Mulga (Acacia aneura) dominated vegetation originally occupied 11.2 Mha in Queensland, of which 12% has been cleared, mostly for pasture production, but some areas are also used for cereal cropping. Since mulga communities generally occupy fragile soils, mostly Kandosols and Tenosols, in semi-arid environments, clearing of mulga, which continues at a rate of at least 35 000 ha/year in Queensland, has considerable impact on soil organic carbon (C), and may also have implications for the greenhouse gas emissions associated with land use change in Australia. We report here the changes in soil C and labile C pools following mulga clearing to buffel pasture (Cenchrus ciliaris) and cereal (mostly wheat) cropping for 20 years in a study using paired sites. Soil organic C in the top 0.05 m of soil declined by 31% and 35% under buffel pasture and cropping, respectively. Land use change from mulga to buffel and cropping led to declines in soil organic C of 2.4 and 4.7 t/ha, respectively, from the top 0.3 m of soil. Using changes in the \uffce\uffb413C values of soil organic C as an approximate representation of C derived from C3 and C4 vegetation from mulga and buffel, respectively, up to 31% of soil C was C4-derived after 20 years of buffel pasture. The turnover rates of mulga-derived soil C ranged from 0.035/year in the 0\uffe2\uff80\uff930.05 m depth to 0.008/year in the 0.6\uffe2\uff80\uff931 m depths, with respective turnover times of 29 and 133 years. Soil organic matter quality, as measured by the proportion/amount of labile fraction C (light fraction, < 1.6 t/m3) declined by 55% throughout the soil profile (0\uffe2\uff80\uff931 m depth) under both pasture and cropping. There is immediate concern for the long-term sustainable use of land where mulga has been cleared for pasture and/or cropping with a continuing decline in soil organic matter quality and, hence, soil fertility and biomass productivity. In addition, the removal of mulga forest over a 20-year period in Queensland for pasture and cropping may have contributed to the atmosphere at least 12 Mt CO2-equivalents.
", "keywords": ["2. Zero hunger", "13. Climate action", "1904 Earth-Surface Processes", "0401 agriculture", " forestry", " and fisheries", "04 agricultural and veterinary sciences", "15. Life on land", "Greenhouse effect", "\u03b4C", "Labile C", "Organic matter quality", "Soil C loss", "1111 Soil Science", "12. Responsible consumption"]}, "links": [{"href": "https://doi.org/10.1071/sr04044"}, {"rel": "related", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/Soil%20Research", "name": "related record", "description": "related record", "type": "application/json"}, {"rel": "self", "type": "application/geo+json", "title": "10.1071/sr04044", "name": "item", "description": "10.1071/sr04044", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/10.1071/sr04044"}, {"rel": "collection", "type": "application/json", "title": "Collection", "name": "collection", "description": "Collection", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main"}], "time": {"date": "2005-01-01T00:00:00Z"}}, {"id": "10.1021/es303459h", "type": "Feature", "geometry": null, "properties": {"updated": "2026-06-27T16:19:03Z", "type": "Journal Article", "created": "2013-01-22", "title": "Environmental And Economic Trade-Offs In A Watershed When Using Corn Stover For Bioenergy", "description": "There is an abundant supply of corn stover in the United States that remains after grain is harvested which could be used to produce cellulosic biofuels mandated by the current Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). This research integrates the Soil Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) watershed model and the DayCent biogeochemical model to investigate water quality and soil greenhouse gas flux that results when corn stover is collected at two different rates from corn-soybean and continuous corn crop rotations with and without tillage. Multiobjective watershed-scale optimizations are performed for individual pollutant-cost minimization criteria based on the economic cost of each cropping practice and (individually) the effect on nitrate, total phosphorus, sediment, or global warming potential. We compare these results with a purely economic optimization that maximizes stover production at the lowest cost without taking environmental impacts into account. We illustrate trade-offs between cost and different environmental performance criteria, assuming that nutrients contained in any stover collected must be replaced. The key finding is that stover collection using the practices modeled results in increased contributions to atmospheric greenhouse gases while reducing nitrate and total phosphorus loading to the watershed relative to the status quo without stover collection. Stover collection increases sediment loading to waterways relative to when no stover is removed for each crop rotation-tillage practice combination considered; no-till in combination with stover collection reduced sediment loading below baseline conditions without stover collection. Our results suggest that additional information is needed about (i) the level of nutrient replacement required to maintain grain yields and (ii) cost-effective management practices capable of reducing soil erosion when crop residues are removed in order to avoid contributions to climate change and