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Agronomy
Special Issues
Identification and Management of Soil Constraints
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Identification and Management of Soil Constraints

A special issue of Agronomy (ISSN 2073-4395). This special issue belongs to the section "Farming Sustainability".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (25 December 2022) | Viewed by 10723

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Yash Dang

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Agriculture and Food Sciences, The University of Queensland, Queensland 4072, Australia
Interests: no-till farming; strategic tillage and sustainable land management practices; greenhouse gas emission; soil constraints; soil health
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

One of the most important factors currently limiting agricultural productivity worldwide are soil constraints. Soil constraints are defined as soil characteristics that limit agricultural production and may be physical (e.g., compaction, layers of high bulk density, gravel); chemical (e.g., sodicity, salinity, high or low pH, nutrient deficiencies, and toxicities), or biological (e.g., diseases and pathogens). It is currently estimated that globally, 74% of soils are affected by one or more constraints, and these lead to significant loss in yield each year. Identifying appropriate management strategies to economically ameliorate constrained soils, or sustain agricultural production in the presence of constraints, will be crucial for future world food production.

To help agricultural researchers and practitioners to better understand soil constraint management to boost agricultural production, this Special Issue comprehensively outlines the characteristics and management of constrained soils. This Special Issue invites original research and reviews on the principles and processes underlying the occurrence of major soil constraints and what current thinking is regarding the most appropriate strategies to manage these.

Dr. Yash Dang
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. Agronomy 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

  • salinity
  • sodicity
  • acidity
  • compaction
  • nutrient decline
  • nutrient toxicity

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

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25 pages, 5193 KiB  
Article
Practical Implications of the Availability of Multiple Measurements to Classify Agricultural Soil Compaction: A Case-Study in The Netherlands
by Tijn L. Van Orsouw, Vera L. Mulder, Jeroen M. Schoorl, Gera J. Van Os, Everhard A. Van Essen, Karin H. J. Pepers and Gerard B. M. Heuvelink
Agronomy 2022, 12(7), 1669; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy12071669 - 13 Jul 2022
Viewed by 1610
Abstract
Soil compaction is a severe threat to agricultural productivity, as it can lead to yield losses ranging from 5% to 40%. Quantification of the state of compaction can help farmers and land managers to determine the optimal management to avoid these losses. Bulk [...] Read more.
Soil compaction is a severe threat to agricultural productivity, as it can lead to yield losses ranging from 5% to 40%. Quantification of the state of compaction can help farmers and land managers to determine the optimal management to avoid these losses. Bulk density is often used as an indicator for compaction. It is a costly and time-consuming measurement, making it less suitable for farmers and land managers. Alternatively, measurements of penetration resistance can be used. These measurements are cheaper and quicker but are prone to uncertainty due to the existence of a wide array of thresholds. Classifications using either measurement may provide different outcomes when used in the same location, as they approximate soil compaction using different mechanisms. In this research, we assessed the level of agreement between soil compaction classifications using bulk density and penetration resistance for an agricultural field in Flevoland, the Netherlands. Additionally, we assessed the possible financial implications of misclassification. Balanced accuracy results indicate that most thresholds from the literature show around 70% agreement between both methods, with a maximum level of agreement of 76% at 1.8 and 1.9 MPa. The expected cost of misclassification shows a dip between 1.0 and 3.0 MPa, with an effect of crop value on the shape of the cost function. Although these results are specific to our study area, we believe they show that there is a substantial effect of the choice of measurement on the outcome of soil compaction studies. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Identification and Management of Soil Constraints)
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Review

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29 pages, 2581 KiB  
Review
Soil Constraints in an Arid Environment—Challenges, Prospects, and Implications
by Anandkumar Naorem, Somasundaram Jayaraman, Yash P. Dang, Ram C. Dalal, Nishant K. Sinha, Ch. Srinivasa Rao and Ashok K. Patra
Agronomy 2023, 13(1), 220; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy13010220 - 11 Jan 2023
Cited by 29 | Viewed by 8724
Abstract
Climate models project that many terrestrial ecosystems will become drier over the course of this century, leading to a drastic increase in the global extent of arid soils. In order to decrease the effects of climate change on global food security, it is [...] Read more.
Climate models project that many terrestrial ecosystems will become drier over the course of this century, leading to a drastic increase in the global extent of arid soils. In order to decrease the effects of climate change on global food security, it is crucial to understand the arid environment and the constraints associated with arid soils. Although the effects of aridity on aboveground organisms have been studied extensively, our understanding of how it affects soil processes and nutrient cycling is lacking. One of the primary agricultural constraints, particularly in arid locations, is water scarcity, due to which arid soils are characterized by sparse vegetation cover, low soil organic carbon, poor soil structure, reduced soil biodiversity, and a high rate of soil erosion via wind. Increased aridity will limit the availability of essential plant nutrients and crop growth, and subsequently pose serious threats to key ecological processes and services. The increasing rate of soil salinization is another major environmental hazard that further limits the agricultural potential of arid soils. These soil constraints can be ameliorated and the crop yields increased through case-specific optimization of irrigation and drainage management, enhancing the native beneficial soil microbes, and combinations of soil amendments, conditioners, and residue management. This review explores technologies to ameliorate soil constraints and increase yields to maintain crop output in arid soils. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Identification and Management of Soil Constraints)
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