The use of service (cover) crops is widely practiced in soil agriculture due to their many benefits, including enhanced nutrient supply and improved soil health. Bacteria, as major decomposers of plant residues in the soil, play essential roles in nu...
Soil health is essential for sustainable agriculture, influencing ecosystem health and orchard productivity of plum orchards. Global challenges such as climate change and soil contamination threaten to affect fertility and food security, requiring su...
Nowadays, understory vegetation along the tree row is considered a vital source of agroecosystem services and functional biodiversity improvement in the fruit orchard. Hence, current orchard floor management systems encourage practicing a more sustai...
Globally, orchard soils are facing multiple severe health issues. However, different countries and regions have adopted their own soil classification standards, making many studies only useful for improving soil health in local orchards but not widel...
Management practices might alter soil chemical properties. This study evaluated soil chemical properties in a forage cactus Opuntia stricta (Haw.) Haw. (‘Orelha de Elefante Mexicana’) (OEM) production system in the Brazilian semiarid regi...
In Tunisia, the olive is the most cultivated fruit crop in the northern region, where annual rainfall exceeds 400 mm. This olive-growing area is characterized by a wide coverage of marginal soil with a high slope gradient. Therefore, the inclusion of...
Apple replant disease (ARD) impacts the economic yield of orchards by physiological and morphological suppression of apple trees on replanted soils. The complexity of replant disease caused by a plethora of biological interactions and physical proper...
Water scarcity significantly challenges agricultural systems worldwide, especially in tropical areas such as the Dominican Republic. This study explores integrating satellite-based remote sensing technologies and field-based soil moisture sensors to...
The risk of erosion is particularly high in Mediterranean areas, especially in areas that are subject to a not so effective agricultural management–or with some omissions–, land abandonment or wildfires. Soils on Crete are under imminent threat of de...
The use of conservation and sustainable practices could restore the abundance and richness of soil organisms in agroecosystems. Fitting in this context, this study aimed to highlight whether and how different soil living communities reacted to the co...
Sustainable agriculture has drawn attention to the maintenance and enhancement of soil health. However, research on soil quality has been carried out mainly in field crops and, to a lesser extent, in mature orchards, neglecting the relevance of asses...
Soil microorganisms play a crucial role in maintaining soil fertility sensu lato. Sustainable soil management aims to make the soil environment more hospitable increasing microorganism diversity and complexity by means of the minimal disturbance of s...
In response to the challenges posed by soil degradation in the arid regions of Xinjiang, China, green and organic management practices have emerged as effective alternatives to conventional agricultural management methods, helping to mitigate soil de...
Due to the sensitivity of kiwifruit to soil water and nutrient availability, kiwi production is often associated with over-watering and over-fertilization, especially with nitrogen (N), resulting in increased environmental risks. Crop models are powe...
In arid mountainous areas with stony soils in the Eastern Tibetan Plateau, intensively managed orchards (which include the need for plowing, irrigation, and soil stone removal), eco-forests, and grasslands, all converted from croplands, are becoming...
Citrus crop management has evolved to improve the quality of orchards and production, encompassing agroforestry and agroecological management practices. We sought to analyze different management systems in different seasons of the year, evaluating th...
Awareness towards the loss of soil quality as well as consumer perception about the environmental impact of agricultural activity have stimulated research and government activity toward the implementation of a sustainable agricultural system. The Eur...
The objective of this work is to study the effects of traditional land uses (vineyard, cropland, and olive orchard) on soil properties, overland flow, and sediment loss in the Istria region (Croatia), by using simulated rainfall. The results showed t...
To explore the characteristics of the spatial and temporal variation in soil respiration (SR) in orchard ecosystems in different regions of the Loess Plateau of Shaanxi Province and to distinguish the controlling factors, representative orchards were...
Soil water is a major barrier to ecological restoration and sustainable land use in China’s Loess Hilly Region. For the restoration of local vegetation and the optimal use of the region’s land resources, both theoretically and practically...
In California, a significant percentage of the pistachio acreage is in the San Joaquin Valley on saline and saline-sodic soils. However, irrigation management practices in commercial pistachio production are based on water-use information developed n...
Improved soil managements that include reduced soil disturbance and organic amendment incorporation represent valuable strategies to counteract soil degradation processes that affect Mediterranean tree cultivations. However, changes induced by these...
Proper soil management is crucial to mitigate soil degradation. Hazelnut orchards are often raised on slopes and intensively managed, which makes them similar to the already defined highly erodible land uses like vineyards. This research aims to asse...
We used Cyprus as a model to link the Water–Energy–Food–Climate (WEFC) nexus indicators (e.g., carbon and water footprints) to the ecosystem services (ES) provided by 39 mixed orchards (stone fruits and nuts) on organic (Org) and co...
