Google Earth Engine (GEE) platform, this study analyzed remote sensing images from 2000, 2010, and 2020 to derive basic land-use data for Putian City and its five districts and counties. These data were then systematically analyzed using methodologies such as Single Land-use Dynamics and Geo-informatic Tupu to reveal the characteristics of land-use transitions (LUTs), and the spatial-temporal evolution pattern over the past two decades in Putian City, China. Subsequently, socioeconomic conditions and macro policies were identified as driving factors to further explore the mechanisms behind land-use evolution in the study area through canonical correspondence analysis (CCA). The findings revealed that: (1) The predominant land-use structure in Putian City consisted mainly of cultivated land and forest land, with other land types interspersed within them, while built-up land exhibited continual outward expansion. (2) Various regions within Putian City exhibited varying degrees of abandoned farmland, ultimately transforming into wasteland (grassland) with weed growth, presenting significant challenges for ensuring food security and mitigating the conversion of cultivated land to non-agricultural and non-grain uses. (3) Specific macro-economic development objectives during distinct periods, particularly urban expansion and the growth of the secondary industry resulting from municipal and county mergers, emerged as pivotal factors driving the spatial and temporal evolution of land use and influenced the differential distribution pattern across Putian City. Consequently, this study suggests bolstering scientific planning and implementing effective regulations concerning land use, and it advocates for the efficient utilization of space-time resources pertaining to cultivated land, integrating them with agriculture, culture, and tourism endeavors. Such measures are proposed to ensure the harmonized and sustainable development of the regional ecological economy. Full article

Understanding the phosphorus (P) cycle is essential for preventing soil P loss, improving environmental quality, and promoting sustainable agriculture, particularly in urban areas. In this study, a representative city of the lower Yangtze River Basin, Nanchang, was chosen to systematically explore the distribution and transformation of soil P forms, which were extracted by an improved SEDEX method and measured by a standard phosphorus–molybdenum blue method under three land use patterns. The contents of soil P forms were the highest in the dryland and the lowest in the paddy field, with total P accumulation in the upper wasteland and paddy field soils but in the lower dryland soil. The pH value and grain size affected soil P form distributions to a variable extent from one land use pattern to another. The transformation of soil P forms was weak in the wasteland. It was first found that some detrital limestone P (De-P) was transformed into exchangeable P (Ex-P) in the paddy field with authigenic calcium-bound phosphorus (Au-P) and organic phosphorus (OP) transformation, and the transformation between Ex-P and iron-bound phosphorus (Fe-P), Au-P, and between Au-P and OP existed in the dryland. Land use pattern was the dominant driver for the P distribution and transformation of soil P. This study highlights the critical role of land use patterns in affecting the P cycle of soils in urban areas and the importance of sustainable urban land management. Full article

Climate change is rapidly exacerbating and adding to major-to-existential issues associated with freshwater availability and utilization. The massive, thus far untapped saline/salt water/ocean—wastelands/deserts—Halophytes resources nexus can, at scale and profitably, provide major climate change mitigation and greatly alleviate most extant freshwater issues. Approaches include ocean fertilization and saline/seawater agriculture on deserts and wastelands to sequester massive amounts of CO₂ and methane and for food, freeing up some 70% of the freshwater now utilized by current agriculture for direct human use. This also enables the production of huge amounts of biofuels and biomass-based chemical feedstock employing the massive capacity of cheap saline/seawater and cheap deserts and wastelands. Overall, saline/seawater can, uniquely, at the scale of the climate and freshwater issues, without desalinization, profitably, utilizing extant technologies, some 40% of the land that is deserts/wastelands, and the 97% of the water that is saline/seawater rapidly, seriously, address land, freshwater, food, energy, and climate. Full article

Although we are in an era of enormous global commitments to ecological restoration (the UN Decade on ER; the Bonn Challenge), little attention has been paid to the importance of sustained commitment to individual restoration initiatives and few resources have been dedicated to monitoring, especially the long-term and broad-scale evaluations that would allow us to understand how basin-scale restoration can result in complex spatiotemporal patterns. Remote sensing offers a powerful tool for evaluating restoration initiatives focused on water management in arid regions, where changes in vegetation growth can be tracked visually with measures like the generalized difference vegetation index (GDVI). In this paper, we evaluate the Comprehensive Treatment Program of the Shiyang River Basin (CTSRB), a landscape restoration initiative in China’s northwest, using a widely available remote sensing tool, showing how it can reveal the causes of fluctuating changes in restoration success. We focus on spatiotemporal variation, studying a time series from 2001 to 2020 using regression, trend, and stability analyses for six different divisions of the study region (the study area as a whole, the irrigated areas, the periphery of the irrigated regions, and the districts of Ba, Quanshan, and Hu) to evaluate the effects of the restoration initiative. The study period was divided into four equal-length phases based on the implementation timeline of the CTSRB, which includes one pre- and post-intervention interval and two stages of the CTSRB. We found that the CTSRB has played a positive role in the restoration of vegetation in the Minqin Basin, especially desert vegetation. However, the positive effects were not obvious in the first CTSRB period, which was characterized by a decline in vegetation growth likely caused by the strategy of “close the pumping-wells, transform the land”, which reversed a greening trend caused by the unsustainable irrigation of wasteland prior to the project’s initiation. During the second phase of the CTSRB, vegetation in the regions of “transform the land” gradually improved, and the growth of desert vegetation gradually improved and expanded as a result of more water flowing out of agricultural zones. The rate of vegetation recovery slowed down during the final phase of the CTSRB, and some areas even experienced a decline in the GDVI. Overall, our findings show that the CTSRB, by integrating water management and allowing for uninterrupted ecological restoration, drove complex regional changes in the GDVI, including successful restoration of desert vegetation. The spatiotemporal variable we observed underscores the importance of long-term commitment to arid land restoration initiatives and the importance of even longer-term monitoring using tools like remote sensing. Full article

