Dear Colleagues,

We are pleased to invite you to submit studies related to the Special Issue subject of “Soil Management for Soil Health” in Land.

Soil is a critical resource—the way in which it is managed can improve or degrade the quality of that resource. Healthy soil is the basis for profitable, productive, and environmentally sound agricultural systems. By understanding how the soil processes supporting plant growth and regulating environmental quality are affected by management practices, it is possible to design a crop and soil management system that improves and maintains soil health over time. Soil-health management systems are agricultural systems that prioritize the health of soils, by reducing soil disturbance and keeping living roots in the ground.

To promote healthy soils, it is important to keep the ground covered as much as possible, e.g., leaving crop residues in place instead of tilling the soil. The residue acts as a shield, protecting the soil from wind and water and reducing soil evaporation rates to retain moisture available for plant use. Ground cover reduces runoff and nutrient loss, while residues and living plants provide habitats for beneficial microorganisms. Moreover, minimizing soil disturbance—biological (e.g., overgrazing), chemical (e.g., over-application of fertilizer and pesticides), or physical (e.g., tillage)—allows a natural soil structure to develop, with large pores to infiltrate rainwater and small pores to hold water during dry spells. Good soil structure also protects soil organic matter, an important component of crop productivity. Plant diversity is another important component, mimicking the multifunctionality and resiliency of natural plant communities. Plant diversity can reduce pest and disease pressures, leading to less pesticide and herbicide use. Another way of improving soil health is incorporating a living root on a year-round basis: roots change the soil biology and structure. Plants feed carbon to soil microbes, enhancing nutrient cycling at the root surface.

In this Special Issue, we welcome the submissions of both research and review papers focusing on, but not limited to, the following topics:

• Preventing, minimizing, and mitigating soil-quality decline, e.g., compaction, contamination, salinization, and acidification;
• Managing soil nutrients;
• Maintaining and improving soil organic matter;
• Cover crops and rotations/diversity;
• No till/conservation tillage;
• Root–soil interactions;
• Maintaining soil structure;
• Minimizing soil erosion from agricultural land;
• Maintaining or improving soil water-holding capacity;
• Fostering beneficial soil biological activity;
• Pest and disease management.

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Dr. Chiara Piccini
Dr. Rosario Napoli
Dr. Roberta Farina
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Land is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• soil quality
• soil fertility
• soil erosion
• soil organic matter
• soil structure
• soil biological activity
• soil water-holding capacity
• conservation agriculture
• crop diversification

• Soil Management for Sustainable Agriculture and Ecosystem Services in Land (14 articles)