{"type": "FeatureCollection", "features": [{"id": "oai:helvia.uco.es:10396/21088", "type": "Feature", "geometry": null, "properties": {"updated": "2026-09-22T16:28:09Z", "type": "Report", "title": "Organic carbon in agricultural and agroforestry soils: Effect of different management practices", "description": "Open AccessSoil is a global resource that has the capacity to contain large amounts of organic carbon. In fact, soils contain more carbon than plants and the atmosphere combined. However, in recent decades human activities such as land-use change, deforestation, biomass burning, and environmental pollution have accelerated the release of terrestrial carbon into the atmosphere, increasing the greenhouse effect. The study of soil organic carbon cycle was recognized in the last decades as a necessary step for controlling future increases in atmospheric CO2, as well as necessary to simultaneously ensure the sustainability agricultural activities. A better comprehension of the he dynamics of soil organic carbon (SOC) in different agricultural systems will allow an improvement of soil quality and soil organic carbon storage under different climate and soil conditions. However, despite of decade\u2019s long research on this subject, there is still the need for a better appraisal of soil carbon dynamics in specific agricultural systems based on robust in field empirical studies. So, relevant contributions to a better understanding of the impact of land use on the global carbon cycle is of great importance. The present research, framed in the context of a PhD specialization on soil carbon in agricultural areas, is aimed to generate new information on the effect of different factors (climate, land use, management, altitude, and soil type) that influence the sequestration and accumulation of organic carbon along the profile in the soil in different agricultural and forest systems across contrasting edaphoclimatic conditions. This research includes not only new quantitative information on soil organic carbon, but also innovative studies on its distribution among different soil carbon compartments and on the use of near infrared spectroscopy (NIR) on soil organic carbon determination. The first study (Chapter 2) is an analysis of the effect of different agricultural uses in a subtropical climate, in the area of the Carrizal River valley in the province of Manab\u00ed Ecuador, based on the analysis of 64 soil profiles. In each profile simples were taken in the soil profile horizons to obtain the concentration of organic carbon up to a maximum depth of 150 cm in different agricultural management (permanent, intensive rotation and abandoned crops), In this study twenty-one different agricultural uses were identified. As expected, the highest concentrations of soil organic carbon happened in the A horizon, which has an average thickness of 40 cm. A trend towards a higher carbon sequestration potential was observed in the grass, intercropping like cocoa with banana and corn area management with an average value of 1.7% C, much higher than the area under mechanized agriculture, which presented lower carbon concentration, with an average value of 0.26% C. Regarding the total soil organic carbon stock, the first horizon accumulated more carbon compared to the other (B and C) soil profiles, with an average value of 41.32\u00b120.97 t C ha\u22121 and 15.06\u00b115.61 t C ha\u22121, respectively. The second study (Chapter 3) evaluated the effect of forest management in a temperate climate. For this study, soil samples were taken in a managed environment of forest species (Alnus incana, Fagus sylvatica, Picea abies and Mixed: stands containing beech and spruce) in an elevation range from <900 m a.s.l. to >1100 m a.s.l. from the Babia G\u00f3ra National Park in southern Poland. Sampling points were taken up to a maximum depth of 100 cm. The results in this study revealed that the SOC reserves in the mountain soils of the Babi G\u00f3ra National Park are characterized by their great variability (from 50.10 t ha\u22121 to 905.20 t ha\u22121). In the conditions of this study, the type of soil is the dominant factor determining soil organic carbon stock, which coupled with topographic factors influence soil and vegetation conditions. This explains such diversity in the accumulation of soil organic carbon in different mountain soils in the areas. The largest carbon stock was recorded in histosols (>550 t C ha\u22121), which are located in the lower part of the national park. The third block of the research focused on two field studies in one of the most important agroforestry systems across the Mediterranean, dehesa. The first study (Chapter 4) is located in a dehesa in Hinojosa del Duque in C\u00f3rdoba, Spain: Dehesa is an agro-silvo-pastoral system which combines open land and low density trees (holm oaks). In this first study we investigated two adjacent dehesas on the same soil type but different characteristics. One was a pastureland with young holm oaks (planted in 1995 with a density of 70 trees ha\u22121 at 12 m x 12 m spacing. The area had been grazed by Merino sheep since 2000, at a grazing rate of 3 sheep per hectare. The second, adjacent area is a cultivated pasture with mature oaks with a minimum age of 90-100 years widely spaced (1.2 trees ha\u22121). Every three years, a mixture of peas and oats is grown for hay. Tillage is used for the preparation of this seeding except in the immediate vicinity (about 0.3-0.4 m) of the tree trunk. The first dehesa at higher tree density was part of this second dehesa, and so both had the same characteristics until year 1995. Both dehesas were sampled simultaneously in 2017. Sampling points were taken under and outside the canopy projection up to a maximum depth of 100 cm divided into 8 sections (0-2 cm, 2-5 cm, 5-10 cm, 10-20 cm, 20-40 cm, 40-60 cm, 60-80 cm, and 80- 100 cm). The results showed that a change in dehesa type from an old low density dehesa combining pasture with seeding every 3 years to a one only pastured with increased tree growth (70 trees ha), showed no significant differences in carbon concentration after 22 years\u2019 sicen implanting the more dense dehesa. A clear stratification of carbon was observed in the soil profile, particularly in the top 10 cm of the soil, as well as an effect of the adult tree which resulted in a higher concentration under the tree canopy in the middle soil depth section (20-40 cm) in the mature dehesa. Significant difference in carbon stock was only observed in the top 0-2 cm (5.86\u00b10.56 t ha1 vs 3.24\u00b10.37 t ha1, been higher in the newly planted dehesa. To our knowledge this is the first study evaluating in dehesa the distribution of soil organic carbon into this four (unprotected and physically, chemically and biochemically protected) fractions. Our results showed how most of the carbon in the two dehesas was stored in the unprotected fraction, been its relative contribution higher in the top 0-2 cm o the pastured dehesa and in the below canopy area of the mature trees in the cropped dehesa. This indicates that much of the fraction contained in these soils is particularly vulnerable to hypothetical changes to less sustainable managements. The second study in dehesa (Chapter 5) was located in the municipality of Pozoblanco in the north of the province of Cordoba. In this area three areas of continuous extensive grazing for more than 50 years with cattle, sheep, and pigs were identified, and three areas with different intensity were studied. These areas were: I) Intensive grazing management. II) moderate grazing management and III) no grazing (area excluded for more than 20 years). Sampling points were taken at each of the three areas up to a maximum depth of 30 cm divided into 5 sections (0-2 cm, 2-5 cm, 5-10 cm, 10-20 cm, and 20-30 cm). Concentrations at different grazing intensities showed, as expected, higher carbon concentrations at the surface soil layer (0-2 cm) average of 1.59\u00b10.44%, decreasing to 0.48\u00b10.15% in the deeper section of the soil profile at 20-30 cm. Contradicting our initial