Earth & Environment

Soil Sciences

Published June 30, 2022 Curated Collections

Soil Science encompasses one of the broadest fields of research, ranging from microbial biology and geochemistry to environmental management and conservation. Under this umbrella, scientists study soil properties and processes to create a better understanding of this field and inform policy and governance decisions for sustainable development.

PLOS ONE presents a curated collection of innovative research in the field of Soil Science. This interdisciplinary collection showcases the vast range of research in the field, with topics ranging from ecology and sustainable development to biogeochemistry and microbial diversity.

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10.1371/journal.pone.0263618 CC BY 4.0

PLOS ONE Temporal and spatial dynamics in soil acoustics and their relation to soil animal diversity
March 8, 2022 Marcus Maeder, Xianda Guo, Felix Neff, Doris Schneider Mathis, Martin M. Gossner

The observation and assessment of animal biodiversity using acoustic technology has developed considerably in recent years. Current…
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10.1371/journal.pone.0263994 CC BY 4.0

PLOS ONE Compositional stability of peat in ecosystem-scale warming mesocosms
March 2, 2022 Mackenzie R. Baysinger, Rachel M. Wilson, Paul J. Hanson, Joel E. Kostka, Jeffrey P. Chanton

Peatlands historically have acted as a C sink because C-fixation rates exceeded the rate of heterotrophic decomposition. Under future…
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10.1371/journal.pone.0252743 CC BY 4.0

PLOS ONE Quantifying the inhibitory impact of soluble phenolics on anaerobic carbon mineralization in a thawing permafrost peatland
February 2, 2022 Alexandra B. Cory, Jeffrey P. Chanton, Robert G. M. Spencer, Olivia C. Ogles, Virginia I. Rich, Carmody K. McCalley, IsoGenie Project Coordinators , EMERGE 2021 Field Team , Rachel M. Wilson

The mechanisms controlling the extraordinarily slow carbon (C) mineralization rates characteristic of Sphagnum-rich peatlands (“bogs”) are…
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10.1371/journal.pone.0259937 CC BY 4.0

PLOS ONE Deciphering the microbial and molecular responses of geographically diverse Setaria accessions grown in a nutrient-poor soil
December 8, 2021 Matthew J. Peterson, Pubudu P. Handakumbura, Allison M. Thompson, Zachary R. Russell, Young-Mo Kim, Sarah J. Fansler, Montana L. Smith, Jason G. Toyoda, Rosey K. Chu, Bryan A. Stanfill, Steven C. Fransen, Vanessa L. Bailey, Christer Jansson, Kim K. Hixson, Stephen J. Callister

The microbial and molecular characterization of the ectorhizosphere is an important step towards developing a more complete understanding…
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10.1371/journal.pone.0259957 CC BY 4.0

PLOS ONE The legume-rhizobia symbiosis can be supported on Mars soil simulants
December 8, 2021 Randall Rainwater, Arijit Mukherjee

Legumes (soybeans, peas, lentils, etc.) play important roles in agriculture on Earth because of their food value and their ability to form…
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10.1371/journal.pone.0248665 CC BY 4.0

PLOS ONE Identification and predictability of soil quality indicators from conventional soil and vegetation classifications
October 22, 2021 Paul Simfukwe, Paul W. Hill, Bridget A. Emmett, Davey L. Jones

The physical, chemical and biological attributes of a soil combined with abiotic factors (e.g. climate and topography) drive pedogenesis…
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10.1371/journal.pone.0255083 CC BY 4.0

PLOS ONE Bacterial diversity dynamics in microbial consortia selected for lignin utilization
September 13, 2021 Isis Viana Mendes, Mariana Botelho Garcia, Ana Carolina Araújo Bitencourt, Renata Henrique Santana, Philippe de Castro Lins, Rafaella Silveira, Blake A. Simmons, John M. Gladden, Ricardo Henrique Kruger, Betania Ferraz Quirino

