135 results

Challenges and opportunities of AI adoption for agri-food system sustainability: Environmental footprint reduction

Samuel I. Haruna; Md Ariful Haque; Seockmo Ku et al.

Farming System, Vol. 4 No. 4 · 2026 · English · DOAJ Scopus

Socio-economic disparities, coupled with resource (e.g., water, fertilizers, arable land) constraints, and climate change have complicated the ability of current agri-food systems to feed a projected global population of 9.2 billion by 2040. These pressures have led to the intensification of…

Mapping soil organic carbon research in conservation agriculture: A systematic review

Qingyang Liu; Xin Tian; Ram C. Dalal et al.

Farming System, Vol. 4 No. 4 · 2026 · English · DOAJ Scopus

Conservation agriculture (CA) has been widely studied for its potential to enhance soil organic carbon (SOC) and support sustainable agricultural systems. Despite extensive research, the evidence remains fragmented regarding research hotspots, assessment methods, and the specific soil carbon…

A review of mechanisms underlying soil carbon sequestration and enhancement strategies via diversified planting and green manure integration

Wen Yin; Qiang Chai; Zhilong Fan et al.

Farming System, Vol. 4 No. 4 · 2026 · English · DOAJ Scopus

Soil carbon sequestration plays a vital role in mitigating global climate change and sustaining crop productivity on farmlands. The key mechanisms underlying soil carbon sequestration on farmland involve chemical stabilization, physical protection, and microbial regulation. Soil hydrothermal…

Corrigendum to “Metabolite-driven fungal recruitment in rhizosphere explains superiority of organic fertilizer in enhancing the soil fertility of wheat” [Farming System 4 (2026) 100181]

Shancong Wang; Xinru Hu; Reda M.M. Ahmed et al.

Farming System, Vol. 4 No. 2 · 2026 · English · DOAJ Scopus

Integrating regenerative and climate-smart agriculture for resilient farming systems

Yuantong Jia; Ram C. Dalal; Tong Li et al.

Farming System, Vol. 4 No. 2 · 2026 · English · DOAJ Scopus

Impacts of inorganic and organic fertilization on soil organic carbon and crop production: a meta-analysis

Zhiyuan Bai; Jiajie Xu; Xiaoyu Shi et al.

Farming System, Vol. 4 No. 2 · 2026 · English · DOAJ Scopus

Enhancing soil organic carbon (SOC) is critical for climate mitigation and stable crop production, yet the effectiveness of different fertilization strategies varies widely across environmental and management contexts. To clarify these inconsistencies, empirical field data from major…

Roots and the rhizosphere: a perspective on the hidden engine of regenerative, antifragile, and digitally enabled agriculture

Stefano Cesco; Monica Yorlady Alzate Zuluaga; Luciano Cavani et al.

Farming System, Vol. 4 No. 2 · 2026 · English · DOAJ Scopus

For decades, agricultural optimization has focused primarily on aboveground yield and external inputs while neglecting the complexity and functional integrity of belowground processes. The rhizosphere, the dynamic zone surrounding roots, has long been investigated through isolated components but…

Machine learning reveals that duration dominates rate in driving soil nitrogen cycling responses to long-term fertilization

Beilei Wei; Jinrong Wang; Shunting He et al.

Farming System, Vol. 4 No. 2 · 2026 · English · DOAJ Scopus

Intensive nitrogen fertilization in agricultural ecosystems has profound impacts on soil nitrogen cycling, yet the mechanistic understanding of how long-term nitrogen inputs alter microbial-mediated nitrogen transformations remains limited. While previous research has focused primarily on…

From soil carbon towards system sustainability: Integrating SOC modelling and life cycle assessment to evaluate environmental trade-offs in carbon farming

Stefano Spotorno; Anne Gobin; Diego Armando Arellano Vazquez et al.

Farming System, Vol. 4 No. 2 · 2026 · English · DOAJ Scopus

The European Union (EU) is committed to reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to the atmosphere and promoting sustainable soil and land management practices. Carbon Farming (CF) is a set of practices to mitigate climate change in agriculture through carbon sequestration in soils. While CF…

Dynamic change of soil organic carbon fractions improved by soil microorganisms at rice critical growth stages under long-term straw return in a double-cropped rice system in southern China

Shiqi Yang; Liming Chen; Xueming Tan et al.

Farming System, Vol. 4 No. 2 · 2026 · English · DOAJ Scopus

The practice of returning straw enhances the accumulation of soil organic carbon (SOC), dissolved organic carbon (DOC), and microbial communities. Nonetheless, the mechanisms in which microbes affect the variations in SOC and DOC during rice critical growth stages remain unclear. This research…

Straw return facilitates the availability of soil nitrogen by altering the metabolic distribution and nitrogen cycling processesScienceDB

Yu Gao; Lu Wang; Mingyue Li et al.

