Exploring Soil Hydro-Physical Improvements Under No-Tillage: A Sustainable Approach for Soil Health
No-tillage (NT) is a key practice in conservation agriculture that minimizes soil disturbance, thereby enhancing soil structure, porosity, and overall quality. However, its long-term effects on soil pore networks and hydro-physical functions remain underexplored. This study evaluated the impacts of...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2025-04-01
|
| Series: | Agriculture |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0472/15/9/981 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1850278666426122240 |
|---|---|
| author | Gabriel-Dumitru Mihu Tudor George Aostăcioaei Cosmin Ghelbere Anca-Elena Calistru Denis Constantin Țopa Gerard Jităreanu |
| author_facet | Gabriel-Dumitru Mihu Tudor George Aostăcioaei Cosmin Ghelbere Anca-Elena Calistru Denis Constantin Țopa Gerard Jităreanu |
| author_sort | Gabriel-Dumitru Mihu |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | No-tillage (NT) is a key practice in conservation agriculture that minimizes soil disturbance, thereby enhancing soil structure, porosity, and overall quality. However, its long-term effects on soil pore networks and hydro-physical functions remain underexplored. This study evaluated the impacts of NT and conventional tillage (CT) on soil hydro-physical properties using undisturbed soil columns, X-ray computed tomography, and standard physical measurements. A field experiment was conducted under an eight-year continuous cropping system, with a four-year rotation [winter wheat (<i>Triticum aestivum</i> L.)—maize (<i>Zea mays</i> L.)—sunflower (<i>Helianthus annuus</i> L.)—peas (<i>Pisum sativum</i> L.)], comparing NT and CT treatments with three replications. Soil parameters including bulk density (BD), moisture content, total porosity (SP), water-stable aggregates (WSA), and saturated hydraulic conductivity (Ksat) were measured. Results showed that NT increased BD (1.45 g/cm<sup>3</sup>) compared to CT (1.19 g/cm<sup>3</sup>), likely due to reduced soil disturbance. Moisture content under NT was up to 78% higher than CT. Saturated hydraulic conductivity was also higher in NT, with 17% and 43% increases observed at harvest in 2022 and 2023, respectively, except in the 0–30 cm layer immediately after sowing. Micro-CT analysis revealed a 34–115% increase in macropores (>1025 μm) under NT at 10–40 cm depth. These findings demonstrate that long-term NT improves key soil hydro-physical properties, supporting its integration into sustainable farming systems to balance productivity and environmental stewardship. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-5ff6c2e8c6854fa3abb83c76ce590d33 |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2077-0472 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-04-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Agriculture |
| spelling | doaj-art-5ff6c2e8c6854fa3abb83c76ce590d332025-08-20T01:49:24ZengMDPI AGAgriculture2077-04722025-04-0115998110.3390/agriculture15090981Exploring Soil Hydro-Physical Improvements Under No-Tillage: A Sustainable Approach for Soil HealthGabriel-Dumitru Mihu0Tudor George Aostăcioaei1Cosmin Ghelbere2Anca-Elena Calistru3Denis Constantin Țopa4Gerard Jităreanu5Department of Pedotechnics, Faculty of Agriculture, “Ion Ionescu de la Brad” Iasi University of Life Sciences, 3, Mihail Sadoveanu Alley, 700490 Iasi, RomaniaDepartment of Pedotechnics, Faculty of Agriculture, “Ion Ionescu de la Brad” Iasi University of Life Sciences, 3, Mihail Sadoveanu Alley, 700490 Iasi, RomaniaResearch Institute for Agriculture and Environment, “Ion Ionescu de la Brad” Iasi University of Life Sciences, 9, Mihail Sadoveanu Alley, 700490 Iasi, RomaniaDepartment of Pedotechnics, Faculty of Agriculture, “Ion Ionescu de la Brad” Iasi University of Life Sciences, 3, Mihail Sadoveanu Alley, 700490 Iasi, RomaniaDepartment of Pedotechnics, Faculty of Agriculture, “Ion Ionescu de la