This special issue is the second published after the Global Symposium on Soil Erosion (GSER, 15-17 May 2019, Rome, Italy) and includes contributions dealing with the 2nd theme of the GSER: Policies and practices in action to address soil erosion. While there is a good scientific understanding of the physical measures that can be used to prevent or mitigate soil erosion, the main constraints to progress often relate to policy development and or implementation as well as socio-economic aspects that provide limitations to implementation of sustainable soil management (SSM) practices including those directed to control erosion. There are no right or wrong answers to which policy or approach is most effective. Some combination of approaches needs to be adopted that work in the particular political, cultural, and socio-economic environment under consideration. The papers included in this special issue provide examples, from the national to local level, that could be adapted, or used, to improve uptake and implementation of SSM practices to prevent or reduce soil erosion. Regardless of what policy or plan is developed there has to be effective interaction with the local farmers and land managers as they are key to implementing any actions that will make a practical difference on the ground. Effective policies cannot be developed or implemented without bringing the land managers “on board” and the needs and limitations of the local farmers must be thoroughly understood and considered in any policy or plan development.

Ecosystem degradation is a process during which different ecosystem components interact and affect each other. The microbial community, as a component of the ecosystem whose members often display high reproduction rates, is more readily able to respond to environmental stress at the compositional and functional levels, thus potentially threatening other ecosystem components. However, very little research has been carried out on how microbial community degradation affects other ecosystem components, which hampers the comprehensive understanding of ecosystems as a whole. In this study, we investigated the variation in a soil microbial community through the extinction gradient of an ectomycorrhizal species (Tricholomas matsutake) and explored the relationship between microbial community degradation and ectomycorrhizal species extinction. The result showed that during degradation, the microbial community switched from an interactive state to a stress tolerance state, during which the interactivity of the microbial community decreased, and the reduced community interactions with T.matsutake marginalized it from a large central interactive module to a small peripheral module, eventually leading to its extinction. This study highlights the mechanisms of T.matsutake extinction due to the loss of soil microbial community interactivity, offering valuable information about soil microbial community degradation and the plant ectomycorrhizal species conservation.

Solar energy is increasingly used to produce electricity in Europe, but the environmental impact of constructing and running solar parks (SP) is not yet well studied. Solar park construction requires partial vegetation removal and soil leveling. Additionally, solar panels may alter soil microclimate and functioning. In our study of three French Mediterranean solar parks, we analyzed 1) effects of solar park construction on soil quality by comparing solar park soils with those of semi-natural land cover types (pinewood and shrubland) and abandoned croplands (abandoned vineyards); 2) the effect of solar panels on soil microclimate, CO2 effluxes and vegetation. We measured 21 soil properties of physical, chemical, and microbiological soil quality in one solar park and its surroundings to calculate integrated indicators of soil quality. We surveyed soil temperature and moisture, CO2 effluxes and vegetation below and outside solar panels of three solar parks. Soil aggregate stability was reduced by SP construction resulting in a degradation of soil physical quality. Soil chemical quality and a general indicator of soil quality were lower in anthropogenic (SP and abandoned vineyards) than in semi-natural (pinewood and shrubland) land cover types. However, differences between abandoned vineyards representing the pre-construction land cover type and solar parks were not significant. Solar panels reduced the soil temperature by 10% and soil CO2 effluxes by 50% but did not affect early successional plant communities. Long-term monitoring is needed to evaluate the effects of solar panels on vegetation.

The present paper attempts to study the causative physicochemical properties of the soils, which effectively portray its dispersive and deteriorating conditions, which have led to the formation of badlands in the Mandakini River watershed Chitrakoot area, India. Following investigations were made on the soil samples collected from the field: i) grain size distribution ii) various physicochemical properties and nutrient content of the soil. The clay minerals were detected and identified with the X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), and High-Resolution Scanning Electron Microscopy (HRSEM). The spatial maps of all these parameters were prepared in a GIS environment, and overlay analysis was performed. The results show that the soil has a silt loam texture with high bulk density. The low values of plastic limit, liquid limit, and plasticity index show the non-cohesive nature of the soils. Higher bulk density has decreased the porosity as well as permeability in the soils. This impact on porosity and permeability has reduced the favourable conditions for vegetation, and the soils contain low organic matter. Apart from the bulk density, the presence of calcrete and illitic clay mineral (low in content) has also reduced the permeability of the soils, further increasing runoff. The overlay analysis based on the liquid limit, plasticity index, bulk density, and drainage frequency shows that the area is thoroughly affected by badland processes. Three zones were categorized as severe, very severe, and extremely severe depending upon their conditions gully channel processes.

