Search Results (7)

Modern agricultural production faces challenges, caused by soil degradation, declining natural fertility, and a lack of organic matter and productive moisture in the arable layer, which is especially relevant in the context of global climate change and rising prices for fuel and lubricants, mineral fertilizers, and plant protection products. Five tillage systems (moldboard, flat-cut, adaptive, shallow and surface) and three fertilization options (no fertilization, by-product, by product + N₆₅P₆₀K₇₀) were tested. The combination of adaptive cultivation and organic-mineral fertilization resulted in the highest input of crop by-products (up to 1.26 g cm⁻³), elevated humus reserves (69.2 t ha⁻¹ in the 0–40 cm layer), reduced bulk density in the root zone (down to 1.26 g cm⁻³), improved soil moisture conditions, and, consequently, the highest grain yield—4.34 t ha⁻¹, which is 7.4–21.4% higher than in other treatments. The use of adaptive cultivation with differentiation of the depth and type of loosening allowed the humus reserve to be increased to 66.4 t ha⁻¹, the productive moisture in the 0–40 cm layer to reach 86 mm, and ensured an increase in the yield of the grain units to 4.34 t ha⁻¹. The obtained results prove the validity of the efficient integration of the plant biomass on light-textured soils with low physicochemical parameters and humus content as a renewable resource in sustainable agriculture technologies, especially in conditions of climate instability and the rising costs of the resources. Full article

Phosphorus (P) is essential to life yet constrained by finite reserves, heterogeneous distribution, and strong chemical binding to soil minerals. Pedogenesis progressively alters the availability of P: in ‘young’ soils, P associated with Ca and Mg is relatively labile, while in ‘old’ soils, acidification and leaching deplete base cations, shifting P into organic matter and recalcitrant Al- and Fe-bound pools. Podzolized soils (Spodosols) provide a unique lens for studying this transition because podzolization vertically segregates these dynamics into distinct horizons. Organic cycling dominates the surface horizon, while downward translocation of Al, Fe, and humus creates a spodic horizon that immobilizes P through sorption and co-precipitation in amorphous organometal complexes. This spatial separation establishes two contrasting P pools—biologically dynamic surface P and mineral-stabilized deep P—that may be variably accessible to plants and microbes depending on depth, chemistry, and hydrology. We synthesize mechanisms of spodic P retention and liberation, including redox oscillations, ligand exchange, root exudation, and physical disturbance, and contrast these with strictly mineral-driven or biologically dominated systems. We further propose that podzols serve as natural experimental models for ecosystem aging, allowing researchers to explore how P cycling reorganizes as soils develop, how vertical stratification structures biotic strategies for nutrient acquisition, and how deep legacy P pools may be remobilized under environmental change. By framing podzols as a spatial analogue of long-term weathering, this paper identifies them as critical systems for advancing our understanding of nutrient limitation, biogeochemical cycling, and sustainable management of P in diverse ecosystems. Full article

If modern Western disciplinary structures, laid forth by Dilthey and others in the 19th century, have helped structure the world in ways that bring about climate change and gross economic inequities (along with many “good” things such as vaccines and some modern comforts), how might we re-structure our thinking and learning in ways that address these violent lacunae? What does it mean to educate in a truly globalized world that is facing climate change, extinction, and growing injustice? The answer to that surely cannot be “more of the same”. Following the work of critical theorists and the ideas of Paulo Freire and bell hooks, among others, this essay argues that education should be about imagining and working toward a more just and ecologically sound version of the planetary future in a way that is attentive to as much input as possible from multiple perspectives (human and non). The goals of such an education are connective, grounding, and encountering “others” rather than reductive, productive, and geared toward technology transfer. What would it mean to undiscipline or open our disciplinary categories in ways that reattune us to the changing, entangled planet of which we are a part? What will it take to develop planetary humanities and technologies? If humans are not exceptions to the rest of the natural world, and if the nonhuman world is not just dead matter to be used toward human ends, then how do we go about re-grounding our epistemologies within the planet, rather than continuously thinking “out of this world”? The first part of this essay offers a critique of the reductive and productive model that turns the world into a “standing reserve” for use by some humans. The second part of the essay outlines some principles for knowledge that are more connective, grounding and enable us to counter the multiple others within the planetary community. Such “planetary” knowledge reminds humans of the humus of our humanity, connects us to other life found through compassion (to suffer with), reminds us of the justice of good company (sharing of bread/resources), and focuses on the playfulness of public, political conversations (the ability to be converted to another’s point of view). In the third part, I suggest some grounded metaphors for planetary thinking: wild and slow thinking, elemental and grounded thinking, and creaturely and mycelium thinking. Full article

“Blue carbon”, apart from marine humus, includes the carbon (C) stock of coastal ecosystems such as mangroves, saltmarshes, and seagrass meadows, which have been overlooked until recently. Information about the role of coastal wetlands in C sequestration and providing other ecosystem services is still insufficient. In the present study, we assessed the C reserves of soils and vegetation biomass in two complex coastal landscapes (tombolos) located on the coasts of the White and Baltic seas. The soil and plant C stocks were slightly higher at the plot on the Baltic Sea (93.4 ± 46.7 Mg C·ha⁻¹ and 5.22 ± 2.51 Mg C·ha⁻¹, respectively) than at the plot on the White Sea (71.4 ± 38.2 Mg C·ha⁻¹ and 3.95 ± 2.42 Mg C·ha⁻¹, respectively). We attributed the higher values of the C reserved to a warmer climate and less saline water at the plot on the Baltic Sea. Both soil and plant C showed high heterogeneity due to geomorphological complexity and differences in vegetative communities. The Phragmites australis community showed the highest plant biomass and, in some places, high soil C reserves. Allochthonous C contributed to the soil C stock at the site on the White Sea. Though P. australis sequestered more C than other communities, its effect on ecosystem services was mostly negative because the invasion of reeds reduced the biological diversity of the marshes. Full article