Lignin is nature’s largest source of phenolic compounds. Its recalcitrance to enzymatic conversion is still a limiting step to increase…
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10.1371/journal.pone.0255669 CC BY 4.0

PLOS ONE Soil enzyme responses to land use change in the tropical rainforest of the Colombian Amazon region
August 18, 2021 Adriana M. Silva-Olaya, Dúber A. Mora-Motta, Maurício R. Cherubin, Daniel Grados, Anil Somenahally, Fausto A. Ortiz-Morea

Soil enzymes mediate key processes and functions of the soils, such as organic matter decomposition and nutrient cycling in both natural…
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10.1371/journal.pone.0233242 CC BY 4.0

PLOS ONE Determining soil particle-size distribution from infrared spectra using machine learning predictions: Methodology and modeling
July 20, 2021 Elizabeth Jeanne Parent, Serge-Étienne Parent, Léon Etienne Parent

Accuracy of infrared (IR) models to measure soil particle-size distribution (PSD) depends on soil preparation, methodology (sedimentation,…
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10.1371/journal.pone.0252308 CC BY 4.0

PLOS ONE Application of a catalytic oxidation method for the simultaneous determination of total organic carbon and total nitrogen in marine sediments and soils
June 4, 2021 Pavlos Avramidis, Vlasoula Bekiari

This study presents the application of a simultaneous method for the determination of total organic carbon (TOC) and total nitrogen (TN)…
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10.1371/journal.pone.0246142 CC BY 4.0

PLOS ONE Revisiting soil bacterial counting methods: Optimal soil storage and pretreatment methods and comparison of culture-dependent and -independent methods
February 10, 2021 Jeonggil Lee, Han-Suk Kim, Ho Young Jo, Man Jae Kwon

Although a number of different methods have been used to quantify soil bacteria, identifying the optimal method(s) for soil bacterial…
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10.1371/journal.pone.0239552 CC BY 4.0

PLOS ONE Combining organic and mineral fertilizers as a climate-smart integrated soil fertility management practice in sub-Saharan Africa: A meta-analysis
September 24, 2020 Gil Gram, Dries Roobroeck, Pieter Pypers, Johan Six, Roel Merckx, Bernard Vanlauwe

Low productivity and climate change require climate-smart agriculture (CSA) for sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), through (i) sustainably…
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10.1371/journal.pone.0233872 CC BY 4.0

PLOS ONE Alpha-, beta-, and gamma-diversity of bacteria varies across habitats
September 23, 2020 Kendra E. Walters, Jennifer B. H. Martiny

Bacteria are essential parts of ecosystems and are the most diverse organisms on the planet. Yet, we still do not know which habitats…
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10.1371/journal.pone.0238870 CC BY 4.0

PLOS ONE Investigating effects of soil chemicals on density of small mammal bioindicators using spatial capture-recapture models
September 17, 2020 Shannon M. Gaukler, Sean M. Murphy, Jesse T. Berryhill, Brent E. Thompson, Benjamin J. Sutter, Charles D. Hathcock

Monitoring the ecological impacts of environmental pollution and the effectiveness of remediation efforts requires identifying…
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10.1371/journal.pone.0238057 CC BY 4.0

PLOS ONE First field estimation of greenhouse gas release from European soil-dwelling Scarabaeidae larvae targeting the genus Melolontha
August 26, 2020 Carolyn-Monika Görres, Claudia Kammann

Arthropods are a major soil fauna group, and have the potential to substantially influence the spatial and temporal variability of soil…
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10.1371/journal.pone.0237368 CC BY 4.0

PLOS ONE Patient propagules: Do soil archives preserve the legacy of fungal and prokaryotic communities?
August 11, 2020 Gian Maria Niccolò Benucci, Bryan Rennick, Gregory Bonito

Soil archives are an important resource in agronomic and ecosystem sciences. If microbial communities could be reconstructed from archived…
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10.1371/journal.pone.0234562 CC BY 4.0

