Climate change is one of the main challenges, and it poses a tough challenge to the agriculture industry globally. Additionally, greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are the main contributor to climate change; however, croplands are a prominent source of GHG emissions. Yet this complex challenge can be mitigated through climate-smart agricultural practices. Conservation tillage is commonly known to preserve soil and mitigate environmental change by reducing GHG emissions. Nonetheless, there is still a paucity of information on the influences of conservation tillage on wheat yield, soil properties, and GHG flux, particularly in the semi-arid Dingxi belt. Hence, in order to fill this gap, different tillage systems, namely conventional tillage (CT) control, straw incorporation with conventional tillage (CTS), no-tillage (NT), and stubble return with no-tillage (NTS), were laid at Dingxi, Gansu province of China, under a randomized complete block design with three replications to examine their impacts on yield, soil properties, and GHG fluxes. Results depicted that different conservative tillage systems (CTS, NTS, and NT) significantly (p < 0.05) increased the plant height, number of spikes per plant, seed number per meter square, root yield, aboveground biomass yield, thousand-grain weight, grain yield, and dry matter yield compared with CT. Moreover, these conservation tillage systems notably improved the soil properties (soil gravimetric water content, water-filled pore space, water storage, porosity, aggregates, saturated hydraulic conductivity, organic carbon, light fraction organic carbon, carbon storage, microbial biomass carbon, total nitrogen, available nitrogen storage, microbial biomass nitrogen, total phosphorous, available phosphorous, total potassium, available potassium, microbial counts, urease, alkaline phosphatase, invertase, cellulase, and catalase) while decreasing the soil temperature and bulk density over CT. However, CTS, NTS, and NT had non-significant effects on ECe, pH, and stoichiometric properties (C:N ratio, C:P ratio, and N:P ratio). Additionally, conservation-based tillage regimes NTS, NT, and CTS significantly (p < 0.05) reduced the emission and net global warming potential of greenhouse gases (carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide) by 23.44, 19.57, and 16.54%, respectively, and decreased the greenhouse gas intensity by 23.20, 29.96, and 18.72%, respectively, over CT. We conclude that NTS is the best approach to increasing yield, soil and water conservation, resilience, and mitigation of agroecosystem capacity.

An improved understanding of the effect of conservation tillage on soil physicochemical quality indicators is obligatory to manage and conserve soil in a climate change scenario. Tillage strategies change soil physicochemical characteristics, consequently modifying crop yields. Conservation tillage is generally used to improve the soil physicochemical characteristics globally. However, the impact of conservation tillage on different soil depths under wheat cultivation is not well documented. A 3-year study was conducted using a randomized complete block design (RCDB). The objective of this research was to specifically study soil physicochemical indicators (soil bulk density, porosity, hydraulic conductivity, water content, temperature, nitrogen, phosphorous, potassium, C:N ratio, pH) and (crop yield) in conventional tillage (CT), straw incorporation into the conventionally tilled soil (CTS), no-tillage (NT), and stubble-retention to the no-tilled soil (NTS) measures under wheat monocropping system across different soil layers. Averaged over 0–40 cm soil layer, the results depicted scarce differences among the tillage practices regarding soil bulk density, porosity, water content and hydraulic conductivity. CT increased soil temperature over conservation tillage systems. Overall, conservation tillage improved soil total nitrogen, available phosphorous, total potassium, C:N ratio and yield than CT, whilst it decreased soil pH. We conclude that NTS and CTS are the best strategies to enhance soil health under wheat mono-cropping system conditions.

The potential interactions of rhizobium bacteria in enhancing nodulation, nitrogen (N) fixation for boosting N availability, and the yield of black gram under a temperate environment continue to remain unexplored. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the agronomic performance of black gram cultivars, their yield comparisons, and shoot–grain–soil N dynamics in a prevalently rainfed farming system. Two black gram cultivars, NARC Mash-I and NARC Mash-II, were subjected to rhizobia inoculation combined with different N doses (0, 25, 50, 75, 100 kg ha⁻¹). The response variables included root nodulation, agronomic yield attributes, grain yield, shoot–grain and soil N dynamics, and biological productivity. Black gram cultivar NARC Mash-II showed the maximum nodule formation (41 per plant), while each nodule obtained 0.69 g weight in response to RI combined with 25 kg N ha⁻¹. Additionally, this combination showed the highest pods per plant and thousand grain weight, which maximized the grain yield (1777 kg ha⁻¹) and biological productivity (3007 kg ha⁻¹). In contrast, NARC Mash-I under 50 kg N recorded the highest shoot N content, while the same cultivar under 100 kg N exhibited the maximum soil N content. The correlation analyses indicated a significantly robust association among the nodule numbers, grain weight, and N contents in different plant organs. These results give mechanistic insights into plant–microbe interactions based on the eco-friendly, sustainable, and smart agricultural practice of black gram production in a temperate environment.