hypothesis, no differences in soil organic carbon concentration were detected among the three areas with different grazing intensities, The total carbon stock was analyzed in the whole soil profile (0-30 cm), indicating non significant differences among the two grazed areas, average value of 27 t ha\u22121, or the area without grazing 26 t ha\u22121. As in the previous dehesa, the dominant fraction was the unprotected carbon. However, in this case the relative differences in the soil organic carbon concentration between the unprotected fraction and the physically and the chemically protected fractions was larger than in the first dehesa, particularly because the protected fractions tended to show a higher concentration than in the dehesa studied in Chapter 4. Using the empirical results from the study of the second dehesa, we developed a spectral library and predictive equations of concentration of soil organic carbon using Vis-NIR (Chapter 6) from this dataset. The accuracy of the SOC predictive models was very good, with R2 higher than 0.95 and residual predictive deviation (RPD) higher than 4.54, respectively. Refinement of VIS-NIR techniques, such as the one discussed in Chapter 6, could increase our ability to provide more affordable and robust technologies to measure large numbers of samples with the required accuracy, although it is less clear how to address other important sources of variability, such as soil depth, soil type, bulk density, and rock content. To reduce this uncertainty will be of great relevance to continue performing detailed experiments to better quantify on the effect of land use and cropping systems on soil organic carbon content, such as those described in chapters 3, 5 and 5. To date, these experiments are irreplaceable to test specific hypothesis relevant at local level (like the time to increase soil organic carbon stock after planting at higher density, Chapter 4), but also to create a corpus of available data which could improve, or lead to new ones, conceptual or numerical simulation models that can systematize our understanding of the soil organic carbon cycle and eventually reduce the need for large-scale sampling to verify the evolution of soil organic carbon in agricultural systems.", "keywords": ["2. Zero hunger", "13. Climate action", "Soil organic carbon", "11. Sustainability", "Agricultural systems", "15. Life on land", "Agroforestry", "Land-use", "Organic carbon", "Forest systems", "12. Responsible consumption"], "contacts": [{"organization": "Reyna-Bowen, Lizardo", "roles": ["creator"]}]}, "links": [{"href": "https://doi.org/oai:helvia.uco.es:10396/21088"}, {"rel": "self", "type": "application/geo+json", "title": "oai:helvia.uco.es:10396/21088", "name": "item", "description": "oai:helvia.uco.es:10396/21088", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/oai:helvia.uco.es:10396/21088"}, {"rel": "collection", "type": "application/json", "title": "Collection", "name": "collection", "description": "Collection", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main"}], "time": {"date": "2021-01-01T00:00:00Z"}}, {"id": "10.1016/j.agee.2018.05.028", "type": "Feature", "geometry": null, "properties": {"updated": "2026-09-22T16:15:24Z", "type": "Journal Article", "created": "2018-05-31", "title": "Effects of agricultural management practices on soil quality: A review of long-term experiments for Europe and China", "description": "Open AccessIn this paper we present effects of four paired agricultural management practices (organic matter (OM) addition versus no organic matter input, no-tillage (NT) versus conventional tillage, crop rotation versus monoculture, and organic agriculture versus conventional agriculture) on five key soil quality indicators, i.e., soil organic matter (SOM) content, pH, aggregate stability, earthworms (numbers) and crop yield. We have considered organic matter addition, no-tillage, crop rotation and organic agriculture as 'promising practices'; no organic matter input, conventional tillage, monoculture and conventional farming were taken as the respective references or 'standard practice' (baseline). Relative effects were analysed through indicator response ratio (RR) under each paired practice. For this we considered data of 30 long-term experiments collected from 13 case study sites in Europe and China as collated in the framework of the EU-China funded iSQAPER project. These were complemented with data from 42 long-term experiments across China and 402 observations of long-term trials published in the literature. Out of these, we only considered experiments covering at least five years. The results show that OM addition favourably affected all the indicators under consideration. The most favourable effect was reported on earthworm numbers, followed by yield, SOM content and soil aggregate stability. For pH, effects depended on soil type; OM input favourably affected the pH of acidic soils, whereas no clear trend was observed under NT. NT generally led to increased aggregate stability and greater SOM content in upper soil horizons. However, the magnitude of the relative effects varied, e.g. with soil texture. No-tillage practices enhanced earthworm populations, but not where herbicides or pesticides were applied to combat weeds and pests. Overall, in this review, yield slightly decreased under NT. Crop rotation had a positive effect on SOM content and yield; rotation with ley very positively influenced earthworms' numbers. Overall, crop rotation had little impact on soil pH and aggregate stability \u2212 depending on the type of intercrop; alternatively, rotation of arable crops only resulted in adverse effects. A clear positive trend was observed for earthworm abundance under organic agriculture. Further, organic agriculture generally resulted in increased aggregate stability and greater SOM content. Overall, no clear trend was found for pH; a decrease in yield was observed under organic agriculture in this review.", "keywords": ["China", "Soil Science", "Organic chemistry", "Crop", "01 natural sciences", "Long-term field experiments", "Crop Productivity", "Soil quality", "Environmental science", "Organic Matter Dynamics", "Tillage", "Agricultural and Biological Sciences", "Soil quality indicators", "Crop rotation", "Management of Soil Fertility and Crop Productivity", "Soil water", "FOS: Mathematics", "Agricultural management practices", "Monoculture", "Crop Yield Stability", "Biology", "0105 earth and related environmental sciences", "Literature review", "Response ratio", "Soil science", "2. Zero hunger", "Soil organic matter", "Soil Fertility", "Conventional tillage", "Geography", "Life Sciences", "Agriculture", "04 agricultural and veterinary sciences", "Soil Nutrient Management", "15. Life on land", "Agronomy", "Europe", "Chemistry", "Archaeology", "13. Climate action", "0401 agriculture", " forestry", " and fisheries", "Crop husbandry", "Organic matter", "Intercropping in Agricultural Systems", "Soil Carbon Dynamics and Nutrient Cycling in Ecosystems", "Agronomy and Crop Science", "Mathematics"]}, "links": [{"href": "https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agee.2018.05.028"}, {"rel": "related", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/Agriculture%2C%20Ecosystems%20%26amp%3B%20Environment", "name": "related record", "description": "related record", "type": "application/json"}, {"rel": "self", "type": "application/geo+json", "title": "10.1016/j.agee.2018.05.028", "name": "item", "description": "10.1016/j.agee.2018.05.028", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/10.1016/j.agee.2018.05.028"}, {"rel": "collection", "type": "application/json", "title": "Collection", "name": "collection", "description": "Collection", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main"}], "time": {"date": "2018-10-01T00:00:00Z"}}, {"id": "10.1016/j.soilbio.2008.05.007", "type": "Feature", "geometry": null, "properties": {"updated": "2026-09-22T16:16:29Z", "type": "Journal Article", "created": "2008-06-12", "title": "Long-Term Organic Farming Fosters Below And Aboveground Biota: Implications For Soil