Accurate prediction of soil moisture remains critical in a wide range of applications. Through proper use of geophysical tools, soil survey information, and computed tomography, pedological data can be conveniently and quantitatively acquired. This data will improve the accuracy of soil moisture prediction at different spatial scales. We proposed this alternative way of simulating soil moisture variations, which will be the important for agricultural management, hydrological and ecological modeling.

Water and air movements in soil depend on the soil structure. Non-destructive X-ray computed tomography (µCT) scanning was used to verify changes in soil porosity as influenced by the cations (Na, K, Mg, or Ca) in soil solution and the nature of clay-cation bonds. The study confirmed that cation ratio of soil structural stability (CROSS), derived from the ionicity of the different cations, a suitable index to assess soils containing different cations in various proportions.

We studied soil water storage, drainage, and leaching in cotton rotations sown in a grey cracking clay soil which had high sodium concentrations at depth. Rotations with untilled short fallows (~3 months) when combined with surface mulching of stubble was as effective in conserving rainfall as those with tilled long fallows (~11 months) with stubble incorporation. Drainage under cotton was generally highest where a wheat crop had been sown in the past and least during fallows. Leachate under irrigated cotton had less nitrate-nitrogen, magnesium, and potassium than infiltrated water, but its electrical conductivity was ~6 times higher. The greater salinity of the leachate may pose a risk to groundwater resources.

Little information is available on SOC in raised-field wetlands of a shallow freshwater lake with different functional zones at large scales. SOC stocks in raised-field wetlands of five functional zones of Baiyangdian Lake were estimated using GIS technique and the results showed that the water reserve zone has a higher carbon pool index compared to other zones affected by different human activities. Therefore, it is necessary to control human activities to elevate SOC storage in raised-field wetlands.

The measurement of soil carbon at the field scale is an important step in understanding soil carbon sequestration and in the implementation of market based instruments for soil carbon. It is also potentially an expensive procedure and cost effectiveness is essential. We tested several design-based and model based procedures for estimating soil carbon levels at the field scale. It is clear that some sampling methodologies are much more cost effective than others to predict soil carbon levels to an accuracy of 2 t/ha to 30 cm depth.

The crop–livestock integration (CLI) system is an excellent option for Cerrado soils, since the association with grasses (Brachiaria) intensify biomass production, especially in the year dry season. CLI system when compared to the no-tillage system without brachiaria increasing soil carbon and particulate organic carbon (POC) stocks. The CLI system favours POC stratification in surface and subsurface soil layers, being a promising system to counteract no-till problems caused by poor weather conditions in the Cerrado of Goiás, Brazil.

Urine deposited by grazing animals is a major source of the nitrogen leaching from pastoral systems and represents both an economic loss for farmers and water quality degradation. We present a method of calculating the leaching of urinary nitrogen that takes into account the impacts of weather, soil properties and time of urine deposition. That method can be used in models of leaching losses from pastoral farms for farmers to make informed management decisions and for regulators to develop sensible and effective policy.

Plant wilting limits crop growth and yield. Knowledge of the physics involved is critical in our efforts to combat drought and to understand how soil–plant systems work. This paper shows how wilting can be caused not only by the limitations of plant roots to take up water but also by the limitation of the soil to transmit water to the roots. It is shown that the existing paradigm for plant wilting is not correct. A new method for estimating the conditions under which plants wilt is presented.