Decadal-scale plastic mulching reshapes climate–soil–crop interactions across an elevation gradient on the Loess Plateau

Solum depth regulates root-mediated plant–soil feedback in tropical karst agroforestry systems

Agroforestry hedges either increase or decrease soil organic carbon stocks depending on the use of plastic mulch in Southern Quebec (Canada).

Agroforestry hedges (AFH), including windbreaks and riparian buffers, can mitigate climate change and improve agroecosystem resilience. Many studies report positive effects of AFH on soil organic carbon (SOC) stocks, yet outcomes remain variable. The factors controlling SOC dynamics under AFH, particularly management p...

Plastic film mulching amplifies yield resilience and stabilizes water use efficiency of winter wheat across wet and dry years on the semi-arid Loess Plateau.

BACKGROUND Mulching is usually evaluated on multiyear average yield, which hides how its benefit varies with rainfall. A three-year split-plot experiment at Tianshui, Gansu, on the semi-arid Loess Plateau crossed four fertilization levels (no fertilizer, CK; sheep manure, M; mineral, NPK; manure plus NPK, MNPK) with th...

Rain-shelter soil cultivation as a rainfall risk adaptation option for sustainable lemon balm production in a Korean highland field assessment

Sustainable crop production requires strategies that stabilize the supply of high-value herb raw materials under rainfall and climate variability. Lemon balm ( Melissa officinalis L.) is a medicinal, culinary, and aromatic herb whose commercial value depends largely on stable leaf biomass. This exploratory, single-...

Diversified Cropping Systems Improve Soil Quality and Infiltration Characteristics in the Tropical Northern Guinea Savanna

Soil degradation continues to threaten arable lands across the Northern Guinea Savanna (NGS), undermining soil quality and food production and necessitating sustainable management strategies. This study aimed to identify cropping systems that improve soil physical, chemical, and infiltration properties in the NGS. Soil...

Root-Zone Moisture Realized During a Compound Dry–Hot Event, Not Irrigation Persistence, Determines the Resilience of Cropland Carbon–Water Productivity in the Guanzhong Plain, China

Warming is making drought and heat co-occur more often, intensifying compound stress on cropland in northern China’s drylands, where water scarcity makes further irrigation expansion untenable. On the Guanzhong Plain, a major grain-producing region, it remains unclear which irrigation conditions buffer cropland carbon–...