Quality, Biological Control And Productivity", "description": "Organic farming may contribute substantially to future agricultural production worldwide by improving soil quality and pest control, thereby reducing environmental impacts of conventional farming. We investigated in a comprehensive way soil chemical, as well as below and aboveground biological parameters of two organic and two conventional wheat farming systems that primarily differed in fertilization and weed management strategies. Contrast analyses identified management related differences between \u201cherbicide-free\u201d bioorganic (BIOORG) and biodynamic (BIODYN) systems and conventional systems with (CONFYM) or without manure (CONMIN) and herbicide application within a long-term agricultural experiment (DOK trial, Switzerland). Soil carbon content was significantly higher in systems receiving farmyard manure and concomitantly microbial biomass (fungi and bacteria) was increased. Microbial activity parameters, such as microbial basal respiration and nitrogen mineralization, showed an opposite pattern, suggesting that soil carbon in the conventional system (CONFYM) was more easily accessible to microorganisms than in organic systems. Bacterivorous nematodes and earthworms were most abundant in systems that received farmyard manure, which is in line with the responses of their potential food sources (microbes and organic matter). Mineral fertilizer application detrimentally affected enchytraeids and Diptera larvae, whereas aphids benefited. Spider abundance was favoured by organic management, most likely a response to increased prey availability from the belowground subsystem or increased weed coverage. In contrast to most soil-based, bottom-up controlled interactions, the twofold higher abundance of this generalist predator group in organic systems likely contributed to the significantly lower abundance of aboveground herbivore pests (aphids) in these systems. Long-term organic farming and the application of farmyard manure promoted soil quality, microbial biomass and fostered natural enemies and ecosystem engineers, suggesting enhanced nutrient cycling and pest control. Mineral fertilizers and herbicide application, in contrast, affected the potential for top-down control of aboveground pests negatively and reduced the organic carbon levels. Our study indicates that the use of synthetic fertilizers and herbicide application changes interactions within and between below and aboveground components, ultimately promoting negative environmental impacts of agriculture by reducing internal biological cycles and pest control. On the contrary, organic farming fosters microbial and faunal decomposers and this propagates into the aboveground system via generalist predators thereby increasing conservation biological control. However, grain and straw yields were 23% higher in systems receiving mineral fertilizers and herbicides reflecting the trade-off between productivity and environmental responsibility.", "keywords": ["[SDE] Environmental Sciences", "generalist predators", "respiration microbienne", "[SDV]Life Sciences [q-bio]", "faune du sol", "natural enemies", "alternative prey", "630", "nitrogen", "food-web", "Soil", "agriculture biologique", "cycle biologique", "herbicide", "min\u00e9ralisation de l'azote", "fertilisation organique", "fertilisation min\u00e9rale", "soil quality", "2. Zero hunger", "agriculture biodynamique", "agriculture conventionnelle", "nutrient cycling", "04 agricultural and veterinary sciences", "sustainability", "long terme", "6. Clean water", "[SDV] Life Sciences [q-bio]", "mycorrhizal fungi", "ennemi naturel", "microbial community structure", "ecosystem functioning", "[SDE]Environmental Sciences", "DOK trial;ecosystem functioning;farming system;fertilization;generalist predators;microbial community;nutrient cycling;natural enemies;soil fauna;soil quality;sustainability", "microbial community", "soil fauna", "agricultural systems", "management", "570", "agroecosystems", "Soil quality", "suisse", "productivit\u00e9", "Soil biology", "culture c\u00e9r\u00e9aliere", "triticum aestivum", "biomasse microbienne", "biomass", "DOK trial", "15. Life on land", "qualit\u00e9 biologique du sol", "fertilization", "13. Climate action", "Biodiversity and ecosystem services", "0401 agriculture", " forestry", " and fisheries", "farming system", "Cereals", " pulses and oilseeds"]}, "links": [{"href": "https://doi.org/10.1016/j.soilbio.2008.05.007"}, {"rel": "related", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/Soil%20Biology%20and%20Biochemistry", "name": "related record", "description": "related record", "type": "application/json"}, {"rel": "self", "type": "application/geo+json", "title": "10.1016/j.soilbio.2008.05.007", "name": "item", "description": "10.1016/j.soilbio.2008.05.007", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/10.1016/j.soilbio.2008.05.007"}, {"rel": "collection", "type": "application/json", "title": "Collection", "name": "collection", "description": "Collection", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main"}], "time": {"date": "2008-09-01T00:00:00Z"}}, {"id": "10.1017/wsc.2018.4", "type": "Feature", "geometry": null, "properties": {"updated": "2026-09-22T16:16:51Z", "type": "Journal Article", "created": "2018-04-04", "title": "Assessment Of Management Options On Striga Infestation And Maize Grain Yield In Kenya", "description": "Abstract<p>The parasitic purple witchweed [Striga hermonthica(Del.) Benth.] is a serious constraint to maize production in sub-Saharan Africa, especially in poor soils. VariousStrigaspp. control measures have been developed, but these have not been assessed in an integrated system. This study was conducted to evaluate a set of promising technologies forS. hermonthicamanagement in western Kenya. We evaluated three maize genotypes either intercropped with peanut (Arachis hypogaeaL.), soybean [Glycine max(L.) Merr.], or silverleaf desmodium [Desmodium uncinatum(Jacq.) DC] or as a sole crop at two locations under artificialS. hermonthicainfestation and at three locations under naturalS. hermonthicainfestation between 2011 and 2013. Combined ANOVA showed significant (P&lt;0.05) cropping system and cropping system by environment interactions for most traits measured. Grain yield was highest for maize grown in soybean rotation (3,672 kg ha\uffe2\uff88\uff921) under artificial infestation and inD. uncinatumand peanut cropping systems (3,203 kg ha\uffe2\uff88\uff921and 3,193 kg ha\uffe2\uff88\uff921) under natural infestation. Grain yield was highest for theStrigaspp.-resistant hybrid under both methods of infestation. A lower number of emergedS. hermonthicaplants per square meter were recorded at 10 and 12 wk after planting on maize grown underD. uncinatumin the artificialS. hermonthicainfestation. A combination of herbicide-resistant maize varieties intercropped with legumes was a more effective method forS. hermonthicacontrol than individual-component technologies. Herbicide-resistant andStrigaspp.-resistant maize integrated with legumes would help reduce theStrigaspp. seedbank in the soil. Farmers should be encouraged to adopt an integrated approach to controlStrigaspp. for better maize yields.