The article considers the role of hydromorphism in the soil formation processes on ancient alluvial sandy deposits at the primary succession period. Soil organic matter was given special attention. The studies were carried out in the European north-east of Russia (the Komi Republic) in the middle taiga subzone in the territory of a building-sand quarry (61°57′35″ N, 50°36′22″ E) and background sites near the quarry. The authors analyzed the morphological structure of soil profiles, and the principal physical-chemical properties of mature and young soils forming under pine forests. Formation of forest litter and humus-accumulative horizons, as well as soil organic matter accumulation were thoroughly studied. Already in the fourth–fifth succession decades, the soils in a series of increasing hydromorphism actively demonstrated regularities that are normally characteristic of background soils, for example, increase in acidity, silt fraction, carbon and nitrogen reserves. Against moisture deficiency, the accumulation rate of organic carbon became slow and amounted to 0.07–0.11 t ha⁻¹ year⁻¹. The excessive soil moisture content increased the rate up to 0.38–0.58 t ha⁻¹ year⁻¹ due to the conservation of plant material in the form of peat. The upper 50-cm profile layer of young soil contains Corg stock 3–5 times less than that of background soils. The major soil-forming processes are litter formation and podzolization in drained conditions, litter formation in conditions of high moisture, and peat formation and gleization against excessive moisture. Full article

Objective: To investigate the impact of different slope directions on the quantity and quality of the soil seed bank and seedling germination process of Castanopsis hystrix plantations. Method: Fixed sample plots in forest stands of Castanopsis hystrix were established on different slope directions (sunny slope, semi-sunny slope, semi-shady slope, and shady slope). The characteristics of the forest stand were investigated, and per-wood scaling was carried out. The temporal dynamics of the seed rain and seed bank were quantified using seed rain collectors and by collecting soil samples from different depths. The quantity and quality of the seeds were determined, and the vigor of mature seeds was measured throughout the study. Results: (1) The diffusion of Castanopsis hystrix seed rain started in mid-September, reached its peak from late October to early November, and ended in mid-December. (2) The dissemination process, occurrence time, and composition of the seed rain varied between the different slope directions. The seed rain intensity on the semi-sunny slope was the highest (572.75 ± 9.50 grains∙m⁻²), followed by the sunny slope (515.60 ± 10.28 grains∙m⁻²), the semi-shady slope (382.13 ± 12.11 grains∙m⁻²), and finally the shady slope (208.00 ± 11.35 grains∙m⁻²). The seed rain on the sunny slope diffused earliest and lasted the longest, while the seed rain on the shady slope diffused latest and lasted the shortest time. Seed vigor and the proportion of mature seeds within the seed rain were greatest on the semi-sunny slope, followed by the sunny slope, semi-shady slope, and the shady slope. (3) From the end of the seed rain to August of the following year, the amount of total reserves of the soil seed banks was highest on the semi-sunny slope, followed by the sunny slope then the semi-shady slope, and it was the lowest on the shady slope. The amount of mature, immature, gnawed seeds and seed vigor of the soil seed bank in various slope directions showed a decreasing trend with time. The seeds of the seed bank in all slope directions were mainly distributed in the litter layer, followed by the 0–2 cm humus layer, and only a few seeds were present in the 2–5 cm soil layer. (4) The seedling density of Castanopsis hystrix differed significantly on the different slope directions. The semi-sunny slope had the most seedlings, followed by the sunny slope, semi-shady slope, and the shady slope. Conclusions: The environmental conditions of the semi-sunny slope were found to be most suitable for the seed germination and seedling growth of Castanopsis hystrix, and more conducive to the regeneration and restoration of its population. Full article

Earth’s land surface is raised from conventionally flat 15 Gha to >64 Gha accounting for hilly slope undulation and topsoil relief detail. Three main aspects are: topography, rugosity/tortuosity, and micro-relief/porosity of ice/vegetation-free ground. Recalibration arises from four approaches: First, direct empirical estimates of compiled satellite/LiDAR data means of +2.5–26% surface progressively overlain by +94% at cm² scale for soil ruggedness then +108% for mm² micro-relief; Second, from digital elevation models with thrice 1.6–2.0 times flat areas; Third, by ‘reverse engineering’ global soil bulk densities and carbon reserves requiring ×4–6 land. Finally, a Fermi estimation doubles the Earth’s surface—as exposed to Sun, air and rain—conveniently set at 100 Gha (with 64 Gha land:36 Gha ocean). Soil organic carbon (SOC) thereby grows to 8580 Gt mainly in SOM-humus with its biotic complexity plus roots, Vesicular-Arbuscular Mycorrhiza (VAM-fungi), leaf-litter and earthworms itself totaling 17,810 Gt. Although four to six times IPCC’s or NASA/NOAA’s calculated 1500–2300 Gt SOC, this is likely an underestimation. Global biomass and biodiversity are at least doubled (×2–3.5) and net primary productivity (NPP) increases to >270 Gt C yr⁻¹ due to terrain. Rationale for a ‘Soil Ecology Institute’ gains ground. Full article