water quality impairments as a result of using corn stover to satisfy the RFS.", "keywords": ["Greenhouse Effect", "2. Zero hunger", "0207 environmental engineering", "02 engineering and technology", "15. Life on land", "Zea mays", "7. Clean energy", "01 natural sciences", "6. Clean water", "12. Responsible consumption", "Models", " Economic", "Water Supply", "13. Climate action", "Biofuels", "Water Quality", "Gases", "Fertilizers", "0105 earth and related environmental sciences"]}, "links": [{"href": "https://doi.org/10.1021/es303459h"}, {"rel": "related", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/Environmental%20Science%20%26amp%3B%20Technology", "name": "related record", "description": "related record", "type": "application/json"}, {"rel": "self", "type": "application/geo+json", "title": "10.1021/es303459h", "name": "item", "description": "10.1021/es303459h", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/10.1021/es303459h"}, {"rel": "collection", "type": "application/json", "title": "Collection", "name": "collection", "description": "Collection", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main"}], "time": {"date": "2013-02-05T00:00:00Z"}}, {"id": "10.1023/a:1004873206350", "type": "Feature", "geometry": null, "properties": {"updated": "2026-06-27T16:19:05Z", "type": "Journal Article", "description": "Open AccessUsing a three year trial in Nigeria, this article examines the effectiveness of leguminous cover crops on maize yield in West Africa. Testing multiple types of cover crops, the study universally demonstrates the cover crops conserve nitrogen and result in improvements for maize yield in both drier and wetter years. While the cover crop was more effective in improving nitrogen in wetter conditions, yields still improved during the drier year with the cover crop.", "keywords": ["Soil nutrients", "Soil management", "fertilizers", "Conservation agriculture", "Nitrogen concentration", "legumes", "trials", "Green manure crops", "crops", "Soil fertility", "Soil quality", "Biomass production", "Legume cover crops", "Soil conservation", "Nitrogen fertilizer replacement index", "West Africa", "Maize yield", "Field Scale"], "contacts": [{"organization": "Tian, G., Kolawole, G.O., Kang, B.T., Kirchhof, G.,", "roles": ["creator"]}]}, "links": [{"href": "https://doi.org/10.1023/a:1004873206350"}, {"rel": "related", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/Plant%20and%20Soil", "name": "related record", "description": "related record", "type": "application/json"}, {"rel": "self", "type": "application/geo+json", "title": "10.1023/a:1004873206350", "name": "item", "description": "10.1023/a:1004873206350", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/10.1023/a:1004873206350"}, {"rel": "collection", "type": "application/json", "title": "Collection", "name": "collection", "description": "Collection", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main"}], "time": {"date": "2000-09-01T00:00:00Z"}}, {"id": "10.1023/a:1013328228904", "type": "Feature", "geometry": null, "properties": {"updated": "2026-06-27T16:19:08Z", "type": "Journal Article", "title": "Long-Term Changes In Extractable Soil Phosphorus (P) In Organic Dairy Farming Systems", "description": "On five farms that have been managed organically for several years, all cultivated soils were sampled on two occasions. The time span between the first and second soil sampling varied from 6 to 12 years. At the first sampling the farms had been managed organically for 3, 4, 6, 11 or 53 years. The average phosphorus (P) concentrations in topsoil (0-20 cm) extracted by ammonium-acetate lactate solution (P-AL) decreased from the first to the second sampling on all farms. At the second soil sampling, the average topsoil P-AL concentrations on the five farms were 50, 64, 65, 75 and 119 mg P kg\u22121, which is characterised as medium (26\u201365 mg P kg\u22121) or high (66\u2013150 mg P kg\u22121). The decrease occurred mostly in soils with high and very high (>150 mg P kg\u22121) P-AL concentrations at the first sampling. In these samples, the average value decreased from 100 to 87 and from 188 to 151 mg P kg\u22121, respectively. In subsoil (20\u201340 cm), an increase from 15 to 27 mg P kg\u22121 (P<0.01) in P-AL concentration was found in subsoil samples with low P-AL concentrations (0\u201325 mg P kg\u22121) at the first sampling. This indicates P transfer from topsoil to subsoil. The pattern of decrease in topsoil was fairly well explained by farm level P balances. The average topsoil concentrations of P-AL were well below values for comparable conventional farms, but still at a level acceptable for crop production. Crop yields were acceptable, but the general pattern of decrease shows that in the future, some P should be supplied from external sources to avoid a further decrease, especially on the fields with lowest P-AL concentrations.", "keywords": ["Nutrient turnover", "Farm nutrient management", "Soil quality"], "contacts": [{"organization": "L\u00f8es, Anne-Kristin, \u00d8gaard, Anne Falk,", "roles": ["creator"]}]}, "links": [{"href": "https://doi.org/10.1023/a:1013328228904"}, {"rel": "related", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/Plant%20and%20Soil", "name": "related record", "description": "related