</p>", "keywords": ["0106 biological sciences", "striga infestation", "legumes", "Infestation", "Plant Science", "Striga", "maize", "01 natural sciences", "Article", "Agricultural and Biological Sciences", "Symbiotic Nitrogen Fixation in Legumes", "peanuts", "Biology", "Sowing", "Sorghum", "Taxonomy", "2. Zero hunger", "Crop Diversity", "Life Sciences", "cropping systems", "Biodiversity", "04 agricultural and veterinary sciences", "Strigolactone Signaling in Plant Interactions", "15. Life on land", "yield", "Agronomy", "soybeans", "Striga hermonthica", "0401 agriculture", " forestry", " and fisheries", "Intercropping in Agricultural Systems", "varieities", "intercropping", "Agronomy and Crop Science"]}, "links": [{"href": "https://doi.org/10.1017/wsc.2018.4"}, {"rel": "related", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/Weed%20Science", "name": "related record", "description": "related record", "type": "application/json"}, {"rel": "self", "type": "application/geo+json", "title": "10.1017/wsc.2018.4", "name": "item", "description": "10.1017/wsc.2018.4", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/10.1017/wsc.2018.4"}, {"rel": "collection", "type": "application/json", "title": "Collection", "name": "collection", "description": "Collection", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main"}], "time": {"date": "2018-04-04T00:00:00Z"}}, {"id": "10.1371/journal.pone.0168134", "type": "Feature", "geometry": null, "properties": {"license": "Open Access", "updated": "2026-09-22T16:18:23Z", "type": "Journal Article", "created": "2016-12-13", "title": "Chinese Milk Vetch As Green Manure Mitigates Nitrous Oxide Emission From Monocropped Rice System In South China", "description": "Open AccessMonocropped rice system is an important intensive cropping system for food security in China. Green manure (GM) as an alternative to fertilizer N (FN) is useful for improving soil quality. However, few studies have examined the effect of Chinese milk vetch (CMV) as GM on nitrous oxide (N2O) emission from monocropped rice field in south China. Therefore, a pot-culture experiment with four treatments (control, no FN and CMV; CMV as GM alone, M; fertilizer N alone, FN; integrating fertilizer N with CMV, NM) was performed to investigate the effect of incorporating CMV as GM on N2O emission using a closed chamber-gas chromatography (GC) technique during the rice growing periods. Under the same N rate, incorporating CMV as GM (the treatments of M and NM) mitigated N2O emission during the growing periods of rice plant, reduced the NO3- content and activities of nitrate and nitrite reductase as well as the population of nitrifying bacteria in top soil at maturity stage of rice plant versus FN pots. The global warming potential (GWP) and greenhouse gas intensity (GHGI) of N2O from monocropped rice field was ranked as M<NM<FN. However, the treatment of NM increased rice grain yield and soil NH4+ content, which were dramatically decreased in the M pots, over the treatment of FN. Hence, it can be concluded that integrating FN with CMV as GM is a feasible tactic for food security and N2O mitigation in the monocropped rice based system.", "keywords": ["Greenhouse Effect", "China", "Science", "Population", "Nitrous Oxide", "Soil Science", "Nitrogen Use Efficiency", "Rice Water Management and Productivity Enhancement", "Plant Science", "Crop", "Nitrate", "Greenhouse gas", "Environmental science", "Agricultural and Biological Sciences", "Soil", "Fertilizer", "Sociology", "Paddy field", "Biology", "Demography", "2. Zero hunger", "Nitrous oxide", "Ecology", "Q", "R", "Life Sciences", "Fabaceae", "Oryza", "Agriculture", "Food security", "04 agricultural and veterinary sciences", "Nitrogen Cycle", "Soil Nutrient Management", "15. Life on land", "Crop Production", "Agronomy", "6. Clean water", "Field experiment", "FOS: Sociology", "13. Climate action", "FOS: Biological sciences", "Medicine", "0401 agriculture", " forestry", " and fisheries", "Intercropping in Agricultural Systems", "Soil Carbon Dynamics and Nutrient Cycling in Ecosystems", "Agronomy and Crop Science", "Research Article", "Cropping system", "Nitrate reductase"]}, "links": [{"href": "https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0168134"}, {"rel": "related", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/PLOS%20ONE", "name": "related record", "description": "related record", "type": "application/json"}, {"rel": "self", "type": "application/geo+json", "title": "10.1371/journal.pone.0168134", "name": "item", "description": "10.1371/journal.pone.0168134", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/10.1371/journal.pone.0168134"}, {"rel": "collection", "type": "application/json", "title": "Collection", "name": "collection", "description": "Collection", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main"}], "time": {"date": "2016-12-13T00:00:00Z"}}, {"id": "10.3389/fpls.2017.00996", "type": "Feature", "geometry": null, "properties": {"updated": "2026-09-22T16:19:15Z", "type": "Journal Article", "created": "2017-06-20", "description": "Open AccessLas pr\u00e1cticas de agricultura de conservaci\u00f3n (AC) se est\u00e1n promoviendo ampliamente en muchas \u00e1reas del \u00c1frica subsahariana para recuperar los suelos degradados y mejorar los servicios ecosist\u00e9micos. Este estudio examin\u00f3 los efectos de tres pr\u00e1cticas de labranza [arado convencional con vertedera (CT), azada manual (MT) y labranza sin labranza (NT)], y tres sistemas de cultivo (ma\u00edz continuo, rotaci\u00f3n anual de soja-ma\u00edz y cultivo intercalado de soja/ma\u00edz) en la calidad del suelo, la productividad de los cultivos y la rentabilidad en ensayos en finca administrados por investigadores y agricultores de 2010 a 2013 en el noroeste de Ghana. En el ensayo madre gestionado por el investigador, las pr\u00e1cticas de AC de NT, retenci\u00f3n de residuos y rotaci\u00f3n/intercalaci\u00f3n de cultivos mantuvieron un mayor carbono org\u00e1nico del suelo y N total del suelo en comparaci\u00f3n con las pr\u00e1cticas de labranza convencionales despu\u00e9s de 4 a\u00f1os. La densidad aparente del suelo fue mayor en los suelos NT que en los suelos CT en los senderos madre gestionados por el investigador o en los ensayos de beb\u00e9s gestionados por los agricultores despu\u00e9s de 4 a\u00f1os. En el ensayo madre gestionado por el investigador, no hubo diferencias significativas entre los sistemas de labranza o los sistemas de cultivo en los rendimientos de ma\u00edz o soja en las primeras tres temporadas. En la cuarta temporada, la rotaci\u00f3n de cultivos tuvo el mayor impacto en los rendimientos de ma\u00edz con ma\u00edz CT despu\u00e9s de que la soja aumentara los rendimientos en un 41 y 49% en comparaci\u00f3n con el ma\u00edz MT y NT, respectivamente. En los ensayos gestionados por los agricultores, el rendimiento del ma\u00edz oscil\u00f3 entre 520 y 2700 kg ha-1 y entre 300 y 2000 kg ha-1 para CT y NT, respectivamente, lo que refleja las diferencias en la experiencia de los agricultores con NT. En promedio entre los agricultores, los sistemas de cultivo CT aumentaron el rendimiento de ma\u00edz y soja en un rango de 23 a 39% en comparaci\u00f3n con los sistemas de cultivo NT. El an\u00e1lisis parcial del presupuesto mostr\u00f3 que el costo de producir ma\u00edz o soja es 20-29% m\u00e1s barato con los sistemas NT y da mayores rendimientos al trabajo en comparaci\u00f3n con la pr\u00e1ctica de CT. Las relaciones beneficio/coste tambi\u00e9n muestran que los sistemas de cultivo NT son m\u00e1s rentables que los sistemas CT. Concluimos que con el tiempo, la implementaci\u00f3n de pr\u00e1cticas de AC que involucran NT, rotaci\u00f3n de cultivos, cultivos intercalados de ma\u00edz y soja junto con la retenci\u00f3n de residuos de cultivos presenta un escenario de beneficio mutuo debido a la mejora del rendimiento de los cultivos, el aumento del rendimiento econ\u00f3mico y las tendencias de aumento de la fertilidad del suelo. Sin embargo, el mayor desaf\u00edo sigue siendo producir suficiente biomasa y retenerla en el campo.", "keywords": ["Conservation agriculture", "Cropping", "Agricultural Innovation and Livelihood Diversification", "no-tillage", "Soil Science", "Plant Science", "Crop", "Soil quality", "Environmental science", "SB1-1110", "Tillage", "Agricultural and Biological Sciences", "residue retention", "crop rotation", "Crop rotation", "FOS: Mathematics", "profitability", "Crop residue", "Crop yield", "soil quality", "Crop Yield Stability", "Agroforestry", "Biology", "2. Zero hunger", "Conventional tillage", "Geography", "Crop Diversity", "Plant culture", "Life Sciences", "Agriculture", "04 agricultural and veterinary sciences", "crop yield", "Soil Nutrient Management", "15. Life on land", "Plough", "Agronomy", "conservation agriculture", "Intercropping", "Archaeology", "Agricultural science", "0401 agriculture", " forestry", " and fisheries", "Intercropping in Agricultural Systems", "Soil