We live challenging times on several levels, and in this context the second encyclical, Laudato Si’ (LS), of Pope Francis, published in 2015, has provided a special challenge for academics. As Pope Francis suggested in 2015, societies are challenged to modify the paradigms of life to achieve more sustainable development. LS has quickly become a widely quoted document, even by academics. This paper is the first bibliometric research about LS aiming to analyze this encyclical and explore several works published about LS between 2015 and 2020.To this end, we studied all documents published in the Web of Science Core Collection (238) and Scopus (222) about the topic “Laudato Si” in depth and analyzed them using bibliometric methods. The results show that there are scientific fields focused on studying LS in particular, namely Religious Sciences and the fields of Sustainability and Environment Studies. We also observed a small amount of networking among the authors publishing about LS.

The evaluation of sustainable land management practices is imperative under particular soil type, climate, and cropping sequence following area-specific best management practices. The alternative land-use system (ALUS-natural forest, pasture, cashew, areca nut, coconut) on hills and agricultural land-use system (AGLUS-rice-rice, rice-pulse) in the coastal plains of west coast India was evaluated in this study. The present study assessed the impact of sustainable land-use management practices on different fractions of SOC and soil quality under ALUS and AGLUS. The total SOC stocks under different land-use systems varied from 14.4 Mg ha−1 in rice–rice rotations to 133.7 Mg ha−1 in cashew and more than 75% of total SOC stock were found as a passive carbon pool. The higher lability index, available nutrients, and biochemical properties were found in ALUS. This variation in the levels of SOC and soil quality was due to land use and management practices. The results indicated land use with areca nut (0.8) on the hills and rice–pulses (0.25) rotations on the coast had maintained soil quality of high order. On upscaling the different land-use systems by growing cashew, areca nut, coconut, pasture, and rice-pulses rotations, SOC stocks of Goa can increase from 6.33 Tg at present to 32 Tg. We recommend promoting sustainable agriculture with ALUS on the hills and with AGLUS on the coastal plains of Goa for enhancing SOC sequestration and improving soil quality.

Land-use practice shift in the wetland riparian zone can influence groundwater table (GWT) fluctuations and salts dynamics, potentially leading to soil salinization. The risk of soil salinization linked with high water tables could better manage using high growing capacity and deep-rooted phreatophytic vegetation via ‘biodrainage’ approach. We evaluated the impacts of short rotation willow (SRW) plantation on soil and groundwater salinity linked to shallow GWT fluctuations and compared with adjacent annual crop (AC) and pasture (PA) in a field experiment. Groundwater salinity (ECgw) along with depth to GWT and soil salinity (ECsoil at 0-60 cm depth) were measured along transects within each land-use practice in two prairie pothole region (PPR) wetland sites (A and B). The variations in ECgw were significant (p < 0.05) across land-uses; however, inconsistent between sites. The positive correlation with ECgw, ECsoil, and total dissolved salts (TDS) indicated higher salinity and salt accumulation with increased depth to GWT in both sites. The ECsoil varied significantly (p < 0.05) among land-use practices; however, no consistent land-use patterns were observed between sites. Throughout the experimentation, site B consistently exhibited higher ECsoil (two-fold) than site A. Decreasing inclinations were observed in ECsoil with increasing SRW biomass at both depths (i.e., 0-30 and 30-60 cm) and vice versa. This study refines our knowledge of SRW linked potential hydrological alteration and its implication on salinity, which provides critical context for degraded marginal riparian wetland soil management in the PPR.

Underground coal mining causes land subsidence, a large area of cultivated land is destroyed. The Yellow River interlayer filling reclamation technology is the powerful way to restore cultivated land. Understanding the mechanism of action of interlayers in reconstructed soil filled with Yellow River sediments is essential to achieving sustainable land management in the Yellow River regions. Column experiments and Field experiments were conducted to optimum of interlayers in reconstructed soil with Yellow River sediment for restoring subsided coal mined land. Our findings show that the inclusion of interlayers in the sediment reduced water leakage and moisture evaporation, and improved the water-holding capacity of the material in comparison to conventional reconstructed soil profile (Ck2). When the 30 cm thickness of interlayer, putting 2 interlayers in sediment (T6) was the optimal profile with the highest water-holding capacity. In comparison to CK2, the migration rate of wet front decreases by 32.16%, the cumulative evaporation decreases by 16.29%, the volumetric water content of filling layer (θ_fl) increases by 121.56%, and the water-holding coefficient (CWR) increases by 59.47%. It is also proved by field experiments. The wheat and maize yields of T6 improved 51.84% and 54.80%, respectively, as compared with CK2, that closer to undisturbed farmland (CK1). This study provides a valuable framework for subsided land reclamation regarding the method of placing interlayers into Yellow River sediment for enhancing water retention and productivity.