PLOS ONE Survival of Escherichia coli O157 in autoclaved and natural sandy soil mesocosms
June 11, 2020 Christopher A. Baker, Shinyoung Lee, Jaysankar De, Kwangcheol C. Jeong, Keith R. Schneider

While the soil microbiome may influence pathogen survival, determining the major contributors that reduce pathogen survival is…
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10.1371/journal.pone.0232481 CC BY 4.0

PLOS ONE Selected wetland soil properties correlate to Rift Valley fever livestock mortalities reported in 2009-10 in central South Africa
May 18, 2020 Anna M. Verster, Janice E. Liang, Melinda K. Rostal, Alan Kemp, Robert F. Brand, Assaf Anyamba, Claudia Cordel, Robert Schall, Herman Zwiegers, Janusz T. Paweska, William B. Karesh, Cornie W. van Huyssteen

Outbreaks of Rift Valley fever have devastating impacts on ruminants, humans, as well as on regional and national economies. Although…
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10.1371/journal.pone.0231359 CC BY 4.0

PLOS ONE Surface horizons of forest soils for the diagnosis of soil environment contamination and toxicity caused by polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs)
April 14, 2020 Paulina Chaber, Barbara Gworek

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are persistent organic pollutants that are released into soils primarily from the air, with wet…
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10.1371/journal.pone.0229447 CC BY 4.0

PLOS ONE Dynamic of the structural alteration of biochar in ancient Anthrosol over a long timescale by Raman spectroscopy
March 23, 2020 Daniel Vieira de Sousa, Luciano Moura Guimarães, Jorlandio Francisco Félix, João Carlos Ker, Carlos Ernesto R. G. Schaefer, Maria Jacqueline Rodet

The presence of biochar with high carbon accumulation capacity and nutrient adsorption is causally associated with archeological soils.…
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10.1371/journal.pone.0230007 CC BY 4.0

PLOS ONE Citizen science improves our understanding of the impact of soil management on wild pollinator abundance in agroecosystems
March 10, 2020 Logan R. Appenfeller, Sarah Lloyd, Zsofia Szendrei

Native bees provide essential pollination services in both natural and managed ecosystems. However, declines in native bee species…
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10.1371/journal.pone.0229794 CC BY 4.0

PLOS ONE Metal oxides and annealed metals as alternatives to metal salts for fixed-ratio metal mixture ecotoxicity tests in soil
March 5, 2020 Mathieu Renaud, Mark Cousins, Kobby Fred Awuah, Olukayode Jegede, Beverley Hale, José Paulo Sousa, Steven Douglas Siciliano

In soil metal ecotoxicology research, dosing is usually performed with metal salts, followed by leaching to remove excess salinity. This…
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10.1371/journal.pone.0222691 CC BY 4.0

PLOS ONE A simple pyrocosm for studying soil microbial response to fire reveals a rapid, massive response by Pyronema species
March 4, 2020 Thomas D. Bruns, Judy A. Chung, Akiko A. Carver, Sydney I. Glassman

We have designed a pyrocosm to enable fine-scale dissection of post-fire soil microbial communities. Using it we show that the peak soil…
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10.1371/journal.pone.0226909 CC BY 4.0

PLOS ONE Nine years of in situ soil warming and topography impact the temperature sensitivity and basal respiration rate of the forest floor in a Canadian boreal forest
December 26, 2019 Charles Marty, Joanie Piquette, Hubert Morin, Denis Bussières, Nelson Thiffault, Daniel Houle, Robert L. Bradley, Myrna J. Simpson, Rock Ouimet, Maxime C. Paré

The forest floor of boreal forest stores large amounts of organic C that may react to a warming climate and increased N deposition. It is…
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10.1371/journal.pone.0222604 CC BY 4.0

PLOS ONE Detailed global modelling of soil organic carbon in cropland, grassland and forest soils
September 19, 2019 Tiago G. Morais, Ricardo F.M. Teixeira, Tiago Domingos

Assessments of the global carbon (C) cycle typically rely on simplified models which consider large areas as homogeneous in terms of the…

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