Carbon Dynamics and Nutrient Cycling in Ecosystems", "General Agricultural and Biological Sciences", "intercropping", "Agronomy and Crop Science", "Mathematics", "Cropping system"]}, "links": [{"href": "https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2017.00996"}, {"rel": "related", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/Frontiers%20in%20Plant%20Science", "name": "related record", "description": "related record", "type": "application/json"}, {"rel": "self", "type": "application/geo+json", "title": "10.3389/fpls.2017.00996", "name": "item", "description": "10.3389/fpls.2017.00996", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/10.3389/fpls.2017.00996"}, {"rel": "collection", "type": "application/json", "title": "Collection", "name": "collection", "description": "Collection", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main"}], "time": {"date": "2017-06-21T00:00:00Z"}}, {"id": "10396/21088", "type": "Feature", "geometry": null, "properties": {"updated": "2026-09-22T16:22:02Z", "type": "Report", "title": "Organic carbon in agricultural and agroforestry soils: Effect of different management practices", "description": "Open AccessSoil is a global resource that has the capacity to contain large amounts of organic carbon. In fact, soils contain more carbon than plants and the atmosphere combined. However, in recent decades human activities such as land-use change, deforestation, biomass burning, and environmental pollution have accelerated the release of terrestrial carbon into the atmosphere, increasing the greenhouse effect. The study of soil organic carbon cycle was recognized in the last decades as a necessary step for controlling future increases in atmospheric CO2, as well as necessary to simultaneously ensure the sustainability agricultural activities. A better comprehension of the he dynamics of soil organic carbon (SOC) in different agricultural systems will allow an improvement of soil quality and soil organic carbon storage under different climate and soil conditions. However, despite of decade\u2019s long research on this subject, there is still the need for a better appraisal of soil carbon dynamics in specific agricultural systems based on robust in field empirical studies. So, relevant contributions to a better understanding of the impact of land use on the global carbon cycle is of great importance. The present research, framed in the context of a PhD specialization on soil carbon in agricultural areas, is aimed to generate new information on the effect of different factors (climate, land use, management, altitude, and soil type) that influence the sequestration and accumulation of organic carbon along the profile in the soil in different agricultural and forest systems across contrasting edaphoclimatic conditions. This research includes not only new quantitative information on soil organic carbon, but also innovative studies on its distribution among different soil carbon compartments and on the use of near infrared spectroscopy (NIR) on soil organic carbon determination. The first study (Chapter 2) is an analysis of the effect of different agricultural uses in a subtropical climate, in the area of the Carrizal River valley in the province of Manab\u00ed Ecuador, based on the analysis of 64 soil profiles. In each profile simples were taken in the soil profile horizons to obtain the concentration of organic carbon up to a maximum depth of 150 cm in different agricultural management (permanent, intensive rotation and abandoned crops), In this study twenty-one different agricultural uses were identified. As expected, the highest concentrations of soil organic carbon happened in the A horizon, which has an average thickness of 40 cm. A trend towards a higher carbon sequestration potential was observed in the grass, intercropping like cocoa with banana and corn area management with an average value of 1.7% C, much higher than the area under mechanized agriculture, which presented lower carbon concentration, with an average value of 0.26% C. Regarding the total soil organic carbon stock, the first horizon accumulated more carbon compared to the other (B and C) soil profiles, with an average value of 41.32\u00b120.97 t C ha\u22121 and 15.06\u00b115.61 t C ha\u22121, respectively. The second study (Chapter 3) evaluated the effect of forest management in a temperate climate. For this study, soil samples were taken in a managed environment of forest species (Alnus incana, Fagus sylvatica, Picea abies and Mixed: stands containing beech and spruce) in an elevation range from <900 m a.s.l. to >1100 m a.s.l. from the Babia G\u00f3ra National Park in southern Poland. Sampling points were taken up to a maximum depth of 100 cm. The results in this study revealed that the SOC reserves in the mountain soils of the Babi G\u00f3ra National Park are characterized by their great variability (from 50.10 t ha\u22121 to 905.20 t ha\u22121). In the conditions of this study, the type of soil is the dominant factor determining soil organic carbon stock, which coupled with topographic factors influence soil and vegetation conditions. This explains such diversity in the accumulation of soil organic carbon in different mountain soils in the areas. The largest carbon stock was recorded in histosols (>550 t C ha\u22121), which are located in the lower part of the national park. The third block of the research focused on two field studies in one of the most important agroforestry systems across the Mediterranean, dehesa. The first study (Chapter 4) is located in a dehesa in Hinojosa del Duque in C\u00f3rdoba, Spain: Dehesa is an agro-silvo-pastoral system which combines open land and low density trees (holm oaks). In this first study we investigated two adjacent dehesas on the same soil type but different characteristics. One was a pastureland with young holm oaks (planted in 1995 with a density of 70 trees ha\u22121 at 12 m x 12 m spacing. The area had been grazed by Merino sheep since 2000, at a grazing rate of 3 sheep per hectare. The second, adjacent area is a cultivated pasture with mature oaks with a minimum age of 90-100 years widely spaced (1.2 trees ha\u22121). Every three years, a mixture of peas and oats is grown for hay. Tillage is used for the preparation of this seeding except in the immediate vicinity (about 0.3-0.4 m) of the tree trunk. The first dehesa at higher tree density was part of this second dehesa, and so both had the same characteristics until year 1995. Both dehesas were sampled simultaneously in 2017. Sampling points were taken under and outside the canopy projection up to a maximum depth of 100 cm divided into 8 sections (0-2 cm, 2-5 cm, 5-10 cm, 10-20 cm, 20-40 cm, 40-60 cm, 60-80 cm, and 80- 100 cm). The results showed that a change in dehesa type from an old low density dehesa combining pasture with seeding every 3 years to a one only pastured with increased tree growth (70 trees ha), showed no significant differences in carbon concentration after 22 years\u2019 sicen implanting the more dense dehesa. A clear stratification of carbon was observed in the soil profile, particularly in the top 10 cm of the soil, as well as an effect of the adult tree which resulted in a higher concentration under the tree canopy in the middle soil depth section (20-40 cm) in the mature dehesa. Significant difference in carbon stock was only observed in the top 0-2 cm (5.86\u00b10.56 t ha1 vs 3.24\u00b10.37 t ha1, been higher in the newly planted dehesa. To our knowledge this is the first study evaluating in dehesa the distribution of soil organic carbon into this four (unprotected and physically, chemically and biochemically protected) fractions. Our results showed how most of the carbon in the two dehesas was stored in the unprotected fraction, been its relative contribution higher in the top 0-2 cm o the pastured dehesa and in the below canopy area of the mature trees in the cropped dehesa. This indicates that much of the fraction contained in these soils is particularly vulnerable to hypothetical changes to less sustainable managements. The second study in