This study explores agronomic management (AM) effects on soil parameters under diverse conditions. Investigating tillage practices (TP), nutrient management (NM), crop rotation (CR), organic matter (OM), irrigation management (IM), and mulching (MS), it aims to reveal impacts on soil productivity, nutrient availability, microbial activity, and overall health. Varied TP affect soil quality through compaction, porosity, and erosion risk. Proper NM is vital for nutrient cycling, preventing imbalances and acidification. CR disrupts pest cycles, reduces weed pressure, and boosts nutrient recycling. OM management enhances soil quality by influencing organic carbon, nutrient availability, pH, fertility, and water retention. Optimizing IM regulates soil water content without inducing waterlogging. MS contributes to OM content, nutrient retention, soil structure, and temperature-moisture regulation, benefiting soil biota, aggregation, soil health and agricultural productivity. The review emphasizes integrated nutrient, CR, and OM management's positive impact on fertility and microbial activity. Different TP and IM variations impact soil health and crop production. Judicious implementation of these practices is essential for sustainable agriculture. This synthesis identifies uncertainties and proposes research directions for optimizing productivity while ensuring environmental sustainability. Ongoing inquiry can guide a balanced approach between yields and resilient soil stewardship for future generations.

Soil thermal conductivity (λ) is a critical property influencing heat transfer in agro-environmental systems (A-ES), affecting soil temperature, water dynamics, and nutrient availability. Understanding the impact of soil management practices (SMP) and climate adaptation strategies (CAS) on λ is essential for optimizing agricultural productivity and ensuring soil sustainability. This review examines the influence of conventional and conservation tillage, crop rotation, mulching, and organic matter incorporation on soil λ. Conventional tillage practices often disrupt soil structure, reducing water retention and altering soil thermal characteristics (TCs), while conservation tillage enhances soil aggregation and moisture conservation, leading to improved λ. Crop rotation and mulching regulate soil microclimates, minimizing temperature fluctuations and contributing to thermal stability. Additionally, the review highlights the significance of soil texture, moisture content, and organic matter in determining λ. With increasing climate variability, integrating SMP and CAS can mitigate adverse effects on TCs, promoting resilience in agricultural systems. However, knowledge gaps remain regarding the long-term impacts of these strategies on λ across diverse soil types and climatic conditions. Future research should focus on developing integrated approaches that optimize SMP and CAS for improved λ, ensuring sustainable agricultural practices. Expanding studies on soil thermal dynamics will improve our ability to develop adaptive management strategies that support long-term soil health and productivity. This review underscores the necessity of sustainable soil management in the face of climate change, providing insights for future research and practical applications in agricultural systems.

Purpose: Agricultural management as tillage systems and manure application can contribute effectively to controlling physical surface crusts (SCs), improving the soil’s technical characteristics and germination rates. While agronomic practices are generally applied to winter wheat fields in southern Iraq, no previous study has explored their impact in combination with SCs and soil physical attributes on wheat productivity (WP) under different soil textures. Materials and methods: The impact of different agronomic management practices on the formation of soil physical surface crusts (SCs), soil compaction (measured by soil penetration resistance, SPR), soil volumetric water content (VWC), soil bulk density (ρb), mean weight diameter of aggregates (MWD), and WP was examined in two soil textures (clay loam, clay) during 2020 and 2022. Experimental data were subjected to an identical and randomized complete block design (RCBD) under a nested-factorial experimental design, where nine treatments with three replicates each were selected. This included three tillage practices (conventional tillage system (CT), till-plant (TP), and rotational tillage (NTCT)), alongside a sub-treatment with organic fertilizers (cattle manure (CF), and wheat straw (WR)), or without added fertilizer (WT). Results and discussion: Results showed that CT treatment increased SCs during wheat growth stages by significantly increasing aggregate stability. A significant difference in ρb and SPR and a higher distribution of VWC were seen under CT treatment when compared to TP and NTCT treatments. TP treatment showed a significantly increased in SPR and ρb, particularly in clay loam. The MWD under TP and NTCT was significantly different to CT treatment, which may be explained by an increase in soil stability due to their management practices. Additionally, both organic fertilizers (CF and WR) significantly enhanced SCs, SPR, VWC, ρb, MWD, and WP. Conclusions: These data showed a strong relationship between SCs and ρb and between VWC and SPR, which are directly affected by the soil’s water content.