Over the last three decades, the Government of India (GOI) has used watershed management as a solution to solve issues concerning sustainable agricultural output in rainfed areas. Additionally, since 2003, the GOI has made watershed management a national policy. A lot of thought is given to all of the significant crops that have disappeared from farming systems in the watershed development programs (WDPs) of India’s current development plans, which are primarily focused on increasing and sustaining productivity levels. In the Sarguja division of Chhattisgarh, the present study attempted to document the on-site and off-site effects of these watershed development programs, as it observed an increase in the ground water level, a rise in the surface water and stream flow levels, a reduction in runoff as well as in soil erosion, increased agricultural and dairy production, improved livelihood and employment generation, and changes in the land use and farming patterns. These findings showed that the percentage of cropland increased in both Kharif and Rabi, because they started planting crops in Zaid, particularly cucumber, melon, and vegetables, that had been kept fallow. The patterns of land usage in the WDP regions have improved over time; due to farmers utilizing more wasteland for productive reasons, there has been a rise in the net sown area of these locations. Additionally, it has been claimed that many crops that were previously abandoned due to water shortages and other requirements are now being cultivated. Responses from the region’s population have been in favor of the introduction of innovative techniques like Agroforestry systems. Full article

The Hetao Irrigation District is a typical salinized irrigation district in China, and soil salinization restricts agricultural development. To explore the spatial and temporal variability of soil water and salt and the coupling relationship in the Hetao Irrigation District, a field experiment was carried out at the scale of the Yichang Irrigation District branch canal in the downstream of the Hetao Irrigation District. Fifty-three soil sampling points were established to analyze the spatial and temporal variability of soil water content and total salt content and the coupling relationship using geostatistics and the coupling degree model. The results showed that soil water content in the study area belonged to medium variability and weak variability, and soil total salt content belonged to strong variability and medium variability. The theoretical models of soil water content and total salt content semi-variance function in the study area following the Gaussian model, with the block-base ratio less than 25%, with strong spatial autocorrelation, and the spatial correlation gradually increased with the increase of soil depth. The total salt content of the soil in the study area was interpolated with higher accuracy using radial basis functions as compared to ordinary kriging interpolation. In terms of temporal changes in salinity, the average salt accumulation rate of the 0–100 cm soil layer in the study area was 20.17% when salinity increased from May to June; the average desalination rate was 16.37% when salinity decreased from June to August. The main factors affecting soil salinity in cultivated land during the growing period were irrigation, precipitation, and planting crops, and the main factors affecting soil salinity in wasteland were precipitation and topography. The average coupling degree of soil water and salt in wasteland in the study area was lower than that of cultivated land, ranging from 65.15% to 86.59% of that of cultivated land. The level of coordination is marginal coordination for cultivated land and marginal disorder for wasteland. The study provides a theoretical basis for the prevention and control of soil salinization in arid areas. Full article