dehesa (Chapter 5) was located in the municipality of Pozoblanco in the north of the province of Cordoba. In this area three areas of continuous extensive grazing for more than 50 years with cattle, sheep, and pigs were identified, and three areas with different intensity were studied. These areas were: I) Intensive grazing management. II) moderate grazing management and III) no grazing (area excluded for more than 20 years). Sampling points were taken at each of the three areas up to a maximum depth of 30 cm divided into 5 sections (0-2 cm, 2-5 cm, 5-10 cm, 10-20 cm, and 20-30 cm). Concentrations at different grazing intensities showed, as expected, higher carbon concentrations at the surface soil layer (0-2 cm) average of 1.59\u00b10.44%, decreasing to 0.48\u00b10.15% in the deeper section of the soil profile at 20-30 cm. Contradicting our initial hypothesis, no differences in soil organic carbon concentration were detected among the three areas with different grazing intensities, The total carbon stock was analyzed in the whole soil profile (0-30 cm), indicating non significant differences among the two grazed areas, average value of 27 t ha\u22121, or the area without grazing 26 t ha\u22121. As in the previous dehesa, the dominant fraction was the unprotected carbon. However, in this case the relative differences in the soil organic carbon concentration between the unprotected fraction and the physically and the chemically protected fractions was larger than in the first dehesa, particularly because the protected fractions tended to show a higher concentration than in the dehesa studied in Chapter 4. Using the empirical results from the study of the second dehesa, we developed a spectral library and predictive equations of concentration of soil organic carbon using Vis-NIR (Chapter 6) from this dataset. The accuracy of the SOC predictive models was very good, with R2 higher than 0.95 and residual predictive deviation (RPD) higher than 4.54, respectively. Refinement of VIS-NIR techniques, such as the one discussed in Chapter 6, could increase our ability to provide more affordable and robust technologies to measure large numbers of samples with the required accuracy, although it is less clear how to address other important sources of variability, such as soil depth, soil type, bulk density, and rock content. To reduce this uncertainty will be of great relevance to continue performing detailed experiments to better quantify on the effect of land use and cropping systems on soil organic carbon content, such as those described in chapters 3, 5 and 5. To date, these experiments are irreplaceable to test specific hypothesis relevant at local level (like the time to increase soil organic carbon stock after planting at higher density, Chapter 4), but also to create a corpus of available data which could improve, or lead to new ones, conceptual or numerical simulation models that can systematize our understanding of the soil organic carbon cycle and eventually reduce the need for large-scale sampling to verify the evolution of soil organic carbon in agricultural systems.", "keywords": ["2. Zero hunger", "13. Climate action", "Soil organic carbon", "11. Sustainability", "Agricultural systems", "15. Life on land", "Agroforestry", "Land-use", "Organic carbon", "Forest systems", "12. Responsible consumption"], "contacts": [{"organization": "Reyna-Bowen, Lizardo", "roles": ["creator"]}]}, "links": [{"href": "https://doi.org/10396/21088"}, {"rel": "self", "type": "application/geo+json", "title": "10396/21088", "name": "item", "description": "10396/21088", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/10396/21088"}, {"rel": "collection", "type": "application/json", "title": "Collection", "name": "collection", "description": "Collection", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main"}], "time": {"date": "2021-01-01T00:00:00Z"}}, {"id": "10.5281/zenodo.15393410", "type": "Feature", "geometry": null, "properties": {"updated": "2026-09-22T16:20:46Z", "type": "Report", "title": "Carbon Farming Mitigation Potential: Evaluating the mitigation potential (and uncertainties) of carbon farming practices", "description": "unspecifiedThis is the updated version of the old one (version 1.0)", "keywords": ["Carbon sequestration", "Environmental benefits", "Agricultural Systems", "Greenhouse gas emissions", "Mitigation potential", "Agricultural systems", "Carbon farming"]}, "links": [{"href": "https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.15393410"}, {"rel": "self", "type": "application/geo+json", "title": "10.5281/zenodo.15393410", "name": "item", "description": "10.5281/zenodo.15393410", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/10.5281/zenodo.15393410"}, {"rel": "collection", "type": "application/json", "title": "Collection", "name": "collection", "description": "Collection", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main"}], "time": {"date": "2024-12-10T00:00:00Z"}}, {"id": "10.5281/zenodo.15393411", "type": "Feature", "geometry": null, "properties": {"license": "Open Access", "updated": "2026-09-22T16:20:46Z", "type": "Report", "title": "Carbon Farming Mitigation Potential: Evaluating the mitigation potential (and uncertainties) of carbon farming practices", "description": "Open AccessThis is the updated version of the old one (version 1.0)", "keywords": ["Carbon sequestration", "Environmental benefits", "Agricultural Systems", "Greenhouse gas emissions", "Mitigation potential", "Agricultural systems", "Carbon farming"]}, "links": [{"href": "https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.15393411"}, {"rel": "self", "type": "application/geo+json", "title": "10.5281/zenodo.15393411", "name": "item", "description": "10.5281/zenodo.15393411", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/10.5281/zenodo.15393411"}, {"rel": "collection", "type": "application/json", "title": "Collection", "name": "collection", "description": "Collection", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main"}], "time": {"date": "2024-12-10T00:00:00Z"}}, {"id": "10.60692/wzwcw-szh03", "type": "Feature", "geometry": null, "properties": {"updated": "2026-09-22T16:21:40Z", "type": "Journal Article", "created": "2018-05-30", "title": "Effects of agricultural management practices on soil quality: A review of long-term experiments for Europe and China", "description": "Open AccessIn this paper we present effects of four paired agricultural management practices (organic matter (OM) addition versus no organic matter input, no-tillage (NT) versus conventional tillage, crop rotation versus monoculture, and organic agriculture versus conventional agriculture) on five key soil quality indicators, i.e., soil organic matter (SOM) content, pH, aggregate stability, earthworms (numbers) and crop yield. We have considered organic matter addition, no-tillage, crop rotation and organic agriculture as 'promising practices'; no organic matter input, conventional tillage, monoculture and conventional farming were taken as the respective references or 'standard practice' (baseline). Relative effects were analysed through indicator response ratio (RR) under each paired practice. For this we considered data of 30 long-term experiments collected from 13 case study sites in Europe and China as collated in the framework of the EU-China funded iSQAPER project. These were complemented with data from 42 long-term experiments across China and 402 observations of long-term trials published in the literature. Out of these, we only considered experiments covering at least five years. The results show that OM addition favourably affected all the indicators under consideration. The most favourable effect was reported on earthworm numbers, followed by yield, SOM content and soil aggregate stability. For pH, effects depended on soil type; OM input favourably affected the pH of acidic soils, whereas no clear trend was observed under NT. NT generally led to increased aggregate stability and greater SOM content in upper soil horizons. However, the magnitude of the relative effects varied, e.g. with soil