Brad” Iasi University of Life Sciences, 3, Mihail Sadoveanu Alley, 700490 Iasi, RomaniaDepartment of Pedotechnics, Faculty of Agriculture, “Ion Ionescu de la Brad” Iasi University of Life Sciences, 3, Mihail Sadoveanu Alley, 700490 Iasi, RomaniaNo-tillage (NT) is a key practice in conservation agriculture that minimizes soil disturbance, thereby enhancing soil structure, porosity, and overall quality. However, its long-term effects on soil pore networks and hydro-physical functions remain underexplored. This study evaluated the impacts of NT and conventional tillage (CT) on soil hydro-physical properties using undisturbed soil columns, X-ray computed tomography, and standard physical measurements. A field experiment was conducted under an eight-year continuous cropping system, with a four-year rotation [winter wheat (<i>Triticum aestivum</i> L.)—maize (<i>Zea mays</i> L.)—sunflower (<i>Helianthus annuus</i> L.)—peas (<i>Pisum sativum</i> L.)], comparing NT and CT treatments with three replications. Soil parameters including bulk density (BD), moisture content, total porosity (SP), water-stable aggregates (WSA), and saturated hydraulic conductivity (Ksat) were measured. Results showed that NT increased BD (1.45 g/cm<sup>3</sup>) compared to CT (1.19 g/cm<sup>3</sup>), likely due to reduced soil disturbance. Moisture content under NT was up to 78% higher than CT. Saturated hydraulic conductivity was also higher in NT, with 17% and 43% increases observed at harvest in 2022 and 2023, respectively, except in the 0–30 cm layer immediately after sowing. Micro-CT analysis revealed a 34–115% increase in macropores (>1025 μm) under NT at 10–40 cm depth. These findings demonstrate that long-term NT improves key soil hydro-physical properties, supporting its integration into sustainable farming systems to balance productivity and environmental stewardship.https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0472/15/9/981no-tillagemaizepore sizesoil hydro-physical propertiesbulk densitysaturated hydraulic conductivity |
| spellingShingle | Gabriel-Dumitru Mihu Tudor George Aostăcioaei Cosmin Ghelbere Anca-Elena Calistru Denis Constantin Țopa Gerard Jităreanu Exploring Soil Hydro-Physical Improvements Under No-Tillage: A Sustainable Approach for Soil Health Agriculture no-tillage maize pore size soil hydro-physical properties bulk density saturated hydraulic conductivity |
| title | Exploring Soil Hydro-Physical Improvements Under No-Tillage: A Sustainable Approach for Soil Health |
| title_full | Exploring Soil Hydro-Physical Improvements Under No-Tillage: A Sustainable Approach for Soil Health |
| title_fullStr | Exploring Soil Hydro-Physical Improvements Under No-Tillage: A Sustainable Approach for Soil Health |
| title_full_unstemmed | Exploring Soil Hydro-Physical Improvements Under No-Tillage: A Sustainable Approach for Soil Health |
| title_short | Exploring Soil Hydro-Physical Improvements Under No-Tillage: A Sustainable Approach for Soil Health |
| title_sort | exploring soil hydro physical improvements under no tillage a sustainable approach for soil health |
| topic | no-tillage maize pore size soil hydro-physical properties bulk density saturated hydraulic conductivity |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0472/15/9/981 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT gabrieldumitrumihu exploringsoilhydrophysicalimprovementsundernotillageasustainableapproachforsoilhealth AT tudorgeorgeaostacioaei exploringsoilhydrophysicalimprovementsundernotillageasustainableapproachforsoilhealth AT cosminghelbere exploringsoilhydrophysicalimprovementsundernotillageasustainableapproachforsoilhealth AT ancaelenacalistru exploringsoilhydrophysicalimprovementsundernotillageasustainableapproachforsoilhealth AT denisconstantintopa exploringsoilhydrophysicalimprovementsundernotillageasustainableapproachforsoilhealth AT gerardjitareanu exploringsoilhydrophysicalimprovementsundernotillageasustainableapproachforsoilhealth |