SOIL PHYSICOCHEMICAL CHARACTERISTICS AND THEIR ROLE IN SUSTAINABLE NUTRIENT MANAGEMENT
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.53555/gafs.v12i1.2579Keywords:
soil physicochemical properties, nutrient availability, soil organic matter, nitrogen management, crop rotationAbstract
The physicochemical soil properties are the factors that determine nutrient retention, transformation and availability, and soil depth and agricultural management can significantly change these relationships. This study aimed to characterize soil physicochemical properties and nutrient status across soil depths, evaluate the effects of nitrogen application and crop rotation, and identify major physicochemical drivers of nutrient variation. One hundred and eight observations were analysed on 27 experimental plots at three nitrogen rates, three crop rotations, three blocks and four depths. Descriptive statistics, repeated-measures analysis, factorial models, Spearman correlation analysis, principal component analysis, and cluster-robust multivariable regression were used to evaluate the cation exchange capacity, pH, soil organic matter, water-stable aggregates, bulk density, nitrate nitrogen, ammonium nitrogen, total inorganic nitrogen, Bray-extractable phosphorus and potassium. All measured characteristics were highly influenced by soil depth, with the highest concentrations of soil organic matter and nutrients found in the top layer of soil. Crop rotation significantly influenced CEC, pH, WAS, NO3, and K, while nitrogen rate significantly affected NO3. There were especially high positive correlations between soil organic matter and the NH4s and TIN, and soil organic matter was an independent predictor of both nutrients. pH, bulk density and CEC were also identified as nutrient-specific variables by multivariable models. The three main components accounted for 72.11 % of the total variance. The results confirm the need for nutrient-management strategies using soil depth, cropping and nutrient application, and physicochemical conditions rather than nutrient concentrations alone.
Downloads
References
Bashir, O., Ali, T., Baba, Z. A., Rather, G. H., Bangroo, S. A., Mukhtar, S. D., ... & Bhat, R. A. (2021). Soil organic matter and its impact on soil properties and nutrient status. In Microbiota and biofertilizers, Vol 2: Ecofriendly tools for reclamation of degraded soil environs (pp. 129-159). Cham: Springer International Publishing.
Bhanwaria, R., Singh, B., & Musarella, C. M. (2022). Effect of organic manure and moisture regimes on soil physiochemical properties, microbial biomass Cmic: Nmic: Pmic turnover and yield of mustard grains in arid climate. Plants, 11(6), 722.
Dhaliwal, S. S., Naresh, R. K., Mandal, A., Walia, M. K., Gupta, R. K., Singh, R., & Dhaliwal, M. K. (2019). Effect of manures and fertilizers on soil physical properties, build-up of macro and micronutrients and uptake in soil under different cropping systems: a review. Journal of Plant Nutrition, 42(20), 2873-2900.
Gerke, J. (2022). The central role of soil organic matter in soil fertility and carbon storage. Soil Systems, 6(2), 33.
Javed, A., Ali, E., Afzal, K. B., Osman, A., & Riaz, S. (2022). Soil fertility: Factors affecting soil fertility, and biodiversity responsible for soil fertility. International Journal of Plant, Animal and Environmental Sciences, 12(1), 21-33.
Joshi, G., & Negi, G. C. S. (2015). Physico-chemical properties along soil profiles of two dominant forest types in Western Himalaya. Current Science, 798-803.
Kokeb, M. M. A. (2015). Assessing the physicochemical properties of soil under different land use types. Journal of Environmental & Analytical Toxicology, 5(05).
Li, J., Nie, M., Powell, J. R., Bissett, A., & Pendall, E. (2020). Soil physico-chemical properties are critical for predicting carbon storage and nutrient availability across Australia. Environmental Research Letters, 15(9), 094088.
Murphy, B. (2015, June). Key soil functional properties affected by soil organic matter-evidence from published literature. In IOP conference series: Earth and environmental science (Vol. 25, No. 1, p. 012008). IOP Publishing.
Naga Raju, M., Golla, N., & Vengatampalli, R. (2016). Soil physicochemical properties. In Soil enzymes: influence of sugar industry effluents on soil enzyme activities (pp. 5-10). Cham: Springer International Publishing.