The cultivated soils in several semi-arid areas have very low organic matter due to climatic constraints that limit primary crop yield. Conservation tillage systems, outlined here as no tillage, no tillage with straw return and straw incorporation into the field, have been accepted as capable systems that preserve soil’s resources and sustain soil productivity. However, in semi-arid climates, there is presently no knowledge about the influence of different conservation tillage techniques on soil’s physical, chemical and biological properties at different soil depths in spring wheat fields and only little information about spring wheat yield in these management systems. Therefore, the present study was carried out with the objective of examining the impact of conservation tillage systems on soil properties (physical, chemical and biological) and spring wheat yield. The three conservation tillage treatments consisted of no tillage system (NT), wheat stubble return with no tillage (NTS) and straw incorporation with conventional tillage (CTS), as well as one conventional tillage (CT) control treatment, which were evaluated under randomized complete block design with three replications. The three conservation tillage treatments were compared with the conventional tillage control. Conservation tillage significantly increased the bulk density, gravimetric water content, water storage, hydraulic conductivity and soil aggregates and decreased the pore space and soil temperature compared to CT; however, no significant difference was found in the case of field capacity. Soil chemical properties in the 0–40 cm soil layer increased with conservation tillage compared to CT. Conservation tillage also notably increased the soil microbial counts, urease, alkaline phosphatase, invertase, cellulase and catalase activities relative to CT. Microbial biomasses (carbon and nitrogen) and wheat yield significantly elevated under conservation tillage compared to CT. Therefore, conservation tillage could significantly improve soil properties and maintain wheat yield for the research zone.

The influence of tillage and nitrogen fertilization methods on soil quality attributes and crop agronomic characteristics has been studied broadly under different agroclimatic conditions. Nevertheless, the interactive effect of tillage and fertilization approaches on soil properties on different soil depths and yield is rarely addressed, particularly on the Loess Plateau belt, and requires more exploration. Thus, this research was conducted in order to evaluate the interactive impact of tillage and nitrogen fertilization methods on soil properties and wheat productivity. The treatments included conventional tillage (CT) and no-till (NT) with different fertilization approaches (no fertilization: CK, chemical nitrogen fertilizer: N, organic fertilizer: M, combined application of nitrogen fertilizer and organic fertilizer: NM) and were explored in a split plot arrangement under a randomized complete block design replicated thrice on soil properties (SWC, SOC, TN, TP, NO₃⁻-N, NH₄⁺-N, and stoichiometric ratio) and wheat yield. The results showed that sole no-tillage and NT in association with nitrogen fertilization (inorganic and organic) significantly increased the soil water content, SOC, TN, NH₄⁺-N, C/P, and N/P ratios and wheat productivity but did not significantly yield TP, whilst it reduced the NO₃⁻-N and C/N ratio compared with sole CT and CT together with nitrogen fertilization (organic and inorganic). Overall, NT in association with the joint application of inorganic and organic N fertilization are the best techniques to improve soil water status and nutrient status under the wheat mono-cropping system conditions and yield.

Climate change and overgrazing significantly constrain the sustainability of meadow land and vegetation in the livestock industry on the Tibetan–Plateau ecosystem. In context of climate change mitigation, grassland soil C sequestration and forage sustainability, it is important to understand how manure regimes influence SOC stability, grassland soil, forage structure and nutritional quality. However, the responses of SOC fractions, soil and forage structure and quality to the influence of manure gradient practices remain unclear, particularly at Tianzhu belt, and require further investigation. A field study was undertaken to evaluate the soil bulk density, aggregate fractions and dynamics in SOC concentration, permanganate oxidizable SOC fractions, SOC stabilization and soil nutrients at the soil aggregate level under manure gradient practices. Moreover, the forage biodiversity, aboveground biomass and nutritional quality of alpine meadow plant communities were also explored. Four treatments, i.e., control (CK), sole sheep manure (SM), cow dung alone (CD) and a mixture of sheep manure and cow dung (SMCD) under five input rates, i.e., 0.54, 1.08, 1.62, 2.16 and 2.70 kg m⁻², were employed under randomized complete block design with four replications. Our analysis confirmed the maximum soil bulk density (BD) (0.80 ± 0.05 g cm⁻³) and micro-aggregate fraction (45.27 ± 0.77%) under CK, whilst the maximum macro-aggregate fraction (40.12 ± 0.54%) was documented under 2.70 kg m⁻² of SMCD. The SOC, very-labile C fraction (Cfrac₁), labile C fraction (Cfrac₂) and non-labile/recalcitrant C fraction (Cfrac₄) increased with manure input levels, being the highest in 2.16 kg m⁻² and 2.70 kg m⁻² applications of sole SM and the integration of 50% SM and 50% CD (SMCD), whereas the less-labile fraction (Cfrac₃) was highest under CK across aggregate fractions. However, manures under varying gradients improved SOC pools and stabilization for both macro- and micro-aggregates. A negative response of the carbon management index (CMI) in macro-aggregates was observed, whilst CMI in the micro-aggregate fraction depicted a positive response to manure addition with input rates, being the maximum under sole SM addition averaged across gradients. Higher SOC pools and CMI under the SM, CD and SMCD might be owing to the higher level of soil organic matter inputs under higher doses of manures. Moreover, the highest accumulation of soil nutrients,, for instance, TN, AN, TP, AP, TK, AK, DTPA extractable Zn, Cu, Fe and Mn, was recorded in SM, CD and SMCD under varying gradients over CK at both aggregate fractions. More nutrient accumulation was found in macro-aggregates over micro-aggregates, which might be credited to the physical protection of macro-aggregates. Overall, manure addition under varying input rates improved the plant community structure and enhanced meadow yield, plant community diversity and nutritional quality more than CK. Therefore, alpine meadows should be managed sustainably via the adoption of sole SM practice under a 2.16 kg m⁻² input rate for the ecological utilization of the meadow ecosystem. The results of this study deliver an innovative perspective in understanding the response of alpine meadows’ SOC pools, SOC stabilization and nutrients at the aggregate level, as well as vegetation structure, productivity and forage nutritional quality to manure input rate practices. Moreover, this research offers valuable information for ensuring climate change mitigation and the clean production of alpine meadows in the Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau area of China.