Soil degradation and recovery – Changes in organic matter fractions and structural stability

Jensen, Johannes L.; Schjønning, Per; Watts, C. W.; Christensen, Bent T.; Obour, Peter Bilson; Munkholm, Lars J.

doi:10.1016/j.geoderma.2020.114181

Cited by 59 publications

(38 citation statements)

References 38 publications

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“…This increase in pore size diversity might be due to the increase in the presence of plants, active organisms and organic matter (Hirsch et al, 2017) as well as the absence of tillage. A study focusing on the soil organic carbon in the same experiment found that the conversion of the bare‐fallow soil to grassland led to an increase of soil organic carbon (+46%) 7 years post‐conversion (Jensen et al, 2020). There are no data regarding the conversion from bare‐fallow to arable.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A greater pore surface density in the converted plot means that the grassland and the arable land have a more complex structure of pores than the bare‐fallow soil (Müller et al, 2019). The greater surface density for the grassland compared to the arable land might be induced by the greater soil organic carbon content and the absence of tillage for this treatment (Hirsch et al, 2017; Jensen, Schjønning, Watts, Christensen, Obour, & Munkholm, 2020). This can lead to the formation of new habitats and niches, which can be beneficial for microbial community diversity (Holden, 2011).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Significant structural evolution of a long‐term fallow soil in response to agricultural management practices requires at least 10 years after conversion

Bacq-Labreuil

Neal

Crawford

et al. 2020

European J Soil Science

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Agricultural practices can have significant effects on the physical and biological properties of soil. The aim of this study was to understand how the physical structure of a compromised soil, arising from long‐term bare‐fallow management, was modified by adopting different field management practices. We hypothesized that changing agricultural practices from bare‐fallow to arable or grassland would influence the modification of pore structure via an increase in porosity and pore connectivity, and a more homogenous distribution of pore sizes, and that this change exerts a rapid evolution of soil structure following conversion. Soil aggregates (<2 mm) collected in successive years from field plots subjected to three contrasting managements were studied: bare‐fallow, bare‐fallow converted to arable, and bare‐fallow converted to grassland. Soil structure was assessed by X‐ray computed tomography on the aggregates at 1.5 μm resolution, capturing detail relevant to soil biophysical processes. The grassland system increased porosity, diversity of pore sizes, pore connectivity and pore‐surface density significantly over the decade following conversion. However, measured at this resolution, the evolution of most of these metrics of soil structure required approximately 10 years post‐conversion to show a significant effect. The arable system did not influence soil structural evolution significantly. Only pore size distribution was modified in grassland in a shorter time frame (2 years post‐conversion). Hence, evolution of soil structural characteristics appears to require at least a decadal timescale following conversion to grassland. Highlights The physical structure of a compromised soil was modified by adopting plant‐based field management practices. Conversion to grassland increased pore size diversity after 2 years. Porosity, pore connectivity and pore surface density showed a significant modification between 7 and 10 years after conversion.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Significant structural evolution of a long‐term fallow soil in response to agricultural management practices requires at least 10 years after conversion

Bacq-Labreuil

Neal

Crawford

et al. 2020

European J Soil Science

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“…The recovery of soil quality in agriculture systems, indeed, is a slow process. Several studies on management changes found that the loss of soil organic carbon was faster than soil organic carbon restoration (asymmetric response), due to the differences in organic matter input between restoration and degradation managements (Jensen et al 2020). A study by Dawoe et al (2014) revealed that soil quality deteriorated significantly in 3 year old cocoa systems, but only started to improve in 15 and 30 year old cocoa systems.…”

Section: Higher Soil Organic Carbon Improves Aggregate Stability and mentioning

confidence: 99%

Can cocoa agroforestry restore degraded soil structure following conversion from forest to agricultural use?

et al. 2020

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Alternating degradation and restoration phases of soil quality, as is common in crop-fallow systems, can be avoided if the restorative elements of trees and forests can be integrated into productive agroforestry systems. However, evidence for the hypothesis of ‘internal restoration’ in agroforestry is patchy and the effectiveness may depend on local context. We investigated to what extent cocoa (Theobroma cacao, L.) agroforestry can recover soil structure and infiltration in comparison to monoculture systems across the Konaweha Watershed, Southeast Sulawesi. We compared soil organic carbon, fine root length and weight, soil aggregate stability, macroporosity and infiltration from three soil layers at five land use systems: i.e. degraded forests, 9–14 years old of complex-cocoa agroforestry, simple-cocoa agroforestry, monoculture cocoa and 1–4 years old annual food crops, all with three replications. In general, roots were concentrated in the upper 40 cm of soil depth, contained of 70% and 86% of total fine root length and weight. Compared to simple agroforestry and cocoa monoculture, complex agroforestry had greater root length and weight in the topsoil, even though it attained only half the values found in degraded forests. Higher root density was positively correlated to soil organic carbon. In upper soil layers, complex agroforestry had slightly higher soil aggregate stability compared to other agricultural systems. However, no significant difference was found in deeper layers. Complex agroforestry had higher soil macroporosity than other agricultural systems, but not sufficient to mimic forests. Degraded forests had two times faster steady-state soil infiltration than agricultural systems tested (13.2 cm h−1 and 6 cm h−1, respectively), relevant during peak rainfall events. Compared to other agricultural systems, complex agroforestry improves soil structure of degraded soil resulting from forest conversion. However, a considerable gap remains with forest soil conditions.

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“…Soil nutrient contents and organic matter stability are important variables in evaluating ecological restoration (Gann et al., 2019; Jensen et al., 2020). Soil nutrients not only play an important role in the succession of vegetation restoration, but they also increase soil biodiversity, accelerate nutrient cycling, and quicken restoration processes (De Almeida et al., 2020; Kravchenko et al., 2019; Resch et al., 2018).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Long‐term active restoration of extremely degraded alpine grassland accelerated turnover and increased stability of soil carbon

Bai

Degen

et al. 2020

Global Change Biology

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Soil nutrient contents and organic carbon (C) stability are key indicators for restoration of degraded grassland. However, the effects of long-term active restoration of extremely degraded grassland on soil parameters have been equivocal. The aims of this study were to evaluate the impact of active restoration of degraded alpine grassland on: (a) soil organic matter (SOM) mineralization; and (b) the importance of biotic factors for temperature sensitivity (Q 10) of SOM mineralization. Soils were sampled from intact, degraded and restored alpine grasslands at altitudes ranging between S U PP O RTI N G I N FO R M ATI O N Additional supporting information may be found online in the Supporting Information section. How to cite this article: Bai Y, Ma L, Degen AA, et al. Longterm active restoration of extremely degraded alpine grassland accelerated turnover and increased stability of soil carbon.

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Soil degradation and recovery – Changes in organic matter fractions and structural stability

Cited by 59 publications

References 38 publications

Significant structural evolution of a long‐term fallow soil in response to agricultural management practices requires at least 10 years after conversion

Significant structural evolution of a long‐term fallow soil in response to agricultural management practices requires at least 10 years after conversion

Can cocoa agroforestry restore degraded soil structure following conversion from forest to agricultural use?

Long‐term active restoration of extremely degraded alpine grassland accelerated turnover and increased stability of soil carbon

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