Olorunfemi, I. E., Fasinmirin, J. T., & Akinola, F. F. (2018). Soil physico-chemical properties and fertility status of long-term land use and cover changes: A case study in Forest vegetative zone of Nigeria. Eurasian journal of soil science, 7(2), 133-150.
Paramesh, V., Mohan Kumar, R., Rajanna, G. A., Gowda, S., Nath, A. J., Madival, Y., ... & Toraskar, S. (2023). Integrated nutrient management for improving crop yields, soil properties, and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems, 7, 1173258.
Powlson, D., Cai ZuCong, C. Z., & Lemanceau, P. (2015). Soil carbon dynamics and nutrient cycling. In Soil carbon: Science, management and policy for multiple benefits (pp. 98-107). Wallingford UK: CABI.
Quan, Z., Zhang, X., Davidson, E. A., Zhu, F., Li, S., Zhao, X., ... & Fang, Y. (2021). Fates and use efficiency of nitrogen fertilizer in maize cropping systems and their responses to technologies and management practices: A global analysis on field 15N tracer studies. Earth's Future, 9(5), e2020EF001514.
Sandhu, P. S., Walia, S. S., Gill, R. S., & Dheri, G. S. (2020). Thirty-one years study of integrated nutrient management on physico-chemical properties of soil under rice–wheat cropping system. Communications in Soil Science and Plant Analysis, 51(12), 1641-1657.
Shah, F., & Wu, W. (2019). Soil and crop management strategies to ensure higher crop productivity within sustainable environments. Sustainability, 11(5), 1485.
Sharma, P., Laor, Y., Raviv, M., Medina, S., Saadi, I., Krasnovsky, A., ... & Borisover, M. (2017). Compositional characteristics of organic matter and its water-extractable components across a profile of organically managed soil. Geoderma, 286, 73-82.
Sheng, M., Xiong, K., Wang, L., Li, X., Li, R., & Tian, X. (2018). Response of soil physical and chemical properties to Rocky desertification succession in South China Karst. Carbonates and Evaporites, 33(1), 15-28.
Souza, J. L. B., Antonangelo, J. A., Zhang, H., Reed, V., Finch, B., & Arnall, B. (2023). Impact of long-term fertilization in no-till on the stratification of soil acidity and related parameters. Soil and Tillage Research, 228, 105624.
Tale, K. S., & Ingole, S. (2015). A review on role of physico-chemical properties in soil quality. Chemical Science Review and Letters, 4(13), 57-66.
Tumayro, M., & Tesgaye, D. (2021). Impact of land use types and soil depths on selected soil physicochemical properties in Fasha District, Konso Zone, Southern Ethiopia. Journal of Soil Science and Environmental Management, 12(1), 10-16.
Villamil, M. (2022). Soil properties after 36 years of N fertilization (Version 2) [Data set]. Mendeley Data. https://doi.org/10.17632/2j5hs3xs96.2
Voltr, V., Menšík, L., Hlisnikovský, L., Hruška, M., Pokorný, E., & Pospíšilová, L. (2021). The soil organic matter in connection with soil properties and soil inputs. Agronomy, 11(4), 779.
Xu, C., Chen, Y., Zang, Q., Li, Y., Zhao, J., Lu, X., ... & Huang, L. (2023). The effects of cultivation patterns and nitrogen levels on fertility and bacterial community characteristics of surface and subsurface soil. Frontiers in Microbiology, 14, 1072228.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 International Journal For Research In Agricultural And Food Science
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
In consideration of the journal, Green Publication taking action in reviewing and editing our manuscript, the authors undersigned hereby transfer, assign, or otherwise convey all copyright ownership to the Editorial Office of the Green Publication in the event that such work is published in the journal. Such conveyance covers any product that may derive from the published journal, whether print or electronic. Green Publication shall have the right to register copyright to the Article in its name as claimant, whether separately
or as part of the journal issue or other medium in which the Article is included.
By signing this Agreement, the author(s), and in the case of a Work Made For Hire, the employer, jointly and severally represent and warrant that the Article is original with the author(s) and does not infringe any copyright or violate any other right of any third parties, and that the Article has not been published elsewhere, and is not being considered for publication elsewhere in any form, except as provided herein. Each author’s signature should appear below. The signing author(s) (and, in
