{"type": "FeatureCollection", "features": [{"id": "10.1007/s13593-022-00773-9", "type": "Feature", "geometry": null, "properties": {"license": "Open Access", "updated": "2026-05-31T06:56:10Z", "type": "Journal Article", "created": "2022-05-16", "title": "Soil compaction raises nitrous oxide emissions in managed agroecosystems. A review", "description": "Abstract

Nitrous oxide (N2O) is the contributor to agricultural greenhouse gas emissions with the highest warming global potential. It is widely recognised that traffic and animal-induced compaction can lead to an increased potential for N2O emissions by decreasing soil oxygen supply. The extent to which the spatial and temporal variability of N2O emissions can be explained by soil compaction is unclear. This review aims to comprehensively discuss soil compaction effects on N2O emissions, and to understand how compaction may promote N2O emission hotspots and hot moments. An impact factor of N2O emissions due to compaction was calculated for each selected study; compaction effects were evaluated separately for croplands, grasslands and forest lands. Topsoil compaction was found to increase N2O emissions by 1.3 to 42 times across sites and land uses. Large impact factors were especially reported for cropland and grassland soils when topsoil compaction\uffe2\uff80\uff94induced by field traffic and/or grazing\uffe2\uff80\uff94is combined with nitrogen input from fertiliser or urine. Little is known about the contribution of subsoil compaction to N2O emissions. Water-filled pore space is the most common water metric used to explain N2O emission variability, but gas diffusivity is a parameter with higher prediction potential. Microbial community composition may be less critical than the soil environment for N2O emissions, and there is a need for comprehensive studies on association between environmental drivers and soil compaction. Lack of knowledge about the interacting factors causing N2O accumulation in compacted soils, at different degrees of compactness and across different spatial scales, limits the identification of high-risk areas and development of efficient mitigation strategies. Soil compaction mitigation strategies that aim to loosen the soil and recover pore system functionality, in combination with other agricultural management practices to regulate N2O emission, should be evaluated for their effectiveness across different agro-climatic conditions and scales.

Soil compaction (SC) is a major threat for agriculture in Europe that affects many ecosystem functions, such as water and air circulation in soils, root growth, and crop production. Our objective was to present the results from five short-term (<5 years) case studies located along the north\u2013south and east\u2013west gradients and conducted within the SoilCare project using soil-improving cropping systems (SICSs) for mitigating topsoil and subsoil SC. Two study sites (SSs) focused on natural subsoil (\u02c325 cm) compaction using subsoiling tillage treatments to depths of 35 cm (Sweden) and 60 cm (Romania). The other SSs addressed both topsoil and subsoil SC (\u02c325 cm, Norway and United Kingdom; \u02c330 cm, Italy) using deep-rooted bio-drilling crops and different tillage types or a combination of both. Each SS evaluated the effectiveness of the SICSs by measuring the soil physical properties, and we calculated SC indices. The SICSs showed promising results\u2014for example, alfalfa in Norway showed good potential for alleviating SC (the subsoil density decreased from 1.69 to 1.45 g cm\u22121) and subsoiling at the Swedish SS improved root penetration into the subsoil by about 10 cm\u2014but the effects of SICSs on yields were generally small. These case studies also reflected difficulties in implementing SICSs, some of which are under development, and we discuss methodological issues for measuring their effectiveness. There is a need for refining these SICSs and for evaluating their longer-term effect under a wider range of pedoclimatic conditions.

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