Soil quality, characterized by its physical, chemical, and biological properties, is closely linked to soil management. Reducing soil disturbance can limit soil degradation; however, tillage is still considered essential, particularly on poorly drained soils. This study aimed to identify the optimal tillage practices for winter wheat crops following long-term no tillage practice and crop rotation (2020–2023). Additionally, it highlights the considerable advantages of particular tillage practices in emphasizing their role in enhancing soil health and sustainable agriculture. The experiment followed a randomized complete block design with three replications and two tillage practices: no tillage (NT) and conventional tillage (CT). The research was carried out on a cambic chernozem soil type. The results revealed that physical properties such as bulk density (BD) can increase or decrease under NT, while soil water content (SWC) increased under the same system. The status of water-stable aggregates (WSAs) also improved in NT (88.41%) due to the incorporation of cover crop or plant residues in the 0–10 cm depth. Notably, the highest SWC value at harvest was obtained in the 0–10 cm soil depth, under NT, reaching 24.47%. Grain yields over four years of research were also influenced by tillage systems, resulting in mean yields of 6070 kg/ha for CT and 4285.25 kg/ha for the NT system. The Pearson correlation coefficient was calculated for the soil physical properties considered in pairs. Between BD and water-stable aggregates (WSAs), there was a moderate positive correlation (r = 0.458**) and statistical significance, but no linear correlation between BD and SWC (r = 0.089), and between WSAs and SWC (r = 0.026). Generally, using NT, which reduces soil disturbance and maintains residues on the surface, could contribute to land sustainability and climate mitigation in north-east Romania.

No-tillage (NT) is a key practice in conservation agriculture that minimizes soil disturbance, thereby enhancing soil structure, porosity, and overall quality. However, its long-term effects on soil pore networks and hydro-physical functions remain underexplored. This study evaluated the impacts of NT and conventional tillage (CT) on soil hydro-physical properties using undisturbed soil columns, X-ray computed tomography, and standard physical measurements. A field experiment was conducted under an eight-year continuous cropping system, with a four-year rotation [winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.)—maize (Zea mays L.)—sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.)—peas (Pisum sativum L.)], comparing NT and CT treatments with three replications. Soil parameters including bulk density (BD), moisture content, total porosity (SP), water-stable aggregates (WSA), and saturated hydraulic conductivity (Ksat) were measured. Results showed that NT increased BD (1.45 g/cm³) compared to CT (1.19 g/cm³), likely due to reduced soil disturbance. Moisture content under NT was up to 78% higher than CT. Saturated hydraulic conductivity was also higher in NT, with 17% and 43% increases observed at harvest in 2022 and 2023, respectively, except in the 0–30 cm layer immediately after sowing. Micro-CT analysis revealed a 34–115% increase in macropores (>1025 μm) under NT at 10–40 cm depth. These findings demonstrate that long-term NT improves key soil hydro-physical properties, supporting its integration into sustainable farming systems to balance productivity and environmental stewardship.

Tillage practices regulate soil health by influencing soil’s physico-chemical qualities and its capacity to sequester organic carbon. Maintaining soil health contributes to ecosystem stability and fluidity in the soil–plant–atmosphere relationship. This study aimed to evaluate soil porosity (SP), aeration limit (SAL), soil capillary capacity (SCC), soil total capacity (STC), soil temperature (Ts), air temperature (Ta), nutrient availability, soil organic carbon (SOC), and soil organic matter (SOM) under three different tillage systems: no-tillage (NT), minimum tillage (MT), and conventional tillage (CT), based on a short-term field experiment. This research was conducted on Cambic Chernozem soil using a randomized complete block design with three replications. The results revealed a significant effect of tillage systems on all evaluated properties. SP reached a higher value under MT (60.01%), NT (56.74%) and CT (53.58%), respectively. This observation is similar with regard to SAL, SCC, and STC. It might be due to the reduced soil disturbance characteristics of conservation systems, thereby maintaining the soil’s natural state. There is a positive regression between these two properties across all three systems, with the highest R² = 0.8308 observed under MT. The highest carbon stocks were recorded in NT (2.82%) and MT (2.91%) compared to 2.01% in CT at surface depths of 0–5 and 5–10 cm. This can be explained by the accumulation of organic residues and a reduction in their oxidation. Nutrient availability (TN, P, and K) increased at depths of 0–5 cm and 5–10 cm, with the highest values in conservation systems. Furthermore, the results demonstrate a significant relationship and positive synergy between soil depth, tillage practices, and key physical and chemical soil properties, especially carbon stock, across the two cropping seasons.