record", "type": "application/json"}, {"rel": "self", "type": "application/geo+json", "title": "10.1023/a:1013328228904", "name": "item", "description": "10.1023/a:1013328228904", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/10.1023/a:1013328228904"}, {"rel": "collection", "type": "application/json", "title": "Collection", "name": "collection", "description": "Collection", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main"}], "time": {"date": "2001-01-01T00:00:00Z"}}, {"id": "10.3389/fenvs.2020.575466", "type": "Feature", "geometry": null, "properties": {"updated": "2026-06-27T16:23:16Z", "type": "Journal Article", "created": "2020-09-18", "title": "Multi-Functional Land Use Is Not Self-Evident for European Farmers: A Critical Review", "description": "Soils perform more functions than primary productivity. Examples of these functions are the recycling of nutrients, the regulation and purification of water, the regulation of the climate, and supporting biodiversity. These abilities are generally referred to as the soil quality. Soil management that favors primary productivity may have positive and negative impacts on the other functions, and vice versa, depending on soil and climatic conditions. All these functions are under pressure, particularly in intensive agriculture. In the absence of mandatory regulations, most European farmers give limited attention to other functions than primary productivity in spite of recommendations by scientists, society and policy makers to acknowledge the ecosystem services provided by soils. The present paper analyses the underlying causes of this limited attention for the multi-functionality of soils by farmers. It is concluded that their focus on primary productivity may stem from (1) insufficient visible proof for soil degradation and benefits of preventive measures over curative measures, (2) limited awareness or conviction of long-term synergies, (3) insufficient remuneration of ecosystem services by society or compensation of yield penalties in favor of these services, (4) lacking trustworthy knowledge about and support for multi-functional soil management, and (5) absence of incentives and regulations on soil management and their enforcement. All these shortcomings need to be addressed by advisors, scientists, and policy makers, whilst acknowledging the need for underpinning and differentiation of incentives and regulations.", "keywords": ["GLOBAL DILEMMA", "DEPLETE SOIL-NITROGEN", "ECOSYSTEM SERVICES", "COVER CROPS", "CONSERVATION AGRICULTURE", "01 natural sciences", "primary productivity", "soil degradation", "MANAGEMENT", "QUALITY", "GE1-350", "soil quality", "0105 earth and related environmental sciences", "2. Zero hunger", "CLIMATE-CHANGE", "soil health", "land management", "04 agricultural and veterinary sciences", "15. Life on land", "Environmental sciences", "ORGANIC-MATTER", "13. Climate action", "CATTLE SLURRY", "soil function", "0401 agriculture", " forestry", " and fisheries", "ecosystem services"]}, "links": [{"href": "https://doi.org/10.3389/fenvs.2020.575466"}, {"rel": "related", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/Frontiers%20in%20Environmental%20Science", "name": "related record", "description": "related record", "type": "application/json"}, {"rel": "self", "type": "application/geo+json", "title": "10.3389/fenvs.2020.575466", "name": "item", "description": "10.3389/fenvs.2020.575466", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/10.3389/fenvs.2020.575466"}, {"rel": "collection", "type": "application/json", "title": "Collection", "name": "collection", "description": "Collection", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main"}], "time": {"date": "2020-09-18T00:00:00Z"}}, {"id": "10.1029/2023gb007989", "type": "Feature", "geometry": null, "properties": {"license": "Open Access", "updated": "2026-06-27T16:19:17Z", "type": "Journal Article", "created": "2024-03-07", "title": "Decreasing Photoreactivity and Concurrent Change in Dissolved Organic Matter Composition With Increasing Inland Water Residence Time", "description": "AbstractPhotochemical degradation of dissolved organic matter (DOM) has been the subject of numerous studies; however, its regulation along the inland water continuum is still unclear. We aimed to unravel the DOM photoreactivity and concurrent DOM compositional changes across 30 boreal aquatic ecosystems including peat waters, streams, rivers, and lakes distributed along a water residence time (WRT) gradient. Samples were subjected to a standardized exposure of simulated sunlight. We measured the apparent quantum yield (AQY), which corresponds to DOM photomineralization per photon absorbed, and the compositional change in DOM at bulk and individual compound levels in the original samples and after irradiation. AQY increased with the abundance of terrestrially derived DOM and decreased at higher WRT. Additionally, the photochemical changes in both DOM optical properties and molecular composition resembled changes along the natural boreal WRT gradient at low WRT (<3\uffc2\uffa0years). Accordingly, mass spectrometry revealed that the abundance of photolabile and photoproduced molecules decreased with WRT along the boreal aquatic continuum. Our study highlights the tight link between DOM composition and DOM photodegradation. We suggest that photodegradation is an important driver of DOM composition change in waters with low WRT, where DOM is highly photoreactive.