Inadequate pasture management causes land degradation and negative impacts on the socio-economic development of agricultural regions. Given the importance for Brazil and the World of pasture-based livestock production, the recognition of pasture degradation is essential. The use of remote sensing satellite systems to detect degraded pastures increased in the recent past, because of their capability to survey large portions of Earth’s surface. A struggle nowadays is to improve detection accuracy and to implement high-resolution surveys at farmland scale using unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). The satellite sensors capture reflectance from the visible spectrum and near infrared bands, which allows estimating plant’s vigor vegetation indices. The NDVI is a widely accepted index, but to generate an NDVI map using a UAV a relatively high-cost multispectral sensor is required, while most UAVs are equipped with low-cost RGB cameras. In the present study, a script developed on the Google Earth Engine image-processing platform manipulated images from the Landsat 8 satellite, and compared the performances of NDVI and an improved color index that we coined “Total Brightness Quotient” of red (TBQR), green (TBQG) and blue (TBQB) bands. An efficient detection of pasture degradation using the TBQs would be a good prognosis for the surveys at farm scale where environmental authorities are progressively using UAVs and forcing landowners towards pasture restoration. When compared to NDVI, the TBQG showed a correlation of 0.965 and an accuracy of 88.63%. Thus, the TBQG proved as efficient as the NDVI in the diagnosis of degraded pastures.

In the light of the current climate crisis, one of the most serious ecological threats is the increase of desertification. In this context, restoration projects are necessary for reverting land degradation, and nature-based solutions could help them. The Cocoon™ has been designed as a new ecotechnology for improving seedling establishment. The Cocoon consists of a donut-shaped container made out of recycled cardboard that provides water and shelter to the seedling, at least during its first year, which is the most critical for plant establishment. The Cocoon was tested on a variety of soils, Mediterranean mesoclimates, vegetation and land uses that allowed testing the effectiveness of this ecotechnology under different conditions. Six planting trials, five of them in Spain (Canary Islands, Almería, Catalonia and two in Valencia), and one in Ptolemais (Greece), were performed. With the objective of studying its functionality, the survival of the seedlings, their vigor and growth were monitored along two years. In general, the Cocoon has proven its effectiveness by increasing seedling survival compared to the conventional planting system, especially under dry growing conditions (low rainfall, soils with low water holding capacity). The Cocoon also allowed for higher growth of some species (olive trees, olm oaks and Aleppo pines). Moreover, a positive correlation between the rainfall on the site and the degradation degree of the Cocoon device was observed. Overall, the Cocoon becomes more efficient the more arid the climate or the more difficult the growing conditions are.

Biochar or pyrogenic carbon, obtained from thermo-chemical conversion of biomass in an anaerobic or oxygen limited environment has been in use in agriculture since long back to Neolithic era. Its unique soil ameliorating properties, render it suitable for environmental remediation as well as sustainable crop production. It improves soil physicochemical properties and plant nutrient availability, facilitates biodiversity, and reduces emission of greenhouse gases, thereby subsiding global warming. Application of biochar reduces soil erosion, improves soil hydrological properties, and soil microbial dynamics. It has synergistic effects on plant growth, disease-pest resistance, and crop yield per unit area and time. Due to its soil ameliorative effects, and soil and water conserving ability, it can very well be used in organic farming, pemaculture, dryland farming, conservation agriculture, and land remediation. Cheaper production cost, simple and easy pyrolytic technologies, easy availability of feedstock and bio-wastes in many developing countries and its long-term effects in soil not only build up soil carbon pool but also help support small and marginal farmers in resource-rich but economically deprived countries for sustainable agriculture and environment. In this review, efforts have been made to elucidate various methods of biochar synthesis, its characteristics and effects on soil properties, and plant growth and development, its role in sustainable agriculture and remediation of the environment.