texture. No-tillage practices enhanced earthworm populations, but not where herbicides or pesticides were applied to combat weeds and pests. Overall, in this review, yield slightly decreased under NT. Crop rotation had a positive effect on SOM content and yield; rotation with ley very positively influenced earthworms' numbers. Overall, crop rotation had little impact on soil pH and aggregate stability \u2212 depending on the type of intercrop; alternatively, rotation of arable crops only resulted in adverse effects. A clear positive trend was observed for earthworm abundance under organic agriculture. Further, organic agriculture generally resulted in increased aggregate stability and greater SOM content. Overall, no clear trend was found for pH; a decrease in yield was observed under organic agriculture in this review.", "keywords": ["Soil Science", "Organic chemistry", "Crop", "01 natural sciences", "Long-term field experiments", "Crop Productivity", "Soil quality", "Environmental science", "Organic Matter Dynamics", "Tillage", "Agricultural and Biological Sciences", "Soil quality indicators", "Crop rotation", "Management of Soil Fertility and Crop Productivity", "Soil water", "FOS: Mathematics", "Agricultural management practices", "Monoculture", "Crop Yield Stability", "Biology", "0105 earth and related environmental sciences", "Literature review", "Response ratio", "Soil science", "2. Zero hunger", "Soil organic matter", "Soil Fertility", "Conventional tillage", "Geography", "Life Sciences", "Agriculture", "04 agricultural and veterinary sciences", "Soil Nutrient Management", "15. Life on land", "Agronomy", "Chemistry", "Archaeology", "13. Climate action", "0401 agriculture", " forestry", " and fisheries", "Organic matter", "Intercropping in Agricultural Systems", "Soil Carbon Dynamics and Nutrient Cycling in Ecosystems", "Agronomy and Crop Science", "Mathematics"]}, "links": [{"href": "https://doi.org/10.60692/wzwcw-szh03"}, {"rel": "related", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/Agriculture%2C%20Ecosystems%20%26amp%3B%20Environment", "name": "related record", "description": "related record", "type": "application/json"}, {"rel": "self", "type": "application/geo+json", "title": "10.60692/wzwcw-szh03", "name": "item", "description": "10.60692/wzwcw-szh03", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/10.60692/wzwcw-szh03"}, {"rel": "collection", "type": "application/json", "title": "Collection", "name": "collection", "description": "Collection", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main"}], "time": {"date": "2018-10-01T00:00:00Z"}}, {"id": "10.6084/m9.figshare.14987130", "type": "Feature", "geometry": null, "properties": {"license": "Open Access", "updated": "2026-09-22T16:21:42Z", "type": "Software", "created": "2022-04-12", "title": "Ex-Tract tool_1.2.xlsm", "description": "The EX-TRACT Information tool (EX-TRACT) is an Excel spreadsheet, which allows for the estimation of the experimental error associated to statistical analysis results (i.e., standard deviation and standard error of treatments mean) of published articles, in which minimal information is reported. This tool will help researchers estimate experimental error for main effects or interaction, in complete randomization (CRD), in randomized block (CRBD), split-plot (SP), split-split-plot (SSP) and split block (SB) experiments.<br> PLEASE ensure you download the latest version of the tool.<br> LATEST VERSION: EX-TRACT tool_1.2 <br> EX-TRACT tool_1.2 UPDATES: this version solves a problem that occurred on PC with decimal separator set with comma rather than dot. <br> <br> For further support or to report any bug, please write to marco.acutis@unimi.it", "keywords": ["10401 Applied Statistics", "Environmental Science", "Statistics", "FOS: Mathematics", "70105 Agricultural Systems Analysis and Modelling", "FOS: Other agricultural sciences"], "contacts": [{"organization": "Acutis, Marco, Tadiello, Tommaso, Perego, Alessia, Guardo, Andrea Di, Schillaci, Calogero, Valkama, Elena,", "roles": ["creator"]}]}, "links": [{"href": "https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.14987130"}, {"rel": "self", "type": "application/geo+json", "title": "10.6084/m9.figshare.14987130", "name": "item", "description": "10.6084/m9.figshare.14987130", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/10.6084/m9.figshare.14987130"}, {"rel": "collection", "type": "application/json", "title": "Collection", "name": "collection", "description": "Collection", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main"}], "time": {"date": "2021-01-01T00:00:00Z"}}, {"id": "10.7910/DVN/Z8WXQM", "type": "Feature", "geometry": null, "properties": {"license": "Open Access", "updated": "2026-09-22T16:21:50Z", "type": "Dataset", "created": "2020-01-01", "title": "Combined GIS and Africa RISING Baseline Evaluation Survey (ARBES) Farm Household Data for FarmMatch, Tanzania", "description": "Open AccessGIS grid cells differ in biophysical conditions (soil, rainfall, etc.) and socio-economic circumstances (e.g. distance to market, population density). Moreover, within these cells we have households sampled within the Africa RISING Baseline Evaluation Survey (ARBES) database collected by IFPRI. For each household, we analyze in particular the main, easy to collect farm and household features (size, objectives, livestock, crop number, % off-farm income, etc.) and relate these to the farm practices and project-proposed technologies and techniques. The matching algorithm combines the GIS-derived data on biophysical conditions and socio-economic context circumstances with the farm features, to estimate the probability of use of the various technologies and techniques. &lt;/p&gt;  The data scored are as follows: Elevation, Digital Elevation Model, Slope, Precipitation, Temperature, Soil bulk density, Soil cation exchange capacity, Organic carbon, Distance to market, Population density, Household size, Children under 7, Age of household head, Education years, Total land size, Average distance to fields, Soil erosion, Animal mixed, Communal labor, Hired labor, Total labor, Months shortage, TLU chickens, TLU small ruminants, TLU large ruminants, Has irrigation, Uses fallowing, Uses manure, Num trees, Area intercropped, Fertilizer value, Improved seed value, Pigeon pea, Groundnut, Chickpea, Improved cattle, Improved goats, Improved pigs.", "keywords": ["2. Zero hunger", "geographical information systems", "AFRICA", "TANZANIA", "EAST AFRICA", "Agricultural Sciences", "technology", "Social Sciences", "Geographical information systems", "AFRICA SOUTH OF SAHARA", "15. Life on land", "agricultural systems", "Agricultural research"], "contacts": [{"organization": "Groot, Jeroen, Muthoni, Francis, Classens, Lieven, Bandyopadhyay, Arkadeep, Haile, Beliyou, Azzari, Carlo,", "roles": ["creator"]}]}, "links": [{"href": "https://doi.org/10.7910/DVN/Z8WXQM"}, {"rel": "self", "type": "application/geo+json", "title": "10.7910/DVN/Z8WXQM", "name": "item", "description": "10.7910/DVN/Z8WXQM", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/10.7910/DVN/Z8WXQM"}, {"rel": "collection", "type": "application/json", "title": "Collection", "name": "collection", "description": "Collection", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main"}], "time": {"date": "2021-01-01T00:00:00Z"}}, {"id": "2318/2070010", "type": "Feature", "geometry": null, "properties": {"license": "Open Access", "updated": "2026-09-22T16:22:42Z", "type": "Report", "title": "Analysis of socioeconomic and environmental problems in farms applying soil health practices in EU", "description": "Open AccessPeer reviewed", "keywords": ["Socioeconomic problems", "Cluster analysis", "soil health", "principal component analysis", "Soil health", "Principal component analysis", "socioeconomic problems", "farm typology; principal component analysis; cluster analysis; soil health; agricultural systems; socio-economic problems", "Agricultural systems", "agricultural systems", "Farm typology", "farm typology", "cluster