Search for Articles:
Title / Keyword
Author / Affiliation / Email
Journal
Article Type
 
 
Advanced Search
 
Section
Special Issue
Volume
Issue
Number
Page
 
3.6
3.6
Journals
Agriculture
Special Issues
Soil Sustainability and Fertility Enhancement
share announcement

Soil Sustainability and Fertility Enhancement

A special issue of Agriculture (ISSN 2077-0472). This special issue belongs to the section "Agricultural Soils".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (10 November 2022) | Viewed by 3509

Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Congzhi Zhang

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Institute of Soil Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 210095, China
Interests: soil organic carbon; carbon sinks; soil carbon and nitrogen cycle; farmland soil sustainability and fertility enhanceme

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Dryland soils cover more than 40 percent of the world's land area but support one-third of the world's population. By the end of the 21st century, global dry areas will grow by 10 to 23 percent, with dangerous consequences for food security, livelihoods and human well-being. The United States has about 50 percent of its land area in drought; Cropland (about 70 Mha) is the major grain-producing area in China; and India has also suffered from serious issues related to water and soil stress from dryland agriculture. The sustainable development of dryland soil agriculture and the improvement of soil fertility have become a hot global issue. Cropland's soil fertility has a profound impact on the sustainable development of global agriculture; soil fertility directly affects countries' food security. Barrier soils are widely distributed in this region, and the production potential of the typical barrier-soil types, influenced by the river sediment affected by groundwater movement and farming activities and form, has profound implications for local and global food security. Over the past few decades, the soil in dryland area has faced serious problems such as soil fertility degradation and low yield. These unsolved scientific issues render soil fertility difficult to improve. How to improve soil structure and increase soil nutrient storage capacity has become a hot topic in the research of aquic soil improvement in recent years.

This Special Issue focuses on the soil sustainability and fertility improvement in low- and medium-yield fields of cropland. This issue on Agricultural Soils will include interdisciplinary studies embracing agriculture with disciplines of new soil-improvement materials, soil-improvement technology, soil fertilization, and soil physico–chemistry. Research articles will cover a broad range of soil improvement and fertilization. All types of articles, such as original research, opinions, and reviews, are welcome.

Prof. Dr. Congzhi Zhang
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 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

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. Agriculture is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly 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 2600 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

  • soil organic matter
  • soil porosity
  • straw recycling
  • organic manure
  • soil tillage
  • soil nutrients

Published Papers (3 papers)

Download All Papers
Order results
Result details
Show export options expand_more Show export options expand_less
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

12 pages, 3181 KiB  
Article
Effects of Surface Mulching on the Growth and Water Consumption of Maize
by Xiangxiang Wang, Zhilong Cheng, Xin Cheng and Quanjiu Wang
Agriculture 2022, 12(11), 1868; https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture12111868 - 8 Nov 2022
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1528
Abstract
This study provides understandings of the effect of mulching on the growth, development, and water consumption of dry maize. Parameters including soil temperature, soil water-filled pore space (WFPS), water storage capacity, water consumption, grain yield, water-use efficiency, and biomass yields were followed and [...] Read more.
This study provides understandings of the effect of mulching on the growth, development, and water consumption of dry maize. Parameters including soil temperature, soil water-filled pore space (WFPS), water storage capacity, water consumption, grain yield, water-use efficiency, and biomass yields were followed and analyzed by applying straw mulching (SM), gravel mulching (GM), and plastic film mulching (FM). The results show that the soil temperature (0–20 cm) throughout the whole observation period (2011–2013) was significantly increased by applying GM and FM, while SM reduced the soil temperature. SM increased the WFPS, while FM and GM showed no significant effect. SM and FM increased the soil water storage and water-use efficiency in the early stages of maize growth (from sowing to vegetative growth) compared with using GM. With the progress of time, fewer differences between all treatments were observed. Water consumption of the three treatments was in the order of SM < FM < GM, indicating that SM was the most effective in preventing water evaporation. The resulting yields of corn also varied. Compared with the control, FM significantly increased the yields by 1.7, 0.5, and 2.2 ton/ha in the tested three years, respectively. In contrast, GM showed no significant difference in the three years, and SM showed no significant difference in 2011 and 2012 but increased the yield by 2.2 ton/ha in 2013. FM is shown to be an effective method for increasing the yields of corn for the studied region, GM is not recommended, and SM is the most effective in improving the water availability in the soil, while its effect on corn yields needs to be further explored. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Soil Sustainability and Fertility Enhancement)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