Most of the suspended river load from the Tigris and Euphrates rivers is deposited in the Mesopotamian Plain in Iraq. This suspended river load comprises sediments consisting of minerals and organic particles generated from weathering, erosion, transport, and sedimentation. Therefore, it is crucial to analyze, either quantitative or qualitatively, the types of minerals in the sediment particles transported by the suspended river load, in addition to the potential value they may add to the agricultural lands irrigated by the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. Herein, samples of suspended sediments were collected from both rivers for physical, chemical, and mineral assessments. The results revealed the predominance of silt particles, followed by clay, and then sand. The presence of clay particles increased while that of silt and sand decreased with further travel into the rivers. The pH values ranged from 7.39 to 7.70 and the electrical conductivity ranged from 1.39 to 2.16 ds m^-1. The values of the total and active calcium carbonate minerals were 352.87-336.12 and 172.64-194.56 g kg^-1 for the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, respectively. The mineral analysis identified the presence of non-clay minerals at a rate of 83 %, including calcite, quartz, albite, dolomite, and gypsum. Clay minerals, including chlorite, illite, montmorillonite, palygorskite, vermiculite, and kaolinite, were found at a rate of 17 %. Both rivers exhibited distributions of clay and non-clay minerals that vary as they move along the rivers.

Soil thermal conductivity (λ) plays a critical role in regulating heat dynamics at the land surface. In agricultural soils, it directly affects crop performance and can also influence soil management strategies. Nowadays, understanding the significance of soil λ has become vital for promoting sustainable agricultural practices. This review explores a wide range of measurement techniques for soil λ, including both traditional and advanced methods, and focuses on their applications, benefits, and limitations. Traditional steady-state methods-such as the guarded hot plate, thermal cell, steady-state needle probe, and box probe, are compared with transient techniques, including time-domain reflectometry, laser flash, transient hot wire, transient plane source, heat pulse, and transient line heat source. Although steady-state methods provide high accuracy in controlled laboratory conditions, they usually require extended testing times and are influenced by variations in soil water content and texture. Transient approaches, while more rapid and suitable for field conditions, find difficulties due to soil heterogeneity and environmental variability. Emerging technologies, such as fiber optic sensors and wireless sensor networks, give non-invasive, real-time monitoring with minimal soil disturbances, however, they are limited by higher prices and technological complexity. We evaluated them for their accuracy, efficiency, and adaptability to diverse agricultural conditions. This review underscores the necessity of precise soil λ measurements to enhance soil management strategies, improve resilience to environmental changes, and support sustainable agriculture. Important challenges in methods include calibration, sensitivity to soil characteristics, and practical field usability. It provides a valuable resource for researchers and practitioners, offering insights into integrating soil λ measurements into modern agricultural systems. Finally, future research directions are proposed, focusing on leveraging wireless sensor network technologies and machine learning to deepen our understanding of soil heat dynamics and their implications for sustainable farming practices.

Climate change and human activity have impacted the quantitative and qualitative characteristics of sediment content in Iraq’s Tigris and Euphrates rivers. This study aims to determine the spatial variation of sediment characteristics, including sand mineral content and degree of maturity, in the two rivers. This study highlights the importance of sediments for agricultural soils and plants, emphasising their role in enhancing soil properties when deposited naturally or added by humans. It evaluates the chemical and physical characteristics of riverbed sediments, with a particular focus on identifying the mineral composition of both heavy and light sand minerals. Furthermore, it examines their mineral maturity. Chemical tests revealed an increase in the electrical conductivity downstream in both rivers. Physical assessments indicate a downstream decrease in the proportion of sand particles and a corresponding increase in the proportion of clay particles. Light sand minerals constitute a significant portion, ranging from 95.6 to 96.8% of the total mineral content, encompassing diverse minerals such as quartz, feldspar, and fragmented rock minerals. Heavy sand minerals account for between 3.2 and 4.4% and include opaques, chlorite, pyroxenes, hornblende, mica, zircon, tourmaline, and garnet. This trend shows a decrease in the overall maturity of these sediments, with a maturity trend shifting towards physical maturity. In contrast, the maturity index of light sand minerals decreases with increasing distance travelled along the two rivers. Understanding these mineralogical variations provides insights into the intricate interplay of geological, climatic, and anthropogenic factors shaping river-loaded sediments. This knowledge helps in choosing sustainable agricultural practices for soils to which these sediments are added.