Ecological cultivation is a promising regime for medicinal plant production. For a long time, unreasonable farming methods have threatened soil health and medicinal agriculture and restricted the sustainable development of ecological agriculture for medicinal plants. However, there is a lack of comprehensive discourse and discussion about the pros and cons of different tillage regimes. Here, the research trend and application prospects of no-tillage (NT) are comprehensively reviewed, and the ecological benefits, challenges, and opportunities of the NT system in ecological agriculture of medicinal plants are scrutinized, aiming to call for an about-face in the sustainable conservation and utilization of both phytomedicine resources and agricultural/ecological resources. An exhaustive literature search in PubMed, Bing, Scopus, and CNKI was performed to outline the research trend in conservation tillage and medicinal plants during the recent four decades. The application of NT has a long history and can reduce tillage frequency and intensity and protect soil from erosion and deterioration. NT is often combined with organic mulch to significantly reduce soil disturbance. NT and stover mulching have the advantages of saving manpower and resources and improving soil quality, crop yield, and quality. The ecological and economic benefits of NT in long-term medicinal plant cultivation could be prominent. In developing medicinal plant cultivation, competing with food crops should be avoided as much as possible, and the impact on the production of major grain crops should be minimized. Therefore, the full utilization of soil resources in forests, mountains, and wasteland is advocated, and sustainable soil utilization is the core issue in the process of land reclamation. NT and stover mulching not only inherit the traditional concept of “natural farming”, conform to the basic laws of ecology, as well as the growth characteristics of medicinal plants, but also protect the ecological environment of the production area. It would become the core strategy of ecological agriculture for medicinal plants. Our summary and discussions would help propose countermeasures to popularize NT and organic mulch, promote relevant research and scientific allocation of resources, and adapt to local conditions to achieve precise management and harmonize conservation and production of medicinal plants. Full article

Land use/land cover, along with climate variability, play vital roles in hydrological functionality of catchments and are leading threats to inter-related hydrological processes. In the current study, a physically distributed Soil and Water Assessment Tool model is used to investigate the impact of historical changes on the hydrologic response of the Damodar catchment (Jharkhand, India) in terms of inflow to the Panchet reservoir. The model was validated for the monthly runoff and inflow at the outlets of four watersheds and three reservoirs in the Damodar catchment before the assessment of changes in inflow at the Panchet reservoir was performed. The analysis of land cover thematic maps prepared using satellite images of Landsat 4, 5 and 7 showed that from 1972 to 2001, the land cover in the Damodar catchment changed considerably. The interpretation of land cover results indicates that significant increases in settlements (140%), waterbodies (98.42%) and agricultural land (26.71%), along with decreases in wasteland (32.63%) and forest (15.28%), occurred due to development. The Mann–Kendall test was used for measuring the rainfall and temperature for the Damodar catchment, which showed that this region became drier during 1970–2005, with decreases in the annual rainfall and increases in the mean temperature. A simulated hydrological impact under land cover dynamics and climate variability in the historical time frame of 1970–2000 using the model revealed a gradual increase of 26.16% in the Panchet reservoir inflow. The study revealed that the increased inflow is relatively greater under the influence of climate variability due to changes in rainfall and temperature, rather than land cover, that were observed over the region. Full article

Land consolidation plays an important role in promoting changes in agricultural land use and ensuring national food security. Moreover, it allows the land structure in rural areas to be built anew. By changing the spatial structure of the countryside, it is also possible to implement water and drainage measures as well as ecological and landscape measures aimed at improving farming conditions. At the same time, they have an impact on the climate. This study analysed the potential for the implementation of pro-climate solutions that can be applied when implementing a land consolidation project in terms of reducing wind speed, increasing humidity, and affecting carbon dioxide reduction. The analyses used an indicator of the potential for implementing pro-climate solutions based on an overall synthetic index taking into account 11 attributes. The results show that the micro-location potential in the context of the possibility of applying pro-climate solutions is not homogenous. It is affected, e.g., by the soil quality, the state of farming culture of the land in agricultural use, the resource and advancement of natural landscape components, and the local needs of agricultural producers to introduce environmental solutions that will simultaneously have a positive impact on farming conditions. According to research, peri-tree land can cluster, meaning that its character represents a spatial continuity. During the land consolidation process, this continuity should be preserved, especially in areas with inferior soil quality. Full article

To explore the potential of Koenigia mollis as a pioneer plant in acid tin mine wasteland, Koenigia mollis plants and the corresponding rhizosphere soils in different areas in Lianghe County, Yunnan Province were collected, and their chemical properties and heavy metals contents were determined., the adaptability of the plant to the barren tailing environment and its acid resistance and tolerance to heavy metal such as Cu (Cu, CAS. No. 7144-37-8), Cd (Cd, CAS. No. 7440-43-9) and Pb (Pb, CAS. No. 10099-74-8) pollution were analyzed. Results showed that Koenigia mollis growth was normal. The pH value in rhizosphere soils was 3.74–4.30, which was strongly acidic. The organic matter (OM), total nitrogen (TN) (N, CAS. No. 7727-37-9), available potassium (AK) (K, CAS. No. 7440-09-7), and available phosphorus (AP) (P, CAS. No. 7723-14-0) contents in soils of the research area were in low levels. The total contents of Cu, Cd, and Pb in the soil of the research area exceeded the pollution risk screening value for the national risk control standard of soil environmental quality, indicating that Koenigia mollis has a certain resistance to acid and heavy metal pollution. In addition, Koenigia mollis has strong transport and enrichment capacity for Cu, Cd, and Pb and therefore has potential as a pioneer phytoremediation plant for acid tin mine wastelands and a remediated plant for agricultural land around metal mining areas. Full article