Soil is an essential non-renewable resource that provides food for society and supports ecosystems. Almost 50% of European soils are used for agricultural activities. Moreover, in the current context of frequent extreme weather events, soils are more vulnerable to higher erosion rates and lixiviation phenomena. It is therefore crucial to implement sustainable practices that can help mitigate climate change while maintaining soil fertility in the long term. Appropriate land management plays a key role in ensuring good long-term soil health. This has a direct impact on the soil, not only affecting soil organic matter (SOM) content, soil organic carbon (SOC) storage and associated microbial communities, but also altering soil structure and soil respiration rates.
The proposed session aims to increase our knowledge of how land management practices affect soil properties and biogeochemical processes by bringing together reports of laboratory and field work investigating (1) the impact of land management on soil structure, (2) the chemical and biological responses of SOM to above-ground practices, (3) changes in SOC content under different agricultural practices, (4) the effect of crop diversification on soil quality, and (5) studies analysing the response of soil microbial communities to agricultural management.