Understanding the dynamics of soil water and nitrate in response to typical agricultural crops in dryland ecosystems are crucial for assessing ecological consequences and informing land use planning. This study was conducted in the Changwu tableland,...
The sustainability of woody crop agroecosystems requires continued improvements to water, nutrient and soil management. In this work, the combination of resource availability or fertigation dose with soil management practices was tested in a 2 ×...
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...
Despite the productivity, achieving long-term sustainability and maintaining plant biodiversity have become the pivotal goals in orchard floor management, especially along tree rows. Thus, the paradigm of eradicating weeds in the tree row using chemi...
In order to achieve sustainable food production, non-chemical weed management practices need to be developed for fruit growing. Tailor-made floor management systems enable efficient weed regulation, but they also affect the soil quality in an orchard...
A comparative study of organic and conventional farming systems was conducted in almond orchards to determine the effect of management practices on their fungal and bacterial communities. Soils from two orchards under organic (OM) and conventional (C...
Hazelnut orchards are popular for cropping on sloped sites, which are often highly erodible. This study aimed to assess the impact of soil management and season in a hazelnut orchard on soil properties and hydrological response. Three treatments (Til...
Hulls and shells are an abundant by-product from almond production with potential as an organic matter amendment (OMA). A combination of incubation study and field research was conducted in 2019–2021 to evaluate the impacts of three practices i...
Monitoring the nutrient status of citrus orchards is fundamental to ensure optimum fruit yield and quality. In the present study, soil and leaf samples of 20 Valencia Late orange orchards were collected in the Gharb plain of Morocco, the second-large...
In Gannan navel orange (Citrus sinensis) orchards—a typical sloped farmland ecosystem—selected native grasses outperform conventional green manure due to their stronger ecological adaptability and lower management requirements. However, f...
Soil mulching practices in apple orchards offer an effective solution to combat declining soil quality, restore land productivity, and boost apple yield. The kinetic parameters of soil enzymes, specifically the maximum reaction rate (Vmax) and the Mi...
Soils play an important role in the global carbon cycle by storing organic carbon and releasing carbon dioxide (CO2) through biological processes. Land use management practices influence soil CO2 emissions by changing physical, chemical, and biologic...
Orchard cover crops enhance the local microclimate and soil fertility, serving as an eco-friendly, efficient management practice. However, the effects of different cultivated species and planting patterns on plant growth and soil properties remain un...
The olive growing sector is transitioning from traditional to intensive irrigated cultivation, dictating a need to reconsider orchard management practices including fertilization. Potassium (K) is an essential nutrient, typically found in high concen...
Understanding the stoichiometry of extracellular enzymes in soil, particularly in relation to nutrient acquisition (e.g., carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus), provides valuable insights into microorganisms’ resource requirements. This study investiga...
Living grass mulching (LMG) is a modern, environmentally friendly, practical, and efficient production management technology that improves the ecological environment, quality, and efficiency of the orchard. However, in arid and semi-arid areas, the e...
Interest in soil health is growing, though the speed and effectiveness of management practices in improving it are uncertain. We measured biological, chemical, and physical indicators of soil health within a working farm zero, five, and nine years af...
Soil degradation and climate change are threatening the sustainability of Mediterranean olive orchards, typically grown under rainfed conditions and conventional soil tillage. Thus, implementing sustainable soil management practices is crucial to pre...
The best management practices for cover cropping in citrus orchards, particularly in terms of species selection and termination methods, remain unclear. This study assessed the short-term effects of different cover crop species (vetch, medics and oat...
Biochar has gained attention as a promising soil amendment capable of improving soil structure, nutrient retention and plant resilience to stress. However, its performance in perennial horticultural systems, particularly during the early stages of or...
Cover cropping is a best management practice that can improve soil quality by reducing soil erosion, building soil organic matter (SOM), and improving soil nutrient availability. Southwest (SW) Florida citrus growers have the challenge of growing cit...
Organic farming encourages soil management practices that can improve soil health and fertility by increasing soil organic matter inputs and system sustainability. This study evaluated the effect of three years of continuous organic farming and inter...
Land-use changes and especially management intensification currently pose a major threat to biodiversity both on and beneath the soil surface. With a comparative approach, we investigated how management intensity in orchards and meadows influences so...
Intercropping orchards with cover crops is an important practice for achieving sustainable soil management. However, little research has addressed the development of a soil quality index (SQI) to evaluate cover crop effects on orchard soil quality. T...
Under climate change threats, there is a growing need to adapt the conventional agronomic practices used in rainfed olive orchards by sustainable practices, in order to ensure adequate crop yield and olive oil quality and to preserve soil health. The...
Carbon farming practices are pivotal for enhancing soil organic carbon (SOC) storage in agricultural systems. This study focuses on evaluating the effects of spontaneous cover crops as a conservation strategy compared to conventional management pract...
of 3