12 pages, 1994 KiB  
Article
Effects of Organic Fertilization Rates on Surface Water Nitrogen and Phosphorus Concentrations in Paddy Fields
by Mingqing Liu, Yuncheng Wu, Sijie Huang, Yuwen Yang, Yan Li, Lei Wang, Yunguan Xi, Jibing Zhang and Qiuhui Chen
Agriculture 2022, 12(9), 1466; https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture12091466 - 14 Sep 2022
Viewed by 1607
Abstract
Inappropriate organic fertilizer application may cause serious environmental risks, especially nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) losses. To achieve a win–win for high yield and environmental protection in organic agriculture, it was essential to demonstrate the relationship between the organic fertilizer input, rice yields, [...] Read more.
Inappropriate organic fertilizer application may cause serious environmental risks, especially nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) losses. To achieve a win–win for high yield and environmental protection in organic agriculture, it was essential to demonstrate the relationship between the organic fertilizer input, rice yields, and risks of N and P losses. Based on a rice and green manure cropping rotation field experiment in the Yangtze River Delta of China, the effects of organic fertilization rates on the dynamics of surface water N and P concentrations and rice grain yields were determined. The results showed that the N (total N, ammonium-nitrogen, nitrate-nitrogen) and P (total P and dissolved P) concentrations in surface water immediately and greatly reached the highest values 1 day after basal fertilization and topdressing fertilization. Then, the N and P concentrations sharply decreased and were maintained at a relatively low level. The initial 3 and 7 days after organic fertilization were the high-risk periods for controlling N and P runoff losses. The surface water N and P concentrations had a positive correlation with the organic fertilization rate in high-risk periods. Besides, the effects of organic fertilization on surface water P concentrations existed longer than those of N concentrations. The rice grain yields increased with the increase in organic fertilization rates, but high organic fertilizer input (>225 kg N per hectare) did not increase the grain yield. Meanwhile, the high organic fertilizer input had the highest risks for N and P losses. Therefore, in organic rice farming, organic fertilization rates with 150~200 kg N per hectare are the optimal organic fertilizer input, with relatively high grain yields and low N and P losses. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Soil Sustainability and Fertility Enhancement)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

11 pages, 2455 KiB  
Article
Spatial-Temporal Variability of Soil Organic Carbon Density and Its Related Factors in Fengqiu County of Yellow River Basin, China: A Model and GIS Technique Approach
by Zhanhui Zhao, Congzhi Zhang, Qiang Yang, Songfeng Gao, Chunyang Lu and Jiabao Zhang
Agriculture 2022, 12(8), 1073; https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture12081073 - 22 Jul 2022
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1562
Abstract
The accurate estimation of the soil organic carbon (SOC) sequestration rate is very important for studying farmland soil fertility and environmental effects. In this research, a typical fluvor-aquic soil area, Fengqiu county, located in the Yellow River basin of the Huang-Huai-Hai Plain of [...] Read more.
The accurate estimation of the soil organic carbon (SOC) sequestration rate is very important for studying farmland soil fertility and environmental effects. In this research, a typical fluvor-aquic soil area, Fengqiu county, located in the Yellow River basin of the Huang-Huai-Hai Plain of China, was chosen as a study area. The physicochemical properties of 70 soil samples collected from the surface layer (at a depth of 0–20 cm) in 2011 were analyzed, and related data about the sampling sites were also collected from the Second State Soil Survey of China (SSSSC), conducted in 1981. The results revealed that the SOC density (SOCD) in Fengqiu county increased greatly on a spatio-temporal scale. The average SOCD increased from 15.66 to 26.09 Mg ha−1, and the SOCD sequestration rate was more than 0.20 Mg C ha−1 year−1 in most regions. Few areas showed lost carbon in the past 30 years (1981–2011). In addition, the study suggested that all the areas present strong carbon sequestration potential in the coming decades from 2011, and the carbon sequestration potential was mainly between 32–40 Mg ha−1. Finally, the SOCD sequestration rate was not only affected by natural factors, such as soil type and pH, but also positively correlated with artificial soil management measures, such as fertilization and straw returning. Therefore, we concluded that the farmland in Fengqiu county showed significant carbon sequestration characteristics in the past 30 years (1981–2011). Considering that soil has a great potential for carbon sequestration in the future, the trend of carbon sequestration in farmland soil might continue for a period of time. Furthermore, the results of this study emphasized that strengthening soil scientific management may play a positive role in improving soil carbon sequestration. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Soil Sustainability and Fertility Enhancement)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

Show export options expand_more Show export options expand_less
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:
 
Displaying articles 1-3
Back to TopTop