Farming System, Vol. 4 No. 2 · 2026 · English · DOAJ Scopus

Straw return (SR) has been extensively utilized to enhance soil organic carbon (SOC) levels and soil fertility in agroecosystems. However, the impact of SR on soil nitrogen (N) dynamics, microbial communities, metabolic processes, and the underlying mechanisms remains largely unexplored. Through a…

Typology-based evaluation of Nutrient Expert® for sustainable maize intensification in smallholder farms of eastern India

Rupak Goswami; Sudarshan Dutta; Hirak Banerjee et al.

Farming System, Vol. 4 No. 2 · 2026 · English · DOAJ Scopus

Smallholder maize systems in South Asia face challenges of low productivity, inefficient fertilizer use, and rising environmental footprints. Decision-support tools (DST) such as Nutrient Expert® (NE®), built on 4R nutrient stewardship principles, offer promise for achieving sustainable…

Long-term green manuring reduces net greenhouse gas emissions in upland cropping systems in China

Penghui Li; Hao Liang; Qiu Zhao et al.

Farming System, Vol. 4 No. 2 · 2026 · English · DOAJ Scopus

Green manuring enhances multiple agroecosystem services functions, yet its impact on net greenhouse gas mitigation remains controversial, primarily due to a limited number of long-term experiments. To address these challenges, this study investigated the long-term effects of green manure (GM)…

Soil moisture monitoring technologies in smart agriculture: A comprehensive review

R. Sreeram; S. Adithya Krishna; Aiswarya S. Kumar et al.

Farming System, Vol. 4 No. 2 · 2026 · English · DOAJ Scopus

Soil moisture monitoring is a critical component of modern agriculture, directly impacting crop productivity and resource management. With increasing pressures from climate change, water scarcity, and global food demand, there is a growing need for innovative and data-driven approaches to optimize…

Co-utilization of green manure and biochar with 30 % nitrogen reduction improves soil quality and mitigates carbon footprint

Rui Liu; Danna Chang; Jiudong Zhang et al.

Farming System, Vol. 4 No. 2 · 2026 · English · DOAJ Scopus

Green manure, also known as cover crops, is a clean source of organic manure. Partial substitution of N fertilizer with green manure provides a sustainable field management approach for alleviating soil degradation and global warming. However, whether biochar can enhance the environmental benefits…

Reconsidering “4 per 1000” target in mild salt-affected lands: A case study on exogenous carbon inputs

Shanqing Lei; Huarui Gong; Jing Li et al.

Farming System, Vol. 4 No. 3 · 2026 · English · DOAJ Scopus

There is an emerging consensus that exogenous carbon input has the potential to improve soil quality and optimize nitrogen management in salt-affected lands, yet it remains unclear how organic amendments function on crops. Here, we conducted a pot experiment to assess the effect of exogenous carbon…

Rhizospheric soil-microbial biomass C, N, and P stoichiometry and function across global agroecosystems

Tianfu Han; Shengnan Tang; Waseem Hassan et al.

Farming System, Vol. 4 No. 3 · 2026 · English · DOAJ Scopus

Rhizospheric C, N, and P stoichiometry embodies the dynamic equilibrium between nutrient release through mineralization and the retention of elements during organic matter turnover. Yet, global quantitative assessments of how rhizospheric processes reshape soil and microbial elemental ratios across…

Biochar for soil and wastewater remediation: Heavy metals, organic–inorganic contaminants, and circular economy–driven sustainable agriculture

Khuram Shehzad Khan; Tajwar Alam; Abdul Waheed et al.

Farming System, Vol. 4 No. 3 · 2026 · English · DOAJ Scopus

Organic, inorganic, and microbial contaminants in soil and wastewater pose critical risks to human health, agricultural productivity, and environmental sustainability. Heavy metals (HMs) such as Cd, Pb, Ni, and Cr are of particular concern due to their non-degradable nature, long-term mobility, and…

Assessing trade-offs between peanut productivity, economic returns, and soil sustainability under reduced nitrogen fertilizer in a green manure–peanut rotation: A CRITIC–TOPSIS approach

Jiachen Xiao; Xintian Wu; Yaqi Gao et al.

Farming System, Vol. 4 No. 3 · 2026 · English · DOAJ Scopus

Integrating non-legume green manure into peanut rotations offers a promising strategy to enhance resource use efficiency and sustain crop productivity. However, uncertainties remain regarding the optimal management of green manure biomass, its interaction with nitrogen (N) fertilizer requirements…

Enhanced tea quality driven by improved aggregate structure and stability:A case study from leguminous green manure intercropping

Kaiyue Hu; Yao Yang; Yu Duan et al.

Farming System, Vol. 4 No. 3 · 2026 · English · DOAJ Scopus

Intensive tea cultivation often leads to soil degradation via acidification and fertility decline, thereby threatening plantation sustainability. Although legume intercropping is widely recognized as a beneficial management practice, the integrated mechanisms by which it simultaneously improves…