analysis"], "contacts": [{"organization": "Nikolov, D, Tzvetanova, E, Boevsky, I, Kostenarov, K, Banov, M, Huliyan, M, Zavattaro, L, Krasa, J, Dostal, T, Liebhard, GC, Strauss, P, Bakacsi, Z, Go\u0301mez, J,", "roles": ["creator"]}]}, "links": [{"href": "https://tudi-project.org/storage/app/uploads/public/671/f56/48e/671f5648e3d95502748133.pdf"}, {"href": "https://iris.unito.it/bitstream/2318/2070010/1/A58%20Ekatherina.pdf"}, {"href": "https://doi.org/2318/2070010"}, {"rel": "self", "type": "application/geo+json", "title": "2318/2070010", "name": "item", "description": "2318/2070010", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/2318/2070010"}, {"rel": "collection", "type": "application/json", "title": "Collection", "name": "collection", "description": "Collection", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main"}], "time": {"date": "2024-01-01T00:00:00Z"}}, {"id": "2807448259", "type": "Feature", "geometry": null, "properties": {"updated": "2026-09-22T16:22:49Z", "type": "Journal Article", "created": "2018-05-31", "title": "Effects of agricultural management practices on soil quality: A review of long-term experiments for Europe and China", "description": "Open AccessIn this paper we present effects of four paired agricultural management practices (organic matter (OM) addition versus no organic matter input, no-tillage (NT) versus conventional tillage, crop rotation versus monoculture, and organic agriculture versus conventional agriculture) on five key soil quality indicators, i.e., soil organic matter (SOM) content, pH, aggregate stability, earthworms (numbers) and crop yield. We have considered organic matter addition, no-tillage, crop rotation and organic agriculture as 'promising practices'; no organic matter input, conventional tillage, monoculture and conventional farming were taken as the respective references or 'standard practice' (baseline). Relative effects were analysed through indicator response ratio (RR) under each paired practice. For this we considered data of 30 long-term experiments collected from 13 case study sites in Europe and China as collated in the framework of the EU-China funded iSQAPER project. These were complemented with data from 42 long-term experiments across China and 402 observations of long-term trials published in the literature. Out of these, we only considered experiments covering at least five years. The results show that OM addition favourably affected all the indicators under consideration. The most favourable effect was reported on earthworm numbers, followed by yield, SOM content and soil aggregate stability. For pH, effects depended on soil type; OM input favourably affected the pH of acidic soils, whereas no clear trend was observed under NT. NT generally led to increased aggregate stability and greater SOM content in upper soil horizons. However, the magnitude of the relative effects varied, e.g. with soil texture. No-tillage practices enhanced earthworm populations, but not where herbicides or pesticides were applied to combat weeds and pests. Overall, in this review, yield slightly decreased under NT. Crop rotation had a positive effect on SOM content and yield; rotation with ley very positively influenced earthworms' numbers. Overall, crop rotation had little impact on soil pH and aggregate stability \u2212 depending on the type of intercrop; alternatively, rotation of arable crops only resulted in adverse effects. A clear positive trend was observed for earthworm abundance under organic agriculture. Further, organic agriculture generally resulted in increased aggregate stability and greater SOM content. Overall, no clear trend was found for pH; a decrease in yield was observed under organic agriculture in this review.", "keywords": ["Soil Science", "Organic chemistry", "Crop", "01 natural sciences", "Long-term field experiments", "Crop Productivity", "Soil quality", "Environmental science", "Organic Matter Dynamics", "Tillage", "Agricultural and Biological Sciences", "Soil quality indicators", "Crop rotation", "Management of Soil Fertility and Crop Productivity", "Soil water", "FOS: Mathematics", "Agricultural management practices", "Monoculture", "Crop Yield Stability", "Biology", "0105 earth and related environmental sciences", "Literature review", "Response ratio", "Soil science", "2. Zero hunger", "Soil organic matter", "Soil Fertility", "Conventional tillage", "Geography", "Life Sciences", "Agriculture", "04 agricultural and veterinary sciences", "Soil Nutrient Management", "15. Life on land", "Agronomy", "Chemistry", "Archaeology", "13. Climate action", "0401 agriculture", " forestry", " and fisheries", "Organic matter", "Intercropping in Agricultural Systems", "Soil Carbon Dynamics and Nutrient Cycling in Ecosystems", "Agronomy and Crop Science", "Mathematics"]}, "links": [{"href": "https://doi.org/2807448259"}, {"rel": "related", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/Agriculture%2C%20Ecosystems%20%26amp%3B%20Environment", "name": "related record", "description": "related record", "type": "application/json"}, {"rel": "self", "type": "application/geo+json", "title": "2807448259", "name": "item", "description": "2807448259", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/2807448259"}, {"rel": "collection", "type": "application/json", "title": "Collection", "name": "collection", "description": "Collection", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main"}], "time": {"date": "2018-10-01T00:00:00Z"}}, {"id": "36374801", "type": "Feature", "geometry": null, "properties": {"updated": "2026-09-22T16:23:16Z", "type": "Journal Article", "created": "2022-10-29", "title": "Microplastic appraisal of soil, water, ditch sediment and airborne dust: The case of agricultural systems", "description": "Although microplastic pollution jeopardizes both terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems, the movement of plastic particles through terrestrial environments is still poorly understood. Agricultural soils exposed to different managements are important sites of storage and dispersal of microplastics. This study aimed to identify the abundance, distribution, and type of microplastics present in agricultural soils, water, airborne dust, and ditch sediments. Soil health was also assessed using soil macroinvertebrate abundance and diversity. Sixteen fields were evaluated, 6 of which had been exposed to more than 5 years of compost application, 5 were exposed to at least 5 years of plastic mulch use, and 5 were not exposed to any specific management (controls) within the last 5 years. We also evaluated the spread of microplastics from the farms into nearby water bodies and airborne dust. We found 11 types of microplastics in soil, among which Light Density Polyethylene (LDPE) and Light Density Polyethylene covered with pro-oxidant additives (PAC) were the most abundant. The highest concentrations of plastics were found in soils exposed to plastic mulch management (128.7\u00a0\u00b1\u00a0320\u00a0MPs.g-1 soil and 224.84\u00a0\u00b1\u00a0488\u00a0MPs.g-1 soil, respectively) and the particles measured from 50 to 150\u00a0\u03bcm. Nine types of microplastics were found in water, with the highest concentrations observed in systems exposed to compost. Farms applying compost had higher LDPE and PAC concentrations in ditch sediments as compared to control and mulch systems; a significant correlation between soil polypropylene (PP) microplastics with ditch sediment microplastics (r2 0.7 p\u00a0<\u00a00.05) was found. LDPE, PAC, PE (Polyethylene), and PP were the most abundant microplastics in airborne dust. Soil invertebrates were scarce in the systems using plastic mulch. A cocktail of microplastics was found in all assessed matrices.", "keywords": ["Microplastics", "Environmental Sciences & Ecology", "Polypropylenes", "01 natural sciences", "Soil", "Airborne dust", "Life Science", "Soil Pollutants", "Agricultural systems", "Ecosystem", "0105 earth and related environmental sciences", "2. Zero hunger", "Science & Technology", "Ditch sediment", "ddc:550", "Water", "Dust", "15. Life on land", "6. Clean water", "Polyethylene", "13. 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