The increasing salinization of coastal areas of Bangladesh reduces options for rice intensification but offers a suitable environment for shrimp and salt farming. Under these contested land use settings, adaptation decisions to address salinity require an understanding of the salinity perspectives of all farmer types. Primary data was collected from randomly selected rice, shrimp and salt farmers in two coastal sub-districts through semi-structured interviews at household level. Also, key informant interviews (KIIs) were conducted with personnel from research and extension organisations from different levels (e.g. national and local). Salinity perceptions among the various types of farmer differed. While the majority of rice farmers (87%) perceived increased salinity, just over half of the salt and shrimp farmers perceived that salinity has decreased over the past 20 years. Most rice farmers (62%) perceived anthropogenic factors as the main cause of increased salinity, while the majority of shrimp and salt farmers focused more on natural factors. Rice farmers perceived under saline conditions a yield loss (42%), followed by less income (30%). In contrast, shrimp farmers (70%) and salt farmers (55%) perceived production gains when high salinity prevailed. Rice farmers’ adaptation preferences to cope with salinity is development of salinity-tolerant rice varieties that have greater tolerance at the reproductive stages, while shrimp and salt farmers’ preferences are engineering-based solutions. Thus, research and extension services on integrated coastal resources management need to consider all livelihood perspectives, as this approach could accelerate the pace of achieving the SDGs (i.e.. SDG-1, SDG-2 and SGD-3).

Understanding the spatiotemporal changes in soil organic carbon (SOC) and their driving factors is an important prerequisite for decision-making in maintaining sustainable agricultural development and addressing climate change. A total of 1219 cropland topsoil SOC data (0-20 cm) collected from southern Jiangsu Province of China in 1980, 2000, and 2015, and geostatistical sequential Gaussian simulation were used to identify the changes in the spatiotemporal patterns of SOC during the period of 1980-2015. Results showed that the changes in SOC within the different time periods were significantly different, with a net increment of 3.65 g kg-1 during the period of 1980-2000 and a net decrement of 2.32 g kg-1 during the period of 2000-2015. Significant SOC accumulation occurred throughout the study area during 1980-2000, while SOC decline became predominant in the southeast during 2000-2015. Overall, the SOC contents for 60% of the study area increased significantly over the entire 35-year period. The SOC increase during the first two decades (1980-2000) was largely attributed to the increasing soil C input that resulted from the enhanced crop productivity by chemical fertilizers, while the stagnant soil carbon inputs associated with the rapid urban expansion were the primary reason for constraining cropland SOC accumulation in the subsequent 15 years (2000-2015). These findings highlight the importance of balancing agricultural development and urbanization processes to maintain SOC levels, and may also provide some guidance for planning cropland soil C management strategies in many areas that are undergoing similar urbanization processes.

Exploring the driving factors of ecosystem services (ESs) trade-offs/synergies is crucial for ecosystem management, especially in ecological conservation red line (ECRL) areas that maintain regional and national ecological security. Soil conservation (SC), water yield (WY) and carbon sequestration (CS) were simulated in the Beijing ECRL areas. Geographical weighted regression was used to explore the trade-offs/synergies, and the geographical detector was applied to quantitatively identify their driving factors. Results show that (1) the SC and CS show marked synergy which characterized more than 80% of each ECRL area; the proportion of the space area of trade-off and synergy between SC and WY, and WY and CS was roughly 3 to 7 and 4 to 6 in each ECRL area, respectively. (2) The synergy of the three pairs of ESs was most sensitive to terrain factors. The precipitation erodibility of soil and its necessity for vegetation make it a determinant of the trade-off between SC and CS; temperature was the determinant in the trade-off between WY and CS, with an explanatory power of 32.8%; potential evapotranspiration was best able to explain the spatial distribution of the trade-off between SC and WY. (3) The interaction between precipitation and other factors had the greatest explanatory power on the spatial relationship between SC and WY. Precipitation and relief amplitude are the main interactive factors respectively affecting the spatial trade-off and synergy between SC and CS. The trade-off and synergy between WY and CS were most sensitive to the interaction between climate factors and terrain factors.

Restoration has now emerged as a global priority, with international initiatives such as the “UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration (2021-2030)”. To fulfil the large-scale global restoration ambitions, an essential step is the monitoring of vegetation recovery after restoration interventions. The aim of this study was to evaluate the utility of remotely-sensed vegetation indices, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) and Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI), to monitor the rate of forest regeneration across a tropical forest restoration project area in Kibale National Park, Uganda. As a result, we observed non-linear patterns in NDVI and EVI across the first 25 years of recovery. Both NDVI and EVI increase for the first 10 years of forest regeneration. This “greening” phase could be used as the indicator of successful onset of forest recovery. In particular, the decline of elephant grass, which suppresses the natural regeneration of trees in our area, can be detected as an increase in NDVI. Primary forests differed from the 25-year-old regenerating forests based on the unique combination of low mean and low seasonal variation in EVI. Our results, therefore, suggest that the long-term success of forest restoration could be monitored by evaluating how closely the combination of mean, and degree of seasonal variation in EVI, resembles that observed in the primary forest.

Land degradation is one of the major global environmental issues that need serious attention. The land itself is a complex system regulating myriads of processes and perturbation in anyone these would certainly lead to the stimulation of land degradation. Among these, fly ash (FA) dumping is one of the common-practices, which has been adopted to overcome land-use disruption and other health hazards. However, this practice has become a driving factor for FA-induced land degradation. Therefore, in purview to tackle this issue, the present article is aimed to identify and suggest plausible sustainable practices to restore and manage FA contaminated sites. It preliminarily deals with the systematic exploration and identification of FA-based and associated contaminated lands via geospatial technology with a brief focus on monitoring its different contaminant profiles in the FA and soil systems. Moreover, the article emphasizes identifying the potential local plant species in the FA-contaminated regions to understand the local people’s demands. Following this, it would suggest the major sustainable approaches to expedite the restoration of FA contaminated lands along with the key highlights of their bottlenecks, while the ground implementation. Nevertheless, the article aimed to unravel the recommended prospects to address those bottlenecks to develop an efficient restoration enterprise during the Decade on Ecosystem Restoration (2021-2030).

Fly ash (FA) is the 80% of coal burnt by-product of thermal power plants (TPPs), its disposal in landfills causes environmental and health issues. The amount of FA production is increasing continuously to fulfil the worldwide energy for demand, which possibly never find a practically safe method for FA dumping. Its fine particle size disperses in the air and causes air pollution and water pollution is resulted due to slurry erosion from FA dumps and contamination by leachate. Health issues and environmental concerns due to fly ash landfills/dumpsites can be prohibited by covering with phytoaccumulator plant species. Limitations of plant growth in FA includes alkaline pH, contain metals such as Cr, Cd, As, Hg and Pd, toxic level of B, pozzolanic properties of FA and lack of microbial activity. Generally, the phytoremediation process is slow therefore, to accelerate the phytoremediation process FA require organic amendments and bio-fertilizers. This article focuses on the role of naturally occurring plants in stabilization of FA dumpsite and physiochemical changes in FA. This review summarises the different holistic approaches of rehabilitations of FA landfills and also compiles how to convert FA landfills into useful landfills for bioenergy productions. Utilization of organic matter and industrial waste has been proved to provide essential nutrients for plant establishment and heavy metal accumulation. The outcomes of this learning are beneficial for classifying site-specific ecological restoration of FA landfills through holistic approach.

Land degradation due to soil erosion presents a challenge for sustainable development. We investigated the impact of land use type and land management practices on runoff and sediment yield dynamics in the northwestern highlands of Ethiopia. The study area included 14 zero-order catchments with a surface area ranging from 324 m2 to 1715 m2. V-notch weirs produced from plastic jars were introduced as measuring alternatives that met local constraints. Runoff depth at the weir was registered at 5-min intervals during two rainy seasons in 2018 and 2019. Rainfall was measured using tipping-bucket rain gauges. Runoff samples were collected in 1-L bottles and suspended sediment concentration (SSC) was determined. The mean event runoff coefficient ranged from 3% for forests to 56% for badlands. Similarly, the mean annual sediment yield (SY) was lowest for forests (0.8 Mg ha-1 yr-1) and highest for badlands (43.4 Mg ha-1 yr-1), with significant differences among land use types (14.8 Mg ha-1 yr-1 in cropland, 5.7 Mg ha-1 yr-1 in grazing land, and 2.9 Mg ha-1 yr-1 in plantations). Soil organic matter (SOM) reduced runoff and SY, necessitating the consideration of agronomic and land management practices that enhance SOM. Annual SY decreased exponentially with the rock fragment cover (RFC). In fields where RFC was less than 20%, collecting rock fragments for installing stone bunds resulted in a net increase in SY. Rehabilitating badlands and enhancing SOM content in croplands can substantially reduce catchment SY and, hence considerably